Patisserie Valerie - Durham Reviews Summary

Service

Pros:

• "The staff were polite & friendly."
• "The young man who brought out our cake and coffee was very polite."
• "The staff were genuinely phenomenal, really patient and helpful as we had an extra person and had to rearrange tables."
• "Service was very good and friendly while still maintaining good special social distancing, which is so important right now."
• "The staff both when I ordered and collected the cake were wonderful, friendly and helpful."
• "Staff were very friendly and attentive, making sure we were happy with everything, or if we needed more drinks."
• "The gentleman was very friendly & helpful & accepted the voucher immediately."

Cons:

• "It took the waitress nearly 10 minutes to return to take our order even though she passed us numerous times."
• "I mentioned this to the staff and I was ignored."
• "The waiter attitude was so bad he was shouting from far saying that we can only take away."
• "Service was very poor. Only two staff front of house & one male staff member made it quite clear he couldn't wait to finish at 15:15hrs."
• "The young girl didn’t listen to our order seeming intent on getting the order she thought we wanted and NOT what we asked for."
• "Waited ages to he seated. Staff didn't seem to have a clue what they were doing spent most of the time talking to one another."
• "After ordering, no one brought our drinks over for at least 20 minutes."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Must admit the food is lovely tho."
• "The scones in particular were especially delicious, tasted wonderfully fresh and were still warm when we cut them open."
• "Afternoon tea was delicious and deceptively filling!"
• "The food was really tasty and plentiful and drinks were free for top ups."
• "The afternoon tea was delicious, especially the scones with clotted cream & and jam."
• "The pastries, scones and sandwiches were good and as per expectations."
• "The food arrived and it looked beautiful, sandwiches had various fillings and were very fresh, quiche and scones were warm and the bite size cakes were fresh and delicious."

Cons:

• "Cakes had clearly been left out too long."
• "£4.10 for a slice of dry cake is ridiculous."
• "The cakes looked nice but were dry and you could tell they weren’t fresh."
• "Scones were rock hard after waiting 45 mins for our order."
• "The clotted cream was not clotted cream, it had no flavour and the texture was like synthetic whipped cream, yuk."
• "Cakes look better than they taste, cake was dry and stale as was the profiterole on top."
• "The quiche and scones were warm but tasted very dry."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "A massive thank you to Durham Patisserie Valerie, I ordered a pink candy stripped gateau for my daughter's 21st birthday and it was beautiful!"
• "The cost is on the high side, yet the quality of the cakes and choice of teas make it a worthy treat."
• "For both quantity and quality, afternoon tea at Patisserie Valerie is excellent value for money."
• "The overall experience was good and value for money."

Cons:

• "I personally found it quite expensive!"
• "The cost 4 00 for each eclair, too expensive."
• "Very expensive undersized cakes - you can get far superior cakes in Greggs!"
• "Honestly, a really disappointing experience and money-wise, I feel like I have been ripped-off."

Cleanliness

Pros:

• "Toilets were clean though."
• "It Was spotlessly clean."
• "Food is great, they have vegan options, clean, spacious, toilets in good condition and friendly staff."
• "Everything was extremely clean and tidy."

Cons:

• "There were a number of flies buzzing over us when we were eating and we were sitting in near silence."
• "Dirty uncleared tables everywhere."
• "Dirty table. Splattered food on the floor under the table."
• "The table we were sat at was dirty as were the menus we were handed."

Staff Attitude

Pros:

• "Lovely staff who could not do enough for you (They earned the 2 stars)."
• "The staff were lovely, especially Charlotte, and the new spring drinks and cake were amazing too!"
• "Staff friendly and polite."
• "Staff are very friendly."

Cons:

• "We were served by Sarah with the tattoo who seemed very complacent and seemed it was a hassle for her to serve us."
• "A mixed bag, two nice members of staff but the rest were very rude and despondent to serve us."
• "One blonde girl was quite rude to us."
• "The girl standing making coffees was so miserable and said that she does not have the staff for people to sit upstairs, she literally did not crack a smile."