Counter Café

COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE. How is it possible for it to take 55 minutes to serve a piece of salmon and an egg on some bread? And why is there no table service for a breakfast that costs £30 for two? It is like going to a restaurant run by junior Apprentice rejects that have never even been to a restaurant or cafe or experienced anything resembling a catering system. They managed to make me feel cross and maggoty on Sunday which is never a good thing and takes some doing. By the time the food had finally arrived we'd had to order two extra coffee's and felt nauseous from hunger, exasperation and caffeine. Not recommended for anyone who is hungry and wants to eat anything. EVER.

Visited today, the veggie breakfast was yummy, especially the mushrooms. However the service is awful which kind of ruins the experience. The staff are not organised and too laid back, this just comes across as rude and uncaring. Our breakfast took a long time to come despite the place being quiet. I ordered a take away coffee at the end of the meal but asked for my money back after waiting 15 mins. I expected the experience to be better.

We gave The Counter Cafe the benefit of the doubt after reading the reviews and went for breakfast. To all those considering doing the same, don't. All the reviews about the staff and the incompetent service are wholly accurate. It's a shame, because the place is quite nice and the breakfast not half bad, when and if you finally get it. We had to chase ours twice and only after the second time of asking (and an hour later) were we told that "we have a problem" (which translated to mean they had no idea what we had ordered). You could forgive them if it wasn't so blatantly obvious that the staff don't give a sh*t and are more concerned with their music choice than serving their customers or clearing tables. I would happily come here for breakfast each and every weekend if they would just act on the feedback given on these pages. Alternatively, just go the The Pavilion.

The coffee was quite good but certainly not worth waiting 25 mins for, especially as I had eaten the food purchased at the counter well before the coffee arrived. Poor service!

We went here to meet friends a couple of Sundays ago after reading glowing reports. i ordered a Bloody Mary and an an orange juice, It came to £12.50! I asked how much the Bloody Mary was and was told it was £10.00, £10 i repeated 'yes its an alcoholic drink' came the reply. Thanks for that in my 35 years i often wondered why i felt tipsy after indulging in said drink. I digress, curious to know how special this drink was i ordered it, too much worcester sauce no horseradish, no love, terrible. We left when are friends arrived so never tasted the food, but complaints were already abound in the half full cafe about how long people had been waiting for their orders. Also there is a fine line between a deliberately deconstructed interior and a shabby mess, i'll not be going back.

I agree with the last review..I was there on a quiet weekday morning and still had to wait 30 minutes for breakfast when the cafe was nearly empty. The staff seem more into choosing the next playlist than caring about service. Its a shame as the food is good, but there are other good alternatives popping up. Even the Crate, which again has great food and beer has terrible service and an hour waiting time for pizzas at the weekend..I would go alll the time to both if the service wasn't so bad

Went here for lunch on a Sunday, queued for twenty minutes just to place our order then had to wait one hour for food. Staff were friendly enough but useless, seating and atmosphere was good, food varied from average to good but the interminable wait pretty much spoiled the experience. Definitely would not go here again. Unless I wasn't hungry.

Stunning coffee and food, with nice views of the river and decent beats to accompany eating. Friendly.

I have visited the Counter many times and have never been let down. I admit I am a coffee snob and am regularly disappointed with the watery muck usually served up in London cafes, however at the Counter I know it will be perfect every time. The food is also delicious and they will happily change aspects of the dishes to meet my craving of the day. The atmosphere is laid back and friendly, and being right on the canal with views across to the Olympic stadium it is the perfect place to sit and enjoy proper coffee and well cooked eggs.

A place like the Counter is hard to find,especially in the murky east of London that isn't Shoreditch,Dalston or Bethnal Green. But there beside a canal and some giant stadium for some summer sporting event,is The Counter and Stour space. Cool through and through,not that awful "trying" to be cool, and most importantly, amazing at what they do - serving delcicious freah food that is tasty and not too damaging to the fairly threadbare pursestrings. You might miss the Olympics this summer,but there's no reason to miss out on The Counter - you'll be able to hear the action from the comfort of an old cinema seat while enjoying a selection of tapas followed by a browse at the latest local talent in the neighbouring gallery space.