Thyme & Tides Deli — Restaurant in Test Valley

Looked like our kind of place. A funky bistro with an interesting menu, however the reality was sadly quite different.

The waiting staff were friendly, but were quite young and didn't seem very switched on.

For our main meal we ordered mushrooms on toasted sourdough and as a special request a mixed Mediterranean salad with cheese for my veggie wife. The waitress checked with the kitchen that it would be possible to produce a tasty salad and reported back it was. On that basis we ordered our food and sat back and enjoyed the ambience.

15 minutes later our food arrived... however we were so disappointed! The mushrooms on the sourdough looked pitifully small and wouldn't even pass as a starter portion... but to add insult to injury the salad looked like it had just been emptied out of a cheap bag of supermarket pre-packed salad leaves. There was no love or care put into the salad, it was simply plonked on the plate with a few tomatoes hidden underneath.

We politely refused the salad and requested the waitress return it to the kitchen to ask the chefs to russle up something more authentic. She returned five minutes later with some grated Cheddar sprinkled all over the top. I never knew Cheddar originated from the Med... we were hoping for maybe Feta or Halloumi at the very least!

Very underwhelmed is an under statement.

I only wished we'd remained in The Woodfire X Coffee Lab we'd stopped in earlier. Our friends had an amazing lunch there.

Oh well... we'll...

Sad to be writing this at Thyme and Tides used to be great and we have been coming a couple of times a year since it opened. Good selection of deli food and cakes.

Sadly we were a group of 6, we waited 40 mins for four of our lunches to arrive. We were then left waiting for another 10 mins or so before we asked the waitress where the other two dishes were. Turned out they had forgotten to put them through so two of the group had to wait another 20 mins or so for their very tiny seafood platter which had no fennel salad on it despite it saying so on the menu. They then asked for extra bread which took another 15 mins or so - by the time it had been delivered they had finished their meal.

We also asked for a carafe of tap water for the table 3 times which never arrived.

Staff were only moderately apologetic despite so many aspects of our lunch going wrong and did not believe when we told them that the platter should have included the fennel salad. We eventually managed to agree that we would not pay for the two platters given the inconvenience, but the staff seemed hesitant to do this.

Would expect much better service for a place like this. We can usually forgive anything if you get a good and sincere apology but unfortunately it felt very grudgingly given.

2 stars because of the discount and the tartare pate...

Lovely venue situated in a busy high street. The food available to buy off the shelf is all great quality, usually artisanal and fresh. Some interesting products are seldom seen in mainstream shops.

The cafe/restaurant side of things is a popular venue, always busy. You can see why. The food is fresh, and it is a great selection the staff are always friendly.

With a bespoke and carefully thought-out menu, you can't complain about the choice available or the local produce, being able yo track the majority of ingredients within a radius. The Deli sandwich was brilliant, with local sausage, cheese, and mozzarella making a stringy pull and a hit of caramelised onion to finish.

The coffee is boastful and fresh, albeit small for my personal preference. Great flavours and fresh tasting.

The staff, as mentioned, are helpful, smiling, and very accommodating. They work hard but are always willing to help more where they can.

Space can be a tad tight depending on the size of your group, and if there a breeze then can have a breeze blowing in your ear even inside as the ice cream window is often open. However it doesn't distract from the busy vibrant and popular atmosphere.

Definitely worth a brunch or two if...