What catches you eye on a cafe menu?

[Melbatb]

Originally Posted by Jedi Princess

Clean and tidy, friendly staff, Vegan/vegetarian options, nice selection of coffee, homemade cakes, freshly prepared food, not too expensive.

See more...

And the vegan/veggie options listed as such

I much prefer a shorter menu - at least things have much chance of being fresh. And no silly titles that bear no resemblance to what is being served

[Disney_time]

Kerb appeal. Nice and neat at the front. Any notices or menus on wall or in window should be in frames and not tacked to the window with grubby sellotape. Also menus should be as clean as a whistle -either on paper or card and replaced regularly, or if wipe-clean should be cleaned regularly with soap, rinsed and left to dry. Nothing worse than sticky menus.

Local-made knick knacks for sale or local artwork is nice too and can attract folk in.

[Beth_Disney]

I like being able to see an up to date menu online before trying somewhere new. The website doesn’t need to be fancy.

I generally eat vegetarian food when I go out so an interesting choice of veggie dishes catches my eye - especially ones with cheese. I recently had buffalo mozzarella and tomato starter, battered halloumi and chips for mains (like fake fish and chips) and cheese and biscuits for dessert! Oops.

In a cafe I like a good selection of sandwich fillings and a choice of bread - sour dough, ciabatta, crusty etc. and fresh, homemade cakes and tray bakes. Cafes with quirky crockery, flowers in little vases and mismatched chairs and tables also catch my eye but it needs to be done right or it looks awful.

[angelbabe]

Anywhere with the words Boulangerie or Patisserie

It just makes me think of sat outside a lovely Paris cafe with delicious coffee and pastries

[ely3857]

Originally Posted by Whitequeen

Calling those that are Coeliacs or have family members that are!

I'm a Head Chef and if you wouldn't mind could you tell me the process that should be followed so that Coeliacs can eat GF Food i.e. homemade cakes etc. whilst in restaurants/cafes.
I made some damn good GF Fruit/Cheese Scones but my bosses won't let me put them out because they may make someone ill.
I washed everything before hand, I cleaned the work top meticulously and made sure the scones and equipment didn't come into contact with anything else. Would that have been enough for Coeliacs to have the scones. Does the environment need to be completely separate to the rest of the commercial kitchen? I'm a baker by trade so I'm wanting to make GF cakes/desserts but they won't let me. I realise GF and Coeliac are not the same.
Any advice please. x

See more...

I would have allowed my Coeliac child one of these scones. There’s nothing at all wrong with your preparation and baking there.

The only remaining problem is storing and serving. If handled by hands or tongs that have gluten on them then cross contamination will/could occur and while stored they must remain completely free from any flying crumbs from any other product also on sale.

[Pjamas]

I seek out places that do eggs benedict/florentine, nice sausages, cinnamon rolls. Late night cafes are also good for coffees, desserts and cocktails after dinner - we like a change of venue for dessert and we have a local cafe that’s perfect.

[TC Devon]

Clean, child friendly with food my children will eat, although not a vegi I eat lots of vegi food when out so a good vegetarian menu that is nt mushrooms or vegi chilli/curry. Tables that are nt on top of each other.
I hate food that’s on the counters and uncovered with everyone breathing all over it or when the food (cakes etc) behind glass has flies on it.
Smell of good coffee.

[suesmum]

Lots of people in there … has to be popular will then check the menu - has to have vegan options.

[Michyloulou]

The menu - having a large family I look for reasonable prices and offers like 1 child eats free with an adult. Failing that, a separate kids’ menu. I also look for a fairly broad menu that will appeal to us all. I also like to see a note on there stating that the cafe is happy to switch & swap certain items on certain dishes (makes life easier with 2 fussy kids!). A big one for 2 of my kids when having burgers for example is that they want “plain cheeseburgers” (the sight of a small piece of pickle, relish, salad or mayo is bound to set off the moaning!).
Lastly, it is nice to know that the establishment has a 4 or 5 Star cleanliness rating.

The cafe itself - needs to look family friendly, clean interior, helpful staff & a smile as they greet you is always nice!
This is probably more for restaurants than cafes, but staff who are friendly without being too intrusive.

[CarolynU]

Anywhere clean that does a good variety of dishes not full of carbs and sugar for a diabetic, and then when you ask they get confused with GF or then just give you a very uninspired salad alternative mostly consisting of gem lettuce! Many places are completely clueless. Yesterday in a beautiful pub that serves great food I asked if I could have a vegetable instead of mash as I'm diabetic and the answer was yes we will give you chips? !