Simmons Bakers — Restaurant in St Albans

A Cafe and Bakery that ticks most boxes quite nicely.

Simmons is known as Bakery but is now also moving into the Cafe scene. Simmons' Cafes have a light and airy persona with a casual and clean feel. This review is mainly about the Cafe aspect. Firstly, it has to be said, that for a Cafe their range and choice of food is pretty exceptional. This draws from the vast array of cakes, pastries, and sandwich fillings that they provide both for shoppers and snack-seekers. If you are not requiring a meal appropriate for a proper sit-down dining experience, then they are very hard to beat. I will say that that they don't cater for people looking for paninis or posh light bites, but they do cater for a massive range of tastes - I am pretty sure anyone would be hard pushed to find something they don't like. For this, they have to get 5 stars. Other reasons to give them 5 stars is the very good coffee - it comes from a machine and is therefore "programmed" coffee, but it is consistent, and it tastes really good. A lot of the machine coffees can't produce good variations, but the Simmons' machines do a very good decaf Cappuccino and Americano with hot milk on the side, so that gives you an idea. I always have my coffee in take-away cup as stays hot longer, but if you like sipping from a proper mug, they have these too. The coffee is £2.50 for a large Cappuccino, so it's a bit more than I would expect for a place like this, but it is good coffee. There is nearly always a queue, but they get through it very quickly and there are enough staff that waiting times are short. If there is a backlog, then you can sit down and they'll bring food and drinks to your table. Can't fault the staff and service for what is a counter-service cafe. The WiFi is good, and no irritating sign-ups or passwords - it just connects and it's pretty quick. No power sockets, so if you are a laptop warrior, charge up beforehand. A lot of bakery-come-cafes don't have loos, but this one does, so again a plus. Another positive is, if you are feeling jaded by the standard panini, then they have some interesting slants using sourdough, and you can have any filling combo your heart desires as they are all made from scratch fresh from the tubs of ingredients at the counter. They also do fab breakfast baps with some delicious variations. The only negative - the only reason I would given 4.5 stars if I could have - is that they run out some of the ingredients. Twice in a row they didn't have the salmon in. You know what it's like...you make that decision after much consideration, and no...they haven't got it. I suppose they get forgiven because of the huge choice - so only a little disappointed (twice). The ambiance is bright and cheery, and works well.

Tip: The cakes are too enticing, so practice your mantras before entering. Plus, all the fillings look so good...you are in danger of having a sandwich about 2 miles high - be warned! They have a loyalty card, and only 6 coffees required for a...

Such a shame. Simmons has amazing products, but repeatedly provides a very poor service. Simmons continually lets its delivery customers down. Its systemic. It’s planned. It’s company policy, and it’s poor form. Making items available on Deliveroo, then taking my money, and sending me something completely different. So, because I know that they do this, continually, I place an order and then call to be 100%. Whilst I shouldn’t have to do this, I do, because I know how bad the service is. I called today, having placed an order, to be told “yes, no problem we have it”, and then they send me something completely different with a printed card saying sorry. Again. It’s their policy, it’s systemic, it’s deliberate and it’s poor. I call again to ask why they think this is ok, but the staff just don’t care. They think it’s ok. Why? Because it’s Simmons policy. It’s such a shame that Simmons repeatedly treat customers this way. No way to run a consumer...

Poor visit today Baguette cooked for far too long. Bacon had dried out and bread was almost burnt. Somehow inside still cold but outside too crispy. Perhaps cooking with a grill instead of an oven?

Labels in front of various savoury items were wrong and not obvious what each thing was

Due to labelling, my vegetarian partner was given a cheese and ham pasty, when asked for cheese and bean. She took it to counter to complain and of the three staff members who were nearby one loudly exclaimed ‘Not my fault!’ when learning of the problem. Very poor as I could hear from across the bakery! (I believe this had also happened to others as an item was given back as we were waiting!)

Sausage roll, drinks and my focaccia were good, if a little more pricey than used to be. Also cakes were ok, saving the review as two stars, but this place could really do with some improved training of staff and more...