cafe shrub in Gateshead

Been a few times, wouldn’t recommend, not sure if the staff were trying to be unhelpful or just genuinely don’t know what they’re doing. Very slow service and bad for vegetarians/vegans, will avoid in future.

The cafe is in a great location and very pleasant inside. I had to queue for 15 minutes to have my order taken followed by another 15 minute wait in a different queue for my coffee! There is no sense of urgency in taking orders and making drinks - not great.

Nice coffee and cheese Scone.The area is lovely and good walking/cycling paths, good & free car parks and the lovely river derwent.lots to like here and sat outside the café and watched the world go by after a walk.

Shame we went there today after a long walk looking forward to cake hot chocolates etc to order then told that no cash excepted , I can understand card machines not been Installed and eceppted but cash ridiculous yous lost a 30pound order and we won't be back cash should be taken everywhere it is legal tender

It's just a cafe. Describing itself as a heritage centre is misinformation. Prices are also insane.

Love this place but breakfast was off the menu as we were told there was no chef that day.

More of a cafe than a heritage centre. Going in just after breakfast you don't want any food. There's a meager display of one or two artefacts and two computer screens if you can be bothered. I didn't want any food but there are tables inside and out. It should be good quality judging by the prices.

Lovely place but they stop serving hot food at 3ish, understandable on a weekday but on a weekend when lots of people are around plus events, it’s a little disappointing!

The place is very beautiful, but the service in this cafe is bad. Is this a style in which cups are served? Utensils filled with water are presented to customers in this way??? The waiter has long hair and prepares food for people without covering his hair? And his nails are long???? Disgusting form before eating

Excellent food in a wonderful setting. Very highly recommended.

Hot chocolate not hot and everything quite expensive. In the 10 minutes I was there I witnessed one member of staff being shouted at twice by another member of staff in front of a queue of people. I felt sorry for the poor girl. The queue was long and another member of staff was rudely discussing another customer in front of other customers with the lady who shouted at the poor girl. Not a nice atmosphere for a cuppa on a stopping point of a relaxing walk.

Dog friendly cafe but wouldn’t bother with the food. £8 for a ham and cheese toastie, and pretty moderate quality with everything we ordered. They also forgot to place part of our order with the kitchen and didn’t offer any solution (would have happily reordered and payed but the server just said sorry). They also had no ketchup and none of the sauces on the menu, rather than telling us when we ordered so when our food came it was a bit of a disappointment. The chips were also undercooked, and there was raw courgette in the salad which was odd.. Wouldn’t come back for food but a nice place for a drink.

Only problem is they don't take cash.

I was at the cafe 1 week ago I was the first customer in amd ordered poached eggs on toast. It came and one of the eggs was ok and the other was popped there was no yolk left and the white was all lumpy. I went back this week with my daughter to give it a second chance and left before even picking up my coffee, waited in a que for 10 mins to be told I couldn't order food till 12 o'clock it was 11.50. I ordered coffee and was told to wait in the other queue to pick up coffee after over 10 mins of waiting for the coffee the queue I would of had to stand back in for food was half way down the cafe. There was still one person in front of me and I decided to just leave without getting my drink. Walked up the street to the Red kite pub it was fantastic great service and food.

The 2 luxury hot chocolates I ordered were very poor, lukewarm at best, which is probably why there was big lumps of chocolate mix at the bottom of the cups. Also the flat white was the worst I've ever had. For the price I expected alot better, will not be returning any time soon

What a lovely place /cafe. The staff were brilliant. We really enjoyed our drinks and food. Also, it’s much more than just a cafe. Never been before but will definitely go back. 100% recommended.

Beautiful place to visit for a walk with quite a few different walks to do, great place for kids and dogs however I’m leaving a 3 star review due to the coffee shop which we found to be quite poor. We visited yesterday on a hot but not really busy day and placed our order, I wanted a decaf cappuccino but for some reason the young girl on the till just didn’t get it, my mam and husband wanted normal coffees and my dad wanted a tea but for some strange reason the girl kept putting everyone’s drinks through as decaf, we had to repeat the order 4 times before she got it right, never mind we thought maybe she was new and just inexperienced but we then ended up waiting around 20 minutes for our order to be made which was only 3 coffees, 1 tea and 2 scones. Me and my parents gave up standing around waiting at the counter and went and sat outside whilst my husband waited as it was so hot we couldn’t bear to stand and wait. When the order finally came out the scones came without any jam, just butter even though we asked for jam, my mam’s coffee was only lukewarm and my dad’s cup and pot of tea were filthy. My mam took the cups back and she said the girl was very rude about it saying that it wasn’t dirty just tea stained, well I’m sorry but when you’re paying the best part of £18 for 4 drinks and 2 scones that simply isn’t good enough and it suggests a lack of pride on the staff’s part. Tea stained cups can easily be cleaned with a bit of elbow grease and even steradent tablets if need be! My mam said the girl even took the cup over to her colleague to show him as if to try and make her feel stupid and they both agreed that it wasn’t dirty just tea stained. I feel like the coffee shop is a wasted opportunity really as it’s so poorly ran but with the right staff it could be really good, most of the staff in there appear to be kids who probably either don’t care or just aren’t up to the job unfortunately. The coffee tasted nice and the outdoor seating area is very pleasant but those are about the only positives I can give really, on the day of our visit there was a brass band playing however they were too loud and jarring, I would have preferred either nothing or something a lot gentler and easy listening. We will definitely visit again but next time will probably bring our own food and drinks and have a picnic instead. Go for the beautiful walks and scenery, avoid the coffee shop.

