The Aviator — Restaurant in Tewkesbury

I really want to give this café a positive review, but sadly the last few times I have visited, it has been disappointing:

There are two tills behind the bar and one other available (I think) but there only ever seems to be one in use at the times I have been in there which makes getting served very slow as the server also makes the drinks.

Anecdotally, I went in there about two weeks ago to have one of the breakfast options. I got there in plenty of time before breakfast orders finished but ended up having to wait as the customer in front was ordering breakfasts and drinks for about 7 people! By the time the order was placed and the gentleman behind the bar had sorted the hot drinks out, I had been waiting nearly 15 minutes and quite a queue had formed behind me. When I went to order, I got told there was at least a 25 minute wait on food. Disappointingly, I couldn’t wait that long so ended up just having a cuppa to take away. The family behind were then also disappointed as they went to place a breakfast order (still before the official end time) and got told they weren’t accepting any more breakfast orders. Rightly, the customer challenged this and then got told they would only be able to do breakfast baps, so he and his family just left.

My second more recent experience involved me ordering a sandwich to take away for lunch. I got told there would be about a 15 minute wait which I accepted so I said I would go off for a walk and come back. When I did, I went to collect the order I had placed but they had got my order confused with another. It then transpired that they had inadvertently given my order away to someone else who had now left (although it was obvious what had gone on, it was not communicated to me). Quite a brisk conversation happened in the kitchen and within a couple of minutes they quickly made another one up for me. Sadly as it had been rushed it was far from adequate which was a real shame.

I am not in a position where I will stop going as I am quite a regular user of the airport and this café and I want to see both thrive and succeed. But something needs to be done about the number of people serving behind the bar as that will definitely get the customers served more quickly, particularly when families are placing...

As we work at the airport we use the cafe quite a bit, this morning the lady working was extremely rude, short brown hair to her shoulder with glasses with purple lipstick. I understand the restaurant doesn't open until 9 however they have always been very welcoming and accommodating before. It was 8.45 and I asked if I could order my sandwich and come back and collect it after 9, she was frantically shaking her head before I even walked in the door to speak to her and was straight over to say "Not open until 9". I asked politely if I could just order my sandwich and come back and pick up when it will be ready, it was just a toasted sandwich... She said it won't be ready until at least 15 mins after 9, it won't be toasted properly like they do at lunch as the toastie machine doesn't go on until lunchtime, I can't make payment now until the till is open, couldn't even order a coffee. She started to throw hands in the air as more customers walked in whilst speaking to us, complaining that "more people are coming in now". When I went back over to collect it, she rudely ignored that I was waiting and pretended not to know what we even came back for. When I requested to pay by card, she frantically said it has to be over £5 and gestured to the small sign about it. It felt as if she was trying to create a fuss and a problem over everything and as if she didn't want the sale - I am sorry but I run my own business and this lady certainly wouldn't be working for me, terrible customer service...

We visited The aviator hoping for a relaxed meal, but unfortunately, it was anything but. The service was horrendous from start to finish. Staff seemed disinterested and disorganised, and things only got worse from there.

While we were ordering drinks, the coke machine broke—something that can happen—but instead of handling it professionally, the staff member started loudly swearing behind the bar. Not exactly the kind of atmosphere you'd expect at a family-friendly establishment.

Since the machine was out of order, they gave us a 330ml can of Coke but still charged for a full pint (500ml). It might seem like a small detail, but it's the principle—if you're not serving what someone paid for, you should adjust the price.

The food itself was passable, nothing spectacular, but certainly not worth the £100 we ended up spending. One of our meals was missing entirely, and when we brought it up, the staff were dismissive and unapologetic. It finally arrived around 20 minutes later—by which point the rest of us had already finished eating.

Overall, it felt like we were an inconvenience rather than paying customers. There are far better pubs around—this one won’t be...