Grounded

Food : 5/5 | Service : 5/5 | Atmosphere : 5/5 Recommended dishes Ham Cheese Toastie, Ham Cheese Croissant, Mozarella Tomato Pesto, Baguette, Chicken Salad Pesto Mayo More
Apr 10th, 2023

I am writing this review because I loved this coffee shop, I really liked its owner. Its not a good review, but I am writing it because someone needs to stop this coffee shops determination to fail and close its doors for good. When it opened some ten years or so ago, it was great. Now there really is nothing about it that is anywhere near above average. And it is very clear to someone in the hospitality business (or discerning person actually) that this code so desperately needs a new manager. I do hope that the owner sees this review. The coffee is often okay, but not always and (which is not at all acceptable at around 3 per cup). Its still Monmouth coffee (very good), but it very much depends on who makes the coffee for you and whether they are in a good mood or not (and the staff are in a bad mood more often than not). The advertised hours are always incorrect. It says one time on the door, another time on the website, and yet another on Google, but it actually seems as if they just open and close whenever they see fit. If youre lucky (or unlucky depending on the coffee you end up with), they open at 8:30 Monday to Friday and close around 5 (yes I did say around). Firstly, 8:30 is not a reasonable time for a coffee shop to open. People want coffee first thing in the morning often as theyre going to work (y heres a station around the corner, so what is the manager thinking?) 8:30 is not first thing in the morning. Commuters want coffee early. And commuters become return customers often coming back at lunchtime or in the afternoons, or at weekends. Weekends and holidays are hit and miss regarding opening hours. As well as the much later opening up time and earlier closing times, opening hours are just not something you can ever be sure of. It seems as if this coffee shop is afraid to confront its staff and tell them that they will have to work proper coffee shop hours. Its a coffee shop after all. The purpose of a coffee shop is not selling a luxury item, it is selling an (no judgement here, as I love my coffee) addictive substance. And so it needs to be open early and its opening hours should be consistent time (both in terms of, as advertised, and as customers have come to expect). I think the changes this coffee shop has gone through is much the same as many large companies have suffered some coronavirus, lockdowns and onset of the general attitude that businesses could do whatever they wanted in the name of cow towing to the wishes of their employees (the same time the world went mad with working from home, closing due to the pandemic, telephone interviews, zoom meetings, reducing service, cashless only payments, social distancing - also the same time that the craze of pedestrians thinking that it is okay to walk in the road started). It really is a shame actually, as I said I like really the owner, and my memories of the shop when it opened. But it really does look like this shop is in the process of managed decline and it doesnt seem willing to pull out the stops and prevent that decline from happening. Either laziness, or someone really dont know how to manage a coffee shop.
Mar 30th, 2023

Great cafe and lovely staff. I am a daily visitor because I love their coffee. The staff are wonderful but I can see they are overworked. I'm there every day, and I see the same staff, and there's only a handful of them. Despite the visible overwork, they build a wonderful atmosphere and always have a smile on their faces, and the coffee always tastes great.
Mar 19th, 2023

A very lovely local cafe in St. Margaret that offers a really good coffe! It's a small cafe with limited seating inside and a few seats on the outside. Came here on a Friday afternoon, and the place was packed and busy with families and their young's kids. The service was excellent and fast, and aside from coffee, they offere other hot or cold beverage. I haven't had any food from this cafe so I can't really say about the quality. But their cakes looks delicious and would like to try them next time. Wheelchair accessibility: There are few step up to the cafe.
Mar 11th, 2023

Mar 9th, 2023