Woodmill Coffee Kitchen — Restaurant in Southampton

Tempted by the beautifully curated website and picture-perfect images, we headed over for coffee and cake on a Sunday morning. Big mistake. We won’t be back.

From the moment we walked in, it was clear this place is all style, no substance. The interior is in dire need of a clean, a refurb, and some basic hygiene standards. To the right, there’s a wall smeared with grime up to waiste height and what looks suspiciously like mould. Once you spot that, your eyes can’t help but travel around the room, clocking the dust-coated fixtures, scuffed walls, and filthy skirting boards. It feels neglected, like nobody cares.

As for the service, five staff behind the counter managed to achieve the square root of nothing. They looked lost, untrained, and completely overwhelmed. Orders were taken half-heartedly, delivered in dribs and drabs, and followed by long, awkward waits for the rest to appear.

Then came the food. I ordered the lamb sausage roll, which I suspect started life frozen and met its end in a stack of microwaves behind the counter. It took so long to arrive, I assumed they’d gone out to catch the lamb. When it finally surfaced, it had clearly been probed repeatedly with a temperature stick by a bare-handed assistant who seemed to be winging it. It arrived looking battered, soggy, and thoroughly unappetising.

This café is in a prime location and could absolutely be thriving. Instead, it serves up microwave mush in a grubby, depressing environment that feels like no one’s cleaned it properly in months. With the right care, staff training, and a kitchen that actually cooks, this place could shine. At the moment, it’s a health...

I’ve been here a few times and love it, the scenery, the food (!!) and the staff all wonderful. As a vegan I really appreciate the variety of options they offer- highly recommend the vegan bap 👌🏻 I do however need to knock one star off for a couple reasons. The matcha here is just bad, I assume it’s a mix that I’ve seen other cafes use and doesn’t taste of genuine matcha at all. You can see from the photo the colour. The staff kindly replaced it with a chai latte but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. Another point is the paper plates. It seems rather wasteful and difficult to manage when the wind picks up outside (flying plates and plastic cups). I ended up with tofu scramble in my handbag! This wouldn’t however put me off coming back, I just know now to weigh my plate down with a few pieces of cutlery! Again, the food is amazing so tasty and the cakes too! The staff are always helpful and so nice so I would recommend...

I went to this cafe today with two friends. I sat at a table for four (the only one available) whilst waiting for them to arrive and as both doors were wide open on a rainy blustery day, I moved when some other customers left. My friends arrived and one asked for the table be wiped when they went to order. She was met with the comment why didn’t we select a clean one. (It was the only other table for four available). When he came to wipe the table down he asked us all to get up whilst he sprayed the table, he could have sprayed the cloth. Neither of these actions were necessary. The food was ok, it’s a limited menu which so obviously wasn’t proof read (pouched and scambled eggs). Wasn’t keen on the cardboard cups and polystyrene plates. At the prices they are charging I would have expected...