Cafe On The Hill

Yesterday afternoon I went with my adult son to have afternoon tea at Cafe on the Hill. The waitress announced as we entered that the kitchen was closed and we could have drinks only. We asked about cakes but this was not possible, despite the fact that they were advertised on a blackboard next to us. We ordered tea for two and a lemonade. When it came, 'tea for two' comprised two cups of water and a tea bag each - not even something to put the tea bags in when we had finished. The lemonade came in a can with no offer of a glass, let alone ice. There was only one other table in use, so the three staff we could see were not rushed off their feet. We both agreed that this was insulting service the like of which we'd not experienced anywhere in the world. This place doesn't deserve customers.
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Ros - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Thursday, March 06, 2008

Cafe on the Hill is one of my favourite haunts. Yes it is true that at the busy times, it can be loud with children and bustle and there can at those times be longish waits for food. But get there early, or in the week, and there is a real sense of place where locals can meet and eat. Food is generally very good, the waitresses pleasant, and the atmosphere vibrant. Avoid Sunday brunch if you don't like to wait, or hear too many toddlers.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, January 01, 2007

i feel this restaurant is very much under estimated......the food is great the service is great, the atmosphere is great and value is brilliant!

i know for a fact people of the muswell hill area are very much impatient and very rushy...so therefore please dont place judgment!i just feel the last two comments were of people who have had a one in a million bad experience.i had a fabulous time when i visited the restaurant in the evening with my boyfriend....the staff were very helpfull and the food was great.

i will surely be visiting again and would recommend it!
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Erin
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, November 05, 2006

I was plesantly surprised. I went for lunch with my wife and kids last saturday.

The food was very good, the salad was perfect. my kids loved the milk shakes and smoothies and i must say the service was vey friendly.

i would recommend this restaurant.
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paul masters
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, October 09, 2006

Oh dear. This place goes from bad to worse. There's been a significant fall off in food quality since the middle of last year, but yesterday proved that service quality has hit rock bottom. Cafe On The Hill seem to be employing inexperienced amateurs and they clearly care nothing about protecting the reputation of the business. We waited an hour for our food. We watched other tables being served with the same meals we had ordered, though they had arrived long after us. We asked what was happening of course, and when our food finally arrived, we complained about the wait. Our waitress asked if there was anything she could do and I suggested that she make one of our cups of coffee complimentary. Unbelievably, the answer was "no"! This was despite the fact that the "supervisor" I asked to speak to (looking suspiciously like a waitress who'd been told to come out and take the flack) admitted that our order had been lost in the kitchen. Her only response to our complaint - reiterated a number of times - was "it's not my fault"!

Dire. And unbelievable that they wouldn't make a tiny effort to try to salvage their reputation. Food also wasn't good - hard scrambled eggs, undercooked sausage and flaccid chips. Shan't be going back.
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- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Monday, June 19, 2006

I've been to this place many times over the past few years and the service and food seems to go from bad to worse. The staff are very laid back so you end up waiting for some time to be served.. even then they often get the orders wrong. They seem to keep changing the management/chef these days so the consistency of food quality is not there. I've tried the eggs benedict a couple of times... last week the eggs were cooked solid and a teaspoon of hollandaise.. this week the eggs were nearly raw, too much sauce.. which tasted like it had come out of a packet. I'm always consistently dissapointed and don't think I'll be going there again.
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Mussiegirl
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Sunday, December 04, 2005