The Malthouse Kitchen - Stroud

This restaurant used to be fantastic. They had a great menu with a wide variety of options, including delicious burgers and amazing freakshakes. However, when we visited recently on a Sunday, we were disappointed to find a very limited breakfast menu. The service was also poor, but we assumed it was just due to new staff. We gave it another chance on a weekday, but found the same limited menu and lackluster service. The food was not bad, but it was definitely not as special as it used to be. It seems like the restaurant may be under new management, which is a shame because it used to be our favorite spot to bring guests. Unfortunately, we will not be returning due to the uninspiring menu and indifferent service. It is a shame to see such a special place lose its charm.

At 11:01, I inquired about our food and was told they would check. Shortly after, a person who seemed to be the chef approached our table, claiming someone had complained. This individual was very confrontational and lacked customer service skills. They were aggressive and argumentative, insisting we had only been waiting 28 minutes, despite my nearly 40-minute wait. They did not allow us to explain before indicating that if we were unhappy, we should leave. I understand everyone has bad days, but our polite inquiry about our food was met with unacceptable behavior, especially with a child present.

My friends and I went to have brunch and coffee today. The coffee arrived quickly, but we ended up waiting almost 45 minutes for our food. We couldn't understand why it took so long just for scrambled eggs on toast. One of the orders was incorrect, so my friend asked for a refund. The chef came out in a rude and aggressive manner, insisting that we had only waited for 20 minutes, which she considered acceptable. She refused to acknowledge that we had been waiting longer and told us to leave if we were unhappy. The restaurant was not busy, so it was unclear why the service was so slow. The staff refused to provide us with the chef's name, but the other employees seemed embarrassed by the situation. It's a shame, as I used to enjoy dining there and the ambiance of the restaurant is usually fantastic.

My wife and I called into this place for a coffee and snack after visiting the adjacent antiques centre. When standing at the counter waiting to place our order I noticed a young staff member working at the coffee machine rubbing off the previous customer’s...lip marks from around the used cup rim with his finger, whilst the cup was in situ, full to the brim and ready to be served to an unsuspecting customer. I continued with our order; two coffees, an egg and bacon bagel and a sausage and egg bun. After ten minutes plus, the coffees arrived. I had to refuse one coffee because around the face of one side was covered with red lipstick.The coffee was taken away into the kitchen and I assume emptied and cleaned, however, the staff member returned wiping it dry with his hand. At this point I went up to the counter and told him to wipe the cup dry with a towel or tissue and not with his hand before serving it back to me. After an almost further twenty minutes wait, the two snacks finally arrived just as we were about to give up the ghost and leave. Both fried eggs were well over cooked. Needless to say we didn’t finish eating, got up and walked out. Ok, so why didn’t we complain at the time? After the feeble customary and unconvincing ‘sorry about that’ over the coffee cup saga, what was the point? Would I have wanted to wait another twenty minutes plus for a replacement? I don’t think so. The place was half empty and no wonder why. In my opinion..... overpriced food for what you get, poor service, less than average food, poor hygiene, uninterested and I suspect, untrained staff. We frequented this place two or three times earlier in the year and had reasonable food and service. Somewhere along the line, based on my latest experience, providing the customer with an acceptable level of food and service and in particular, standard hygiene practice, seems to have fallen off a cliff. Would I go back? Not a chance. Have I ever put a review on Tripadviser before? No. Would I recommend to family or friends? No. Does this place deserve a truly negative review from me? Absolutely!

I have been many times before and it’s always been great food and service but sadly it’s gone down hill dramatically (not sure if it’s been taken over We arrived at 2:30pm with only a handful of people there so not busy at all. We...ordered two milkshakes which were bought out to us AFTER our food of which we waited 20 minutes for, for two basic and tasteless salmon bagels. There are no friendly servers to greet you and the menu is incredibly boring as are the drinks. Sadly we won’t be returning unless there are vast improvements.