The Bean & Bag is a popular coffee shop on Water Lane in the heart of Bakewell. There is a wide…read morevariety of traditional seating to the rear and some smaller tables surrounding the service area at the front. Upstairs there is a few more tables, that act as the overspill when it becomes busy, which it generally does, as Bakewell is a popular tourist destination. There is quite an expansive menu at the Bean & Bag, from slices of cake like Tiffin, to more substantial items like soups and cooked all day breakfasts, which I can heartily recommend! There is also an impressive range of hot drinks, including Illy coffee, as well as cold drinks and alcoholic beverages. The Bean & Bag is a licensed premises and orders are taken at the table. The staff are good humoured and cheerful, even when they are very busy.

Some of the best food ever! Amongst the fish and chip shops…read moreand bakeries in Bakewell, this was an amazing find. This place serves real traditional Austrian food, sausages, sandwiches and soups as well as the best apple strudel I've ever eaten! The aesthetics are super cute, cuckoo clocks and paintings of Austrian scenes on the walls as well as traditional music playing in the background. Super friendly staff, amazing food (if a little expensive, but its totally worth it).

I wrote my first review for the Upstairs Cafe in 2007, it's now 2011 and I still love this place…read more I came across the cafe one Sunday morning whilst I waited for the Farmers market shop to open. As we made our way up the stairs, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but was pleasantly surprised by the bright, modern Décor. The menu is welcoming with something for everyone, just remember to leave room for dessert. The drinks menu is great, with hot and cold drinks available, but I can definitely recommend the Tea Latte, or a frappe or ... ah, don't worry there is no wrong choice it's all divine. The staff are really friendly and never make you feel rushed, even when it's busy, which it nearly always is. If you have to wait, I really recommend you do, but if you can't ,don't forget to order a tea latte to take away with you.

The Upstairs Cafe is situated above the popular Farmer's Shop in Bakewell. A modern interior, with…read morea variety of tables, from comfortable sofa type seats and conventional seating, to bar stools and high tables. The menu is vast with numerous sandwiches, salads and jacket potatoes etc. A good range of daily specials too, including a wide variety of remarkably well priced hot meals. Their lasagne is particularly good a generous flavoursome dish, with a side order of garlic bread. However, on our last visit, the daily special curry and home-made sweet potato bake, whilst equally generously portioned, lacked any real flavour. Drinks wise, equally expansive, from cappuccinos to milkshakes. On the whole a menu to cater for most people's needs. The staff are friendly and efficient too. The Upstairs Cafe, also has a small shop too, selling gifts, speciality teas and coffees, maps etc., amongst other things. It is quite a popular place in Bakewell though, you might be queueing if you go at midday, especially in the height of summer.

I hope that my experience here was the exception. I arrived on a saturday at lunchtime and got a…read moretable upstairs. The waitress told us when taking our order there would be a slight delay, 40 minutes later we were served and the food was definitely not high standard. I choose the broccoli bake and it was overcooked and could be put together in seconds.My friends victorian meat pie was also dissapointing.On the plus side the waitress was polite and trying to compensate for the disorganisation in the kitchen.

I visited with my friend during a 1hour coach stop at Bakewell. We ordered quickly but the waiter…read morethen went round a load of other tables before putting our order in. As a result all the other tables were served and had even finished before we got our food. The service was poor, the cutlery being plonked on the table altogether with only one serviette between the two of us and the cutlery not properly dried from washing. The staff, while pleasant enough, need some training in how to wait at table. When we eventually got our food I was dismayed to see that my cottage pie was served in a separate bowl, having obviously been microwaved. I tipped it out onto my plate only to find some of the filling burnt through over microwaving. When I took my first bite my palate was burned and is still very painful and sore a day later. It is dangerous to serve food in this manner. The cheese which had been put on the top of the potato was just melted and mushy, not nicely browned as it should be from under a grill or in an oven. I also had to go to the kitchen to request the gravy which should have been served with the meal. Altogether a disappointing experience in what promised to be a quaint setting.

Excellent little cafe. Large coffees very reasonable and are delicious…read more Sandwiches, toasties, cakes all good. Recommend.

Extremely mean portions and staff who simply laugh when asked about this! Bought light lunch for…read morefamily, order two jam sandwiches for my children at £2.25 each. When they arrived, after a considerable wait, I thought the staff had misunderstand my order. My children received the equivalent of one sandwich between two - one round of bread each. I have never experienced this before in 17 years of parenting and 22 years of teaching primary children. Did notice there were no other families in the cafe. Perhaps ch. Are not welcome - why not just be honest and say so. Disappointing and dishonest.