Luca's Kitchen and Bakery

Recommended dishes Sourdough Bread Dietary restrictions accommodated Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten free Vegetarian offerings Clearly labeled vegetarian dishes More
Apr 8th, 2023

Closing in June :( but go now and support them - great place
Apr 6th, 2023

Great Carrot cake
Apr 1st, 2023

Good hot chocolate, good service and nice shop.
Mar 6th, 2023

When we arrived, there was nothing out of then ordinary. I was a little distracted as I had my baby with me who was crying for food. The drinks arrived quickly and so did the food; the juice was delicious but the coffee only tasted of milk. I had the kimchi, avo and fried egg on toast, the avocado had a bit of a brownish tinge and was fridge cold, with a cold fried egg. I tried to catch the eye of the staff, but whilst they would look over & talk amongst themselves, they didn't come over. I got someone's attention they came over to the table with a "yes?", the tone was quite stand-off ish and felt aggressive. I explained the problem, they didn't respond, they took the the plates/ cup to the front where she had a discussion with the other front of house with tutting and glaring. Next they took the plate to the kitchen and repeated with the chef, glaring at our table. I felt very uncomfortable and the environment felt hostile, I felt too uncomfortable to breastfeed my baby. The staff didn't return with a replacement so eventually we went to pay. The items I'd returned were included which I said that I felt was unfair. The staff were hovering and congregated around, it was as though my discomfort was a show for them. They told me they would need the manager. They asked what I felt was wrong with the coffee, I explained again & that I'm breastfeeding so can only have one coffee a day. They then argued that my companion had drunk his, we let them know that his coffee had been the same but my partner wasn't on a limit of caffeine and was thirsty so had just quickly drunk it. They told me they didn't believe me and the coffee had been fine. The manager (also the chef) arrived and I explained I was confused, he thought I was annoyed about waiting which I explained I really didn't mind. The staff had surrounded me and I felt penned in, I'm a relatively new mother who had my baby with me, it was my birthday and I just wanted a hassle-free day so this was really awful. They were all interjecting with their views, it then transpired that they had been annoyed I had asked for a new set of cutlery before our food as I couldn't unwrap a set that were bound tightly. I was really surprised this was an issue, I said I was sorry if they felt I was being stupid but I had struggled, I was also trying to feed a baby who was crying at the time. The chef was getting quite angry, it's as if they were all egging each other on. I was very upset and clearly struggling to keep back tears. He said he has served this many times before "50 times a week" and that it had never been an issue. I tried to explain that I didn't have any issue with the dish and I'm sure this was the case but unfortunately this time my food had been cold, I said that I had no issue with anything or anyone, no agenda, I just didn't feel it was fair to pay for those two items. The chef then told me I was the problem and I was too picky. I again said I'm sure the food and coffee is normally fantastic but on this occasion something had gone wrong. My partner then added that he had felt the staff had been rude and pretty aggressive. By this point it was very intense and I was pretty distraught. I asked to just pay for what we had so we could leave. The chef/ wait staff took the food off and was being quite confrontational, he then tried to give me "advice" which I declined and said I didn't want to discuss anymore and I would just like to leave. He yelled that I was too picky and then went on to shout insults involving my baby. There were so many opportunities for this to not escalate. I feel it's important to highlight that whilst there was a disconnect of opinions, to yell personal insults about myself and my baby is totally disgusting. I also have my own small business, a bakery, so I really do get the hospitality sector can be tough especially with everything currently happening. But to say to a new parent that they "feel sorry for your child" is not acceptable, there was no personal or professional insults yelled at them.
Feb 23rd, 2023