GRO Coffee

This is one of the worst eating establishments in Ayrshire. For starters, all of the so-called “organic” ingredients are purchased from Tesco. The cakes are displayed uncovered on the counter and it’s very much style over quality, as they are all dry and bland, and due to being uncovered, they generally have insects flying around.

The mural to the owners dog… really? That’s embarrassing, and no, the general public do not “heart” Joey Gro, your family dog? It is an eyesore of a mural to display in a cafe.

The menu is quantity over quality. I gave Gro another chance recently (having been a few times when out with others when it initially opened, not really through my own choice), and the menu was on a sheet bigger than A4 and had way too many options. With a menu that size, there is no chance you can specialise in any dish. Lo and behold, this assumption was correct. I ordered pancakes and they were very bland despite being topped with yogurt and berries.

We ordered coffees and some water for the table, and the glasses we were given for the water were dirty. When we asked a server for clean ones, she took them away, and the replacement ones honestly weren’t much cleaner. By the time our dishes arrived, there still wasn’t any sign of our coffees. We tried to ask the server but she walked away after slamming the dishes down, and we had to ask another server nearby instead. We had all but finished our dishes by the time the coffee appeared, kind of fruitless at that point.

Two groups were seated nearby us while we ate. By the time we left, around 20 minutes later, they still hadn’t had their order taken nor had any servers been in their direction.

To top it off, when I went to the toilets, there was only toilet paper in one stall. A staff member came in and not only went to a paperless stall, but also left without washing her hands? When I exited the toilets, I saw her behind the counter handling cakes!! I don’t believe she would have had enough time at all to wash her hands. I suppose the cakes are already unhygienic enough being exposed to the elements and to customers out in the open anyway…

This company is well known for having a high turnover of staff, and it’s no wonder when you hear how they are treated. It’s also no wonder that they don’t do a good job, because they have no morale to do so.

In Irvine, I believe it only does well because of its location. And in Ayr, it seems to be that it’s spacious and I suppose well decorated. I think Gro only succeeds due to a lack of many other choices in Ayrshire. It’s certainly not due to the quality of the food! Disgusting, dry, bland, overpriced food.