Shoddy service and filthy - Style over substance. I visited Urban Deli after walking past many times and thinking it looked like a fairly decent place to go for a quick bite to eat, and also reading about their ethical credentials. I certainly won't be going back.
On arrival we tried to get the attention of a member of staff who just grunted rather than greeted us and gave us the impression that our custom was nothing but a huge inconvenience for her. We ordered coffee and sat down to a sticky wobbly table. We moved to a solid side table and had a look at the menu. We had to go back to the counter to order our sandwiches. They weren't busy, they were less than a quarter full.
As we waited my friend commented that the floor was filthy despite the pattern of the floor cover doing it's best to disguise it.
Our sandwiches arrived quickly. Before our coffee. My only complaint regarding the food was that the ingredients differed slightly to those on the menu, but to be fair the portions were generous and the flavours excellent. This was spoiled however by the fact that we were served our lunches on the filthiest, most grease-encrusted, tatty bits of crocery I have ever seen. No doubt Urban Deli think they're being cool and quirky using steel & enamel camping crocery, I'm sure the hugely diminished cost is a factor also, which is fine but how about giving them a wash once in a while?! My plate, like the floor, and god knows what else, looked like it hadn't seen any hot soapy water in months.
She brought our coffees over and slammed them down so that coffee slopped over the saucers - tricky, since the cups were only half filled. The cups and saucers were both wet and stained and the teaspoons were filthy. Strangely, my latte was luke warm whereas my friend's capuccino was scorching hot at the bottom, with cold foam. We laughed that to achieve this must count as some applaudable skill in itself!
We ate quickly and decided to go cut our visit short and find somewhere else for coffee and cake after noticing their "homemade" cakes being taken out of their plastic wrappers and put out to defrost! Makes you wonder where their ''locally sourced'' produce really comes from.
We also noticed to our suprise that the rude waitress appeared to be some sort of manager / supervisor figure, from her giving orders to the other, younger waitress and referring to the business as 'we'. But actually this made sense - the place wouldn't have been such a state all round if the inadequacy had been limited to just a waitress rather than a problem of management.
My advice - if you absolutely have to eat here, go takeaway! read more
