Bake-a-boo

Thoroughly disappointed after reading the lovely reviews. Service was poor, scones were cold and dry, and between the 7 of us just one small pot of cream and jam to share between us all. The cup cakes were stodgy and pretty underwhelming, the only thing they got right were chocolate covered strawberries which were the only things on the menu that did not require any cooking skills. Service was slow and rude. There are much better places for afternoon tea in the same price bracket- safe to say, would not visit here again!

We went there because I am a coeliac, very much looking forward to a delicious tea. How disappointed I was with the very stodgy and hard scones more like rock cakes, the sandwiches were dry and just about edible. However the worst aspect was their appalling service,they certainly don't know the concept of customer service not a smile for all the time we were and had to ask for everything.They were not busy so she was not overwhelmed.

Went here yesterday with a group of girl friends after reading good reviews on time out.. Could not have been more disappointed! Hardly any sandwiches, appallingly rude and slow service & at the end they tried to get us to pay more - not believing that I had paid for 3 ppl as the deposit! Don't go!

I used to live near here and really miss the place - I came most weekends. I've never had an issue with the service, but then again I always ordered at the counter before sitting down, and usually had a fairly simple order - one or two cupcakes and a coffee. I bake a lot myself and am usually disappointed by the quality of "shop" cakes, but I can honestly say these are the best I've ever tasted and are far superior to the more famous Hummingbird and Primrose Hill Bakeries. I enjoy the kitsch decor, selection of free magazines and general 1950s vibe, but I can see that the staff might be overwhelmed by big groups and parties, and understand the negative reviews.

Went there this weekend for my sisters Hen do, which we wanted to be spot on perfect for her. While the place looked stunning and perfect for what we wanted, they had decorated it so nicely, with little boxes of sweets for all the hens and balloons and girlyness, the staff service was very poor. Form the moment we got there, when they had us down for the wrong time, till the moment we left, when they turned the hoover on to make us go... the staff looked at us suspiciously and we had to get up and ask for everything we needed. The 2 staff looked out of their depth and quite overwhelmed by the concept of friendly customer service as they didnt really smile at all (except the lady who brought up the cupcakes to decorate but we only saw her twice) They made 2 hens feel awkward because they dont drink tea and made a point of saying loudly that would cost them extra than the £25 we had already paid (nowhere said this would be extra), and they were not in control at all. They didnt ask us if we wanted refills until after they had taken all our china away, and I had to get up and ask when we were doing the cupcake decorating we booked. I had arranged that we could stay and get changed there afterwards which when I booked was fine and they even said they loved having hen parties in and wanted to make it special, but when it got to the end they all kept coming up and telling us they were closed and when I said they had said it was fine for us to stay on a bit they just looked cross and then eventually turned on the hoover. So while it didnt spoil the day, because we did have fun with a lovely spread of sandwiches and cakes, and the cupcake decorating was fab, we were left to our own devices all afternoon, great on one level as we could relax but not so great if the customer has to keep getting up and asking for things. They need to welcome us when we get there and give us a run down of what we are doing so we dont feel awkward, and they need to take control and smile a bit more. Dont ever make the customer feel bad, and take pride in what you are offering and this place could be a real gem. If they had taken our tea orders as we sat down we wouldnt have been halfway through the food before we got the tea. You should go to the customer not the other way around, and as I said before, a smile and a friendly service goes a long way.

My husband and I went to Bake-a-boo yesterday because he is a coeliac and I found them on the internet as somewhere that would cater for him. The tea and the cakes were lovely but the service was poor. We were seated but then ignored, then when I asked for a gluten free menu I was told that we could only have cakes, because the full afternoon tea had to be ordered in advance (it didn't say that on the website). Then when we went to the counter to order we were asked if we had a table by the girl who had seated us. We paid when ordering, given the time it had taken us to place our order we didn't want to have to wait at the end for the bill, but then when we left the same girl who seated, served us and took our money followed us out and asked if we'd paid! Excellent to find somewhere that caters for coeliacs but overall for us not worth the effort of travelling to the place.