Both had Chicken Wraps and coffee. Both were nice. Had a portion of fries to share. These were a bit limp but tasted fine.😊

Amazing food excellent staff Nice to be dog friendly too

Lovely bright and airy environment. The cafe is pleasant and quirky. Staff extremely friendly. Coffee good….. but the scones…..we had cheese. We were asked if we would like them warmed. Thank goodness we did! They were only just edible - can’t imagine what they would have been like cold! They were heavy, dry, tasteless cheap scones which were not fresh - sold for a premium price of £3.15 each. Such a shame. Will not return to this cafe but will return to the area which is a maze of lovely woodland and riverside walks.

Top prices but low quality food. Chips very oily and chicken baguette extremely poor. Would not recommend on this experience.

I like to try and support local business especially a local charity, but the breakfast I had today was extremely poor value for £11.95! Two of the smallest tasteless sausage, no mushrooms to be seen half a tasteless tomato and burnt black pudding. The Tyneside Floddie was basically mini round hash browns you could by a huge bag of in Iceland. If it had been half the price fair enough but for £11.95 you expect a lot better. Service was pleasant and the location good.

I visit here often for coffee, but this time I went for lunch with a friend. Had the fish finger sandwich - the fish fingers were so lovely and crunchy! I've had fish finger sandwiches elsewhere but they have always been soggy, so I really enjoyed this one. Great coffee too. Well done, Cafe Shrub!

Visit often. Always plenty of seating even when there is a long queue. Reasonable prices, veg and vegan options. Plenty of choices. The staff are always polite and friendly, large light space , they’ve never once got an order right but it’s always quickly rectified with an apology and a smile. Good Customer service goes a long way !!!!!

Cheese and onion toasties with chips we asked for brown bread and were giving white, one sandwich was nicely toasted the other barely toasted at all, the chips were soggy and tasteless, crisps on one plate and not the other, salad nice and staff friendly.

Bright clean welcoming cafe. Good coffee. Pleasant staff. Again as above. Coffee followed by tuna jacket. Both excellent.

Lovely welcome little pit stop after a long and enjoyable walk. Lovely food and snacks.

Visited today on my bike. For some idiotic reason the Ice Cream Van has been placed against the bike racks. So none of us bike users had anywhere to secure our bikes and we had to lean them all over the raised beds and building walls inconveniencing the other cafe users. Last week there was sufficient gap between the van and the racks. Sort it out please.

Very nice sandwiches. Interesting and pleasant location.

Visited after a lovely walk along the nearby river Derwent, the cafe is dog friendly with am attractive outdoor seating area. Well worth a visit also serving good simple grub.

Very friendly staff. Good choice of food and drink.

Great stop off point for a tea or coffee. Entertainment there today as well, plus 'scoop n smile' ice cream!

Good food. Paper cups and plates Dogs welcome

The place was very busy but they should be used to that by now , methinks, and the service was VERY slow. No doubt those wanting scones or cakes could be served promptly but our order, which only needed a few fish fingers and some chips to be cooked, took ages. However, the staff were lovely and the food when it arrived was good. Will patronize it again but will tailor the items on my order to the conditions on the day.

Good food and service excellent chips 😁

Nice coffee and cakes if it's a hot day your waiting some time for you drink

Dog friendly cafe with bike parking outdoor and indoor seating. Good location in the riverside park. Clean toilets with baby changing facilities.

Great coffee, fantastic events! Definitely worth a visit :-)

Lovely coffee and cheese scone, friendly staff, the only problem was there was not enough staff, but would highly recommend

Unhelpful staff, I couldn't see the juice selection when I asked she said just what's there, so felt I had to have water, appalling menu, the only things I liked were breakfasts which weren't served all day,my friend had a scone which was very dry, more crumbs on the plate than ingested scone, limited inside seating. I would not recommend other than for coffee and it was a fairly pleasant environment outside.

Nice scenery, very expensive and service quite slow

Nice place, much better organised than the first time I visited. Halloumi Fries excellent.

