Cliff Railway Cliff Top Café — Restaurant in North Devon

This review is purely based on the staff service experience we had, not the food. While deciding on what to order for our four children (two of which have gluten allergies so we need to carefully go through the items on the menu and check ingredients) our two eldest children decided to use the toilet. As my wife and I were still discussing what to order the staff member approached us and in a very loud and abrupt manner decided to shout out "the toilets are for paying customers only, are you ordering anything?". I started to explain we were just choosing from the menu and our allergy requirements when the staff member sighed and walked away mid-way through my explanation which I did not get to complete. Not quite sure what to do I went inside approaching the staff member at the counter and asked if they had gluten free scones. This enquiry was met with a very rude response off "I don't know, I would have to check" and a look off annoyance. At this point I decided I did not want to provide this establishment with my business. I then decided to purchase a small juice carton for our toddler costing £1.95 to satisfy the requirement of the "toilet being available for paying customers only" and left. The cafe is set in a lovely beautiful setting and it would have been nice to have had the opportunity to enjoy some scones and tea in there but based on poor level of customer service (including the lack of understanding off how hard it is to order when you have children with allergies) I will not be returning here nor would I...

Placed my order for me and my family etc which came to around £30. I was visibly 30 weeks pregnant and asked if they had a toilet I could quickly use, man in the shop said no, and I would have to carry on waking to top of the cliff and next to the town hall was the nearest toilets. I then found a hair mixed into the scone dough after my first bite; then went back inside the shop to notify them but to my disbelief I saw customers using a toilet inside the cafe. I asked the lady on the counter why did they tell me to walk to the town hall when they had a customer toilet- to which she rudely replied “customers only”- I said I was a customer and had asked about this prior, whilst paying for my order then her reply changed to “it must have been busy”. I don’t like to bring up the race card, but definitely did feel alienated as they couldn’t give me a valid reason why i was refused. Shame as definitely ruined the start off the half term break in Devon. I would not recommend! Shame about the attitude of the cafe staff as the cliff railway staff...

Looked down on the sea front for somewhere to have a cream tea and decided to chance the Cliff Top Cafe after my better half saw some pics and we were going to use the funny colour railway (😉). NOT disappointed at all. We got the 'special', which on this day was fruit & chocolate, with cream & jam (may seem a weird combination but it was very good). Scone was large, light texture and really tasty. The cream and jam was not stinted on either. Altogether, one of the best cream teas I've had, though the setting, the weather and being 'on holiday' may have added to the overall experience 😀. When the weather is good the seating area is a lovely place to sit, watching the train riders go by and it's an attractive location in its own right! Service was quick and pleasant. Paper cups to facilitate easy & quick service (I think!). Overall, highly...