Johns of Instow — Restaurant in North Devon

We decided to have breakfast here this morning (around 10 ish.30/7/21) and we were served by a delightful young man who you could tell was well brought-up with good manners and couldn't be more helpful with us ( me , my wife and son)and other customers. I popped over to the shop/ deli side as i needed a few bits and bobs.And thats where things went rapidly south. Befere i knew it my arms were full of a jug of scrumpy, some coffee,dog chews, nurofen and in the other hand, a carry box of 3x ciders. As i was waiting patiently in the checkout queue, the plastic handle snapped. As soon as I pointed it out to the lady behind the till (tall/ blondish/50s/ tattoo), she basically blamed me for having carried the box wrongly. By its handle. " Feel free to go and get another ". When it came to bag packing, which i had to do myself, the bag split when i packed the replacement box. Again, she claimed this was my doing because i packed the bag wrong. I said look i might as well change these or get a refund. " Oh well you cant do that " she snapped. Now unless the consumer laws were rewritten whilst i was on premises, i could. " oh well i will have to get a manager then". I opted instead for a paper bag. Which didnt split.Packed begrudgingly. No thank you. Whole thing came to about 38 quid. Turned to my wife who was looking for a few other things " Come on. We are not spending another penny in here". Massively passive-agressive, abrupt and ignorant member of staff letting down the rest of the team and the brand. Lost a customer for LIFE. Went down to WW Ho!, delightful people in the shops we visited there. All it ever takes is one bad egg, and she is...

If I could leave no stars I would. It is my favourite place to visit and we have been a number of times. We queued for the cafe from 4 and were sat down by a member of staff by 4.15. It was clear we wanted food and she advised looking at the menu on our mobiles. A different member of staff came and asked my details for track and trace details and advised we could stay for half an hour for drinks and hour for food. She said she would be back to take our order. We tried to get the 2 members of staff attention eventually I went to ask the 1st member of staff who was eat cake behind the counter to take our order. She said she would come and take our order. She then spoke to the other girl about track and trace and she said she had already done it. However when she came over she told us we couldn't order food as the kitchen had closed. No one in this whole fiasco had said the kitchen was about to close. I told the waitress we had been sat that ready to order since 4.15 as we had purposely come for the afternoon tea. She told me she wouldn't know she was out the back. So rude after she was the one who sat us down. There was no apology as we walked out she just went and muttered about us to the other waitress....

Mixed Experience – Room for Improvement

Visited recently and encountered a few issues that made the experience less than ideal. Upon arrival, there was some confusion around which entrance to use—one door is apparently only for those with dogs, while others are strongly advised to use the alternative. This setup is unclear and a bit off-putting.

When we were seated, the table was dirty. To their credit, staff cleaned it promptly once we pointed it out. We ordered one Americano, one matcha latte, and a cinnamon bun. The bun arrived quickly but was disappointingly doughy, seeming undercooked and not very fresh.

The drinks never arrived until we followed up. I asked an employee nearby (who was stocking shelves), and she initially said she didn’t work in the café section. However, she did assist by speaking to the till staff. After some visible confusion and delay, the drinks eventually arrived. We were told the cost of the Americano had been removed from the bill, which was appreciated.

Overall, while some staff made an effort to address the issues, the service felt disorganized, and the food quality didn’t meet expectations. Hopefully,...