GAIL's Bakery Godalming — Restaurant in Waverley

The place is busy, often with a queue; I decided to try it in a quieter moment. It is a clean, airy place with a nice seating area. There are on display a variety of good-looking pastries, food I normally do not eat, but I tried a tiny bun (perhaps 2in diameter) with chocolate drops, and a double espresso. The bun was good - maybe a tad undercooked, but I enjoyed it. The espresso unfortunately was rather bad, acidic and at the same time bland. The staff are cheerful but the service was not great; I was erroneously served the espresso in a paper cup (despite having paid the table surcharge) and at my request the coffee, instead of being brewed again, was simply poured in a porcelain cup of the wrong shape (a small cylindrical mug instead of a narrow-bottom cup), thick and without handle. The prices are high and frankly I don't think they are justified by the quality. Two stars because the bun was nice; in general,...

Pros: Display looked tidy, eggs were tasty enough, sourdough buttery, coffee OK, food brought to table with a smile (the only smile I witnessed) Cons: First Server aloof, given a dirty knife, no bacon in stock, wasn’t advised to wait for coffee at counter - was handed a tray with a number tag so assumed table service, I had just sat down before my coffee order was shouted out, up again. Portion of baked eggs (delivered to table) was a bit small but one tiny round of soldiers? They were devoured long before the admittedly tasty eggs. Not a destination if you’re hungry and you require value for money. The window denotes “Tis the season”. Gail’s couldn’t quite bring themselves to add “to be jolly…” and after my first visit to this branch, I can see why! Gail’s needs to up its game. There’s a Greggs and a...

Nice tasting coffee and hot chocolate but a bit more expensive than other places. The hot chocolate is small and inexplicably served in a cup without a handle. The young server over filled our drinks so I asked if she could help me bring a tray over to the table. I had bags and was scared of spilling drinks. She ignored my request despite having no other customers. She was busy gossiping to her mate with baby in pram. The mother was inconsiderately blocking my route to the counter as well and practised zero social distancing. I would normally give a higher rating as the staff are usually great. Hope self important little madam and her mate are elsewhere around next time I'm in Godalming. We have visited regularly before since business opened and will do again if normal...