Gardens Caf?

[Strawbs]

If you mean the electrical cafe I'm really surprised as I went there Wednesday and whilst the food was pretty basic, the service was great, everyone seemed happy and it was full of babies and toddlers and thought it was very reasonably priced..

[2Loulou]

I have been there once too, the staff is extremely nice, the service is terribly slow though, and they kept forgetting bits and bobs so we all ate separately, we didn't mind as we had the whole day ahead of us, we stayed about 4 hours for lunch and coffee.

One couple walked out cos their food must have been served late and cold

it's not a disaster but it's a shame such a nice place and location is not optimised

[Sally81]

Yeah i'm another one in the surprised camp...Go there very regularly and the staff often make a fuss of my baby, are friendly and the place is rammed with kids, pushchairs and babies with no problems. There was one member of staff who was slightly 'off' last week and made an unkind remark to me about her colleague which was a bit unprofessional. I do also think the food and cakes are a tad over priced for what you get.

But I must say, on the whole, the place works very well whenever I'm there and I think they are more than happy to be a baby hub. As Jennyh says, the owner is often around with his own child and would probably be upset to hear some customers aren't satisfied.

[poppy]

I think their intentions towards parents and babies are/were good, but for some reasons they haven't delivered. I was on the common with my NCT group last summer when they were still renovating and the owner came over to get some feedback on some ideas they had re making the place baby-friendly, and seemed as though he knew that it would inevitably be full of parents and small children and wanted to encourage that. So I am also surprised and puzzled as to why they only have three highchairs - my friend spoke to the manager about it about six months ago now, who said they had ordered more, but for some reason they haven't materialised.

[duchessofdulwich]

Have always found the service and food very good in Homemade in Barry Road. Took my little one in their no probs, just a shame its not a little bigger.

[Earl Aelfheah]

I have been there a few times and found the service really friendly.

[poppy]

Yes I forgot to mention the service in my previous post but I've always found it really friendly too - contrary to previous posts, I've found they've tended to make a fuss of my toddler rather than glaring. So not all staff there are bad. The waitress who runs story time is really sweet too.

[Browncoffee]

Same here. Have always found the staff friendly and they've always been keen to help with anything I need for my LO.

rahrahrah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I have been there a few times and found the

> service really friendly.

[MrsAk]

I went last week and thought that both the service and food were very good!

[fmay]

Only had good experiences, been quite a few times now for lunch- lovely staff (though sometimes a bit slow) and good food too. Bit pricey but isn't everywhere in this area?? Hope they take note of these negative comments because it's a great spot and shame to put people off with rude staff.

[mrs.lotte]

I won't be going again.

Went for lunch today with 2 kids. 45 minutes after ordering there was no sign of our food. Only because we asked were we told that there was a problem in the kitchen that they were trying to sort out, in other words they hadn't started making our food. Problems happen but I can't forgive not telling us and giving us the option of going elsewhere before we became starving and fractious.

Big thumbs down.

Just come to park cafe, food arrived in 5 minutes. Order restored

[LillyD]

Hi

Just to say that I find the cafe amazing for my toddler because there is so much room for the kids to run about and the staff don't seem to mind the chaos. Never had problems with service either but to be honest I have only eaten there a few times - its usually just a coffee before heading into the park.

L

[kevtils]

I am in the 'no complaints camp' also, I have been going there regularly since it has opened with my son, he was a baby when i started and the staff were always ready to help and warm bottles etc. He is now running around and exploring which the staff dont seem to mind at all. The owner is very keen to integrate into the community and holds regular buisness events as well as story times for childern.Im certain that if any of these issues were raised that action would be taken.

[Saffron]

I think someone offered to print this thread and take it to the cafe (was it Molly, maybe??)... does anyone know what came of that? It isn't my local cafe, otherwise I too would have offered to do so. It's interesting that people have had such mixed experience. Does it maybe correlate to who is managing floorstaff at the time? I can't believe that the owner would allow some of the experiences listed here w/o offering apologies. As it's a new cafe, perhaps some of the staff are not getting all the training they need?