Crumpet

Was looking for somewhere for brunch, everywhere else on the Northcote Road was packed except this place, now I know why. We ordered two bacon sandwiches which took an hour to arrive! If I went to a restaurant and ordered a well done lamb shank with freshly cooked mash and freshly peeled veg, I would understand. But frying some bacon and slapping it between two bits of bread should not take an hour. My friend went to ask the woman who took our order after about 35 minutes, and without apology she said "it's coming". We waited and waited, still nothing, so I went up to the counter and spoke to the guy who looked like the manager. He went off to speak to the kitchen staff, pretty angrily, and seemed to put our order through again. Eventually, about 15 minutes later, the sandwiches arrived and he shouted "sorry about that, guys" to us across the cafe, which felt a bit unnecessary, it would have been more professional to come over and apologise at a normal volume. There seemed to be a lot of friction between the staff which didn't make for a nice atmosphere (most places try to put on a smiley front for the customers, at least!), the table next to us had a chicken dish arrive with no chicken... there was a lot going wrong. It wasn't unreasonably busy so there really wasn't any reason for so many mistakes or for the orders to take so long. If I hadn't paid at the point of ordering, I would have walked out. It's a poorly run establishment. The food was ok once it eventually turned up, but it wasn't amazing, I wouldn't go out of my way to go back, especially given the appalling service. And the whole place felt a bit grubby and messy. The only redeeming feature if you have kids (I don't) is it seems very child friendly, but if you want to pay over the odds for coffee, cake and bad service just so your toddlers have somewhere to run around and make noise, you're more generous than me!

THE worst eggs Benedict I have ever had in my life. Overcooked eggs, burnt muffin, I even had to ask for hollandaise sauce which I wish I hadn't as it tasted of flour. Desperately sad also as was o expensive. Cafe is dirty and unorganized and staff are horrible. Never going here again and will make sure al my friends know

The food for babies and kids is a great idea and generally quite good. There is a good spot for pushchairs to be left and there is normally plenty of space. My main issue is the quality of the food on the adult menu. The last two times I have visited, the quality of my food has been poor. A jacket potato that was raw in the middle (not exactly challenging cooking) and a welsh rarebit that had been cremated! It's a great concept but I won't be returning.