18th Jan 2015
I thought I'd slip out for a quiet breakfast and take an hour to read the Sunday Papers.
(No one else in the Household wanted to come).
Well that's not strictly true.
My partner didn't fancy it and my daughter is going out for breakfast with her friend's, so i had the opportunity to indulge myself.
I chose The Viaduct as its close, it usually does a reasonable breakfast and its not too expensive ( though prices have gone up since my last visit).
This was a mistake.
When i arrived there were a lot of car's in the car park, which had taken a battering during the winter and the resulting potholes are big and full of water.
I noticed there is now a Play Bus which is a new addition since my last visit and it became obvious that this is now being marketed as a 'Family Theme Park', which was all too evident when i got inside.
There were plenty of 'Amberley's' and 'Zac's' reorganising the furniture and making their presence know.
It seems the Mum's had brought the kids out (to give Dad a bit of Peace ?) and planned to let the little darlings play on the bus whilst they had a natter. However, the Play Bus was booked for a private party so the kids had to be kept entertained in the Cafe, which by now was becoming crowded.
All the big tables were Reserved, so i found a small table squeezed in by the side of the counter (this was just big enough for one) and ordered the Large Breakfast (£6.75) with Tea.
I took out my paper and tried to read.
Unfortunately i was on the flight path for one of the Mums whose mission it was to get up from the table every two minutes whilst perfecting the knack of kicking my chair or tripping over my feet on every lap.
The food came and it was as expected.
Two rather pale looking sausages, a piece of Black Pudding, two slices of ordinary bacon cooked a bit too well as were the fried eggs with the Yolk just hard enough that they didn't run. Some button mushrooms that had no taste, two triangles of Hash Brans and a round of white toast, served on a separate plate with two pats of butter. My biggest criticism though is for the tinned tomatoes and the large scoop of baked Beans which combined, produced a liquid that soaked into everything on the plate.
I failed to finish my breakfast, leaving before id even finished off my pot of Tea.
This wasn't the relaxed Sunday morning id planned and i suspect this isn't the right venue for a quiet Brunch
It may be that Sunday Mornings are worse than other days but i suspect the business model of attracting Families with Children will impact on those of us who seek a different experience and we simply need to choose wisely.
Is there an argument for rating Venues with a PG certificate i wonder?
NB At the current time (Oct 2015) the Cafe is closed but i understand it will open again soon.
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