Open House Deli — Restaurant in Winchester

This place is a bit confusing because passers by don’t know what it is. It has an identity issue being inside a bike store. It’s a small vegetarian cafe that has a separate area that isn’t obvious where they sell eco friendly products. They also sell their best selling products at the high street market. Personally I think they should concentrate on this as it gets more visibility.

At their market stall I’ve purchased the collapsible reusable metal straw which is convenient when out and made well. I’ve also used their beeswax cling wrap. I’m a fan of both products and recommend them highly.

With regard to the food at the cafe, it’s not clear as to what’s available with the sign versus what’s in the deli case. There wasn’t anything that looked great. I didn’t think there was a good variety of food, and their vegan butternut squash soup was very bland. I love that it didn’t have dairy but the soup desperately needed seasoning. Fortunately I took it to go so I could add seasoning at home. I like that it was put in an eco friendly container.

The woman who served me was friendly and helpful when I asked if there were any baked goods that were gluten free and dairy free; unfortunately there weren’t any. They had either vegan or gluten free but not both. What they had on display looked appealing though.

For their eco friendly products and service I’d give five stars; for the soup I’d give three....

Today was the second time we visited with friends, the first visit we ordered 3 coffees during a non busy time and it took around 15 minutes to arrive, plus the coffee wasn't hot. We thought maybe it was an off day, it happens, so gave it another chance today. We were warned of a 10 minute wait - in the end it took 25 minutes just for 4 hot drinks. We noticed a lot of people going up to ask about the wait, and we were told the same that it was busy, then we were asked if we wanted it in take away cups. We had to say yes as our baby was (naturally) getting fidgety after waiting so long and we had only wanted to relax in a café for half an hour with drinks, not waiting that long for them... unfortunately even when we got our take away cups they were really small, certainly not medium for what we paid, and again the coffee was not hot. Really disappointed - the big space could be amazing for mums with prams etc and the coffees could be great if just hot, but I'm afraid we will not be coming back by ourselves or with friends because the wait is just far too long for a...

Honestly, if you’re thinking of grabbing a coffee in the morning, I wouldn’t really recommend this place. The baristas don’t seem properly trained – I asked for a flat white and got something super frothy instead of that smooth milk you’d usually expect.

The vibe’s not the best either. The staff don’t come across as very friendly. This morning kind of summed it up for me – I paid £3.40 for a coffee, said “morning” and didn’t get anything back from the Barista. Just got stared at, like I was supposed to just get on with it and say my order.

I know working in customer service isn’t always easy – I do it too – but if you’re charging that much for an average coffee, a simple hello goes a long way.

I’ve been here a few times now hoping it was just a one-off, but it’s pretty much the same each time.

So yeah, not great coffee and the service isn’t...