Biscuit Cafe — Restaurant in Scotland

StAndrewsMan St. Andrews, United Kingdom 35 Reviewed 2 days ago

Let's be clear - this cafe is a completely separate business from the lovely little pottery/gallery downstairs. There's no connection at all, other than the fact they share the same building - so the website link provided here on Google Maps is incorrect.

I was somewhat reluctant to enter the place at all, given another recent visit, when - despite not being particularly busy - they took over half an hour to serve up a simple sandwich.

This time, to be fair, we were welcomed pleasantly by a young server, and our order was also taken promptly, though my eyebrows were raised a little by the pricing on the menu (more on that later).

We ordered a flatbread (in essence, a mini pizza), a sandwich and drinks. The latter came fairly swiftly but the food once again took a l -o - n - g time to arrive. Still, it was fresh and tasty, with decent-quality ingredients.

To pay their bills, customers have to go up to the small kitchen/till area, squeezing past other tables and waiting staff (not very COVID-safe, but hey ho). I'd already calculated that my bill would be £21.95 (flatbread £11.50, sandwich £7.50, Diet Coke £2.95) but was told by the lady in charge that the bill was £24.15. I queried this and the discrepancy was explained with a curt "There's a 10% service charge". Me - "I didn't see any mention of a service charge" . She - "It's clearly stated on the menu". Me (realising embarrassedly that I must have missed this, but also aware of my rights) - "It's also clearly stated on the menu that Diet Coke is served as a 500ml measure, but I was served a 330ml can." She (with no apology) - "I suppose you'll be wanting a refund then?" Me - "Well yes please, I only got 66% of the drink I was promised".

She muttered something inaudible (the only word I heard was "customers" but I could guess the rest!), and said, "That will be £23.10". I paid this via debit card, then noticed a saucer on the counter containing coins and a notice saying "Tips please". I should have said nothing, but I was surprised by being made to pay a service charge in a cafe (something I've never experienced before) and couldn't resist saying "I see you're asking for tips on top of the service charge". And that's when things really kicked off.

She began shouting at me - yes, actual shouting, not just a raised voice - saying that "lots of people" left tips as well as paying the service charge and that she had "never once received a complaint about the service charge" (NB I hadn't actually complained about this). By this time, I was aware that other customers were listening on, so in a louder voice I (somewhat childishly) said "I hope you enjoy reading your reviews" - at which point the head sandwichmaker behind the counter also chipped in, shouting "I hope YOU enjoy the rest of your life".

I then began to leave the cafe, advising other customers to check that their bills were accurate, as I had been overcharged. But en route I went back to my table to look again at the menu. In miniscule print at the bottom of the page, it said "A discretionary service charge of 10% will be added".

So back I went to the counter to request politely that as the service charge was "discretionary", I'd like it to be refunded. Madame Fawlty literally screamed "You're a disgrace" at me, pulled out three £1 coins from her till and slapped them hard into my hand. I did then leave the building, accompanied by further loud bleats coming from her and her henchman, whilst the rest of the cafe's customers sat in stunned silence.

What a shame that the lovely village of Culross is being let down by this astonishingly rude proprietor. It's perhaps - just - forgiveable for her to be charging such high prices - we all know how hard it's been for catering businesses recently- but it's just not acceptable to further gouge customers by knowingly selling short measures and also not making it clear at the point of sale that the service charge was...

A Truly Appalling and Discriminatory Experience: Absolutely Avoid This Culross Cafe Our recent visit to biscuit cafe in Culross was, without exaggeration, the most abhorrent customer service experience my family and I have ever endured. What was meant to be a pleasant lunch with our visiting family, including a toddler and a young child, devolved into a shockingly unpleasant, deeply upsetting, and frankly, discriminatory incident. Having already placed our order from their menu, we were simply attending to our young children, as parents do. My toddler and young child were being fed their lunch, a common and necessary act for families with small children. Suddenly, the owner, or at least the individual who appeared to be in charge, stormed over to our table and, without any prior inquiry or polite question, aggressively and falsely accused us of bringing outside food into her cafe. This unprovoked and baseless accusation was not only insulting but also delivered with an immediate and hostile tone that left us utterly stunned. She didn't even ask; she simply accused us of eating outside food, when in reality, we were dutifully feeding our own children. When I attempted to address her shocking rudeness and explain the situation – that we were feeding our children, not consuming outside food ourselves – she doubled down on her offensive behavior. Instead of offering an apology or even a moment of polite clarification, she refused to acknowledge her error and continued to be confrontational and disrespectful. The sheer lack of professionalism, empathy, and basic human decency displayed by this individual was staggering. This was not merely poor customer service; it felt like a blatant act of discrimination. Her behavior was completely unacceptable and created an incredibly uncomfortable, unwelcoming, and frankly, hostile atmosphere. It is truly appalling that a business owner would treat paying customers, especially those with vulnerable young children, with such contempt, baseless suspicion, and outright belligerence. This incident single-handedly tainted our entire experience of Culross, a charming place we had been so excited to share with our family who were visiting for the first time. We left feeling disgusted, deeply disappointed, and genuinely appalled by the treatment we received. I urge anyone considering visiting this cafe in Culross to think twice and take your business elsewhere, immediately. No one should tolerate such egregious rudeness, baseless accusations, and discriminatory behavior. This establishment does not deserve your custom and should be held accountable for such an appalling disregard for...

I visited the Biscuit Cafe last week with my mother, who is 79 years old, and we had the worst customer service experience in our lives!

We have visited the cafe several times over the years and always enjoyed the food and great service.

Unfortunately as many other reviewers have found out, things are not the same anymore. This is due to the presence of an ill tempered middle aged woman, who I assume is the manageress.

Things got off to a frosty start when we entered, as I asked if they were serving bacon rolls, to be told by her there are menus on the table.

Upon sitting down opposite the kitchen, we could see there was no social distancing between the tightly situated tables, so we moved to the adjoining room where we sat at a corner table that at least was a few feet away from the nearest other table.

The woman in charge then took our order of bacon rolls, cappuccino and a tea, but there were no pleasantries from her.

She came back first with the drinks and I could see that the cappuccino was too milky with just a bare skim of foam on top. I said to her the cappuccino was more like a latte and asked politely if it could be remade.

She gave me a dirty look and took the cappuccino away without saying a word. The expression if looks could kill came to mind!

She then came back with a new cappuccino - which I saw she got the young chap cooking the food to make - and as she walked away she exclaimed in a loud voice in front of other customers, that in 20 years she has never had any complaints about her coffee!

I find that hard to believe as she clearly doesn't know how to make a cappuccino. Just for her information - although she should know this - a cappuccino consists of equal parts 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk and 1/3 foam.

It very rare that I ask for a cappuccino to be made again, and every other place I have been it has never been a problem.

So I told her that it was unacceptable to speak to a customer like that. She retorted that I was just looking for a argument and then told my mum and I that we could just leave as we weren't going to get any food!!

This is first time in my life I have been treated like this and is why it is the worst customer service experience I have ever encountered.

I especially felt sorry for my mother who is very elderly and rarely goes out due to covid.

It is a real shame that a lovely wee cafe is being tarnished by this nasty vindictive woman who clearly hates customers.

I do feel sorry for the young staff who work there and hence I hesitate to advise people not to go there, but I also would not want other customers to have a bad experience...