Overall score: 5/5
Dived in here with the wife and daughter at the tail end of a shopping trip.
Because I am now 30 and a parent, I get to go shopping for my own birthday presents because there’s no time for anyone else to do it and nobody can stand the tedium of trying to identify a pair of walking shoes they think I will like. As it turns out, neither can I. I mention this so that you understand that my wife and I were VERY MUCH in the mood for a piece of cake and a cup of tea when we went inside.
Inside the owners have done a great job of dividing the space into Covid-secure dining areas without it feeling too much like you’re in a voting booth or a prison visit room. They only had space for us at the back, which was fine ( I hate sitting near a draft) but did mean the other guests were treated to the sight of my trying to manoeuvre a pushchair through gaps approximately 98% the width of a pushchair. A sign on the door had warned me to fold my pushchair away before entering, but I had ignored this with the mixture of confidence and exhaustion that only a parent of a toddler can muster. The staff were good enough not to laugh, and the other guests were good enough not to snarl as I bashed their knees with our rugged, all-terrain, far-too-big-for-a-café pushchair laden with a curious and hungry child.
Having made it to the back of the café, and reunited with my wife who had braved the shops to find me a birthday present (hastily stashed in the bottom the pram so I couldn’t see it), we got down to business and had two cups of tea and a slice of cake. They were glorious. The cake was lovely, the tea perfect, and importantly the café was nice and warm. They even had a high chair for our toddler, who was not as appreciative of the cake as she should have been, instead settling for a packet of carrot and parsnip melty puffs.
Eventually we got up to leave, hastily packing our baby changing bag, putting our coats on, finding our hats, and NOT LOOKING IN THE PUSHCHAIR YOU’LL SPOIL YOUR BIRTHDAY. As my back was turned, I heard an angelic laugh and a pitter patter of something hitting the floor. I turned just in time to see my daughter’s carrot and parsnip melty puffs scatter to the floor of the café, right in the path of where the staff had to walk through to get everyone their food and drinks. My daughter looked at me with joy in her eyes, sure that I would approve. I masterfully managed to convey a sort of tolerated exasperation to her, and abject humiliation to the staff of the café. They, to their eternal credit, took the whole thing in stride, clearing up after us with a smile and good humour. After that, we left – thankfully damaging fewer patrons on the way out than on the way in!
In short – an excellent place to come and grab a bite, with truly lovely staff.