I've been here twice - once about 3 years ago and just last week. The good news is that it was just…read moreas good as I remember and I'll hopefully be going back again sooner than the 3 year break I had. Basically it looks a lot cooler from outside with the indoor a bit 'average caf' like although the fact that you can see everything being cooked in front of you is a really novel and cool way to showcase that this place is all about good quality food. Although they do some tasty cafe items like burgers, sandwiches and snacks they're also a place where you can enjoy coffee and cake - and the cake selection is pretty epic! Our merry bunch of eaters all looked like the strangest, most eclectic 'orderers' ever with my wife and sister in law mainly enjoying cake and myself just going for a "light snack" of the ham hock terrine for £4.95. For this price I was expecting a little tiny bite, really not much to it but I was surprised to get a giant plate of ham hock, fresh bread, salads, pasta and loads more. It was so fresh and so tasty too - definitely something I'll go out of my way to have again if I'm up this way (I just won't have lunch plans afterwards too...) Friendly staff and seating for about 15 outdoors - with only 5 mins walk to Buxton train station. A really good spot and a place I'd recommend checking out.

No idea why people are raving about this place. The service is painfully slow and the food no…read morebetter than a road side cafe, but twice the price. To top it off, we were sat at the stable doors and it stunk of drains. Never again.

08/19/17 We found The Hydro while looking for a place in…read moreBuxton and were not disappointed. Pros: Great selection on the menu - for non vegetarians and vegetarians (important as we were a mixed group) Good food - we had a vegetable quiche (daily special not on menu), lamb shank, and garden burger and all were happy with their dishes. Lovely service. Polite servers even with the restaurant being busy. Cons: Not really an issue for us, but mentioning just in case: since it was busy it took a while to get service. At the end of the meal after waiting for a bit we tried to ask another server for a coffee and the check, but didn't get either until our original server came by. The entire meal took about 1 1/2 hours - including a delay on our part to put in our orders so it wasn't that much of an issue.

Our experiences of the Hydro weren't dampened down…read more.... We stumbled across this place whilst on a day trip to Buxton. Located in the town's main street. There was plenty of seating and the decor was 50s themed. The menu had the usual snacks and staple mains you'd see in any cafe/restaurant in the UK. However it has a number of Indian dishes (based on the new management that have just acquired the restaurant. The food was nice. I had a cold sliced beef and red onion sandwich on granary bread and my girlfriend had a jacket potato with no butter and beans. The server was very friendly and was very accommodating to my girlfriends request for no butter. The drinks and food was reasonably priced. The service was fairly quick and everything was freshly prepared. I would recommend and go there again, if I was visiting Buxton.

Set overlooking the Pavilion Gardens and Buxton's Opera House is 6 the Square Tea Rooms, a place…read morewith real character and atmosphere, courtesy of the history of the building in which it is housed. Opulently decorated and percolated with pictures of Buxton through the last 100 years, the seating is an eclectic mix of sizes and styles, with the large high backed raffia chairs dominating. Menu wise, this is a place where you can have afternoon tea dainty sandwiches and pristine cakes, not cheap though. As it was only mid-morning, we confined ourselves to a coffee and cappuccino, with an accompanying ginger and chocolate brownie. Initially sceptical about such a combination, it was actually very pleasant, oddly refreshing. If we ever find ourselves in Buxton again, I'm sure we will try that most English of traditions a spot of afternoon tea!

VERY RUDE STAFF! painting while i was trying to eat my dinner? Also the tea tasted like nats piss.read more

RUDE STAFF DIRTY TABLES My husband and I went into this…read morecoffee shop and the only member of staff available barely acknowledged our 'hello' and seemed very reluctant to serve us. She proceeded to be very rude when we asked what some of the different cakes etc were. The tables and the floor were filthy and the waitress did not take kindly to us politely asking if she would clean our table. When she brought the coffee and cakes over she banged the cups on the table with a real 'attitude', spilling the coffee and then she stomped off again. Unimpressed. The cakes were stale and unappetising. Avoid!!

Finally, a super convenient place to get my wash done. It was only down the street from our B&B. I…read morewas hoping that I'd be able to get some of my clothes washed at our hotel in Edinburgh, but they didn't have laundry service there. I was really happy to see this laundrette when we were walking to our B&B from the train station. This place is a laundrette as well as a café, so you can have a meal here as you're waiting for your wash to get done. I didn't really have time to do my own washing so I asked it they could do it for me. The owner said they could do a service wash for me for about 10 pounds for my small bag of clothes. She even told me they could get it done by the afternoon. They close at 5 so I told her I would have to pick it up the next morning. It was so nice to have clean clothes again! Thanks Café Fiveways and Laundrette!