Ordered 3 hot drinks and two plates of food, thought it was lovely that they came on recycled cups and plates, was very odd that they in tern weren't recycled and just went in the waste bin. Think your missing a trick there

It is always a pleasure to go to Cafe Shrub in the Land of Oak and Iron as there are so many walks to do from there. You can always get a meal at the café or a takeaway. It is brilliant as a centre and you can usually get parked in the car park. On an evening we went to see an excellent singer. There was food and drinks on and it was very entertaining.

Great selection of food even for allergies

Doesn't have much atmosphere. The staff are not very pleasant. It's a place that needs personalty

Great place for dog walks and coffee with friends..

Very nice cafe, with good walk's on the door step.

The coffee and food are always spot on.

Food poor, service very slow, choice poor.

Well worth a visit beautiful walks nice hot drink in cafe when your finished

Lovely welcoming place great for every one including the dog

Great Coffee - interesting place to visit.

Lovely staff, food and ambience. Good Covid awareness. Lots of dogs.

Nobody wants to find an earwig crawling in their lettuce! Unfortunately that's what happened to me today. Pity, as I was enjoying my Quiche. As an apology, I was given a free slice of Victoria Sponge which was very nice. Fabulous location, with a great atmosphere. Good activities on all year round for adults and children. Three star rating is for the food as it's often hit and miss.

We were looking forward to a nice lunch after a lovely long cold walk and reading the reviews on line. Unfortunately the turkey bab with chips was very disappointing , hard chips with clearly old potatoes. Falafel wrap was stodgy and salad very unappetising , old iceberg with 1 measly cherry tomato and tiny piece of cucumber. It’s not hard to make a nice salad. I hope to come back and have a better experience

Only popped in to use the loos, but they were spotless.

Excellent little cafe which benefits from a terrific location-go for a long walk on Derwent walk (take your dog-cafe is dog friendly) and stop in for a coffee on the way back.

Coffee ok decent price and dogs enjoy the dogs biscuits they sell

Loved the bacon butties and walk with the dog, Excellent place, I WILL BE BACK.

A great cafe on side of the Derwent walk, worth a visit.

Have been many times over this last year and always enjoyed the food but yesterday our food was awful, the scone was dry and fell apart and was inedible, lettuce was old and should have been thrown out, the chips were undercooked and the paninis were not very nice either. The staff are lovely and friendly and the cake delicious! Maybe they were having a bad day or a change of chef! Went back last week and all was perfect, all food cooked to perfection! So I think they were just having a bad day!

Really good place to go out with family and pets for a walk and fun day out. Cafeteria is nice place to sit and enjoy hot and cold drinks and specials of the day.

Very nice cafe with links to local industrial history. Good coffee and a wide selection of snacks. Beautiful setting.

Fantastic little visitors centre, fantastic food too.

Good coffee within Derwent Walk. Love it.

Something for all, very level for wheelchair users, dog friendly, wonderful setting close to river Derwent and lovely walks. Great Art, interesting history about the local heritage, lovely function room for private bookings, music evenings, Friendly staff, great scones. A jewel of a place.

Lovely Cafe to stop at on a walk. They make really nice cakes and bakes and have a nice outdoor area

Free parking, clean toilets, nice food and coffee. Indoor and outdoor seating, dog friendly (on lead), water bowls outside. Perfect place to start a walk along Derwent river.

We were there for the pizza n music event Excellent little venue for solo musicians/singers but the 40 minute wait for the pizza was a bit excessive Would recommend for a relaxing few hours in a countryside setting

Seriously slow service, pressure to donate to charity at point of paying, bitter tasting coffee. Cakes are stale. Good icecream and canned drink selection is about all this place offers. Shame it's in such a lovely park

Great homemade cakes/scones etc

A sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle not far away from the A1, it makes a great pit-stop for a coffee or a light bite. I've never been to the cafe in the winter so not sure of the vibe in bad weather. I visit for coffee with my partner to people watch and enjoy the dog friendly environment. Certainly on a nice day the place is busy with people enjoying Derwenthaugh Park with their families and dogs or taking a break from cycling. The only downside is that they don't accept cash and always want you to add a small donation to the charity that runs the place. Rather then guilt people into a donation put up your prices by 5p an item.

Lovely setting with great walks and nice place to sit out and enjoy a coffee

Asked for coffee was told only take card but if we could have one if we put the money in a box So is this money going to stay for ever in the box ? nobody has got covid of money plus coffee was not nice

Little bit pricier than average

Café has a good selection of nice food, though a little expensive. Lots of info on the surrounding area and a variety of walks around the red kite trail.

Easy to get to, parking available. Nice info centre with lovely coffee shop and gift shop with outside seating. Nice variety of walks. Lots of events listed for kids and adults

Great place to stop for a coffee after a long walk. Lovely that they now have chairs and tables outside.

Great little place along the lovely Derwent Walk -friendly staff, quite a range of food on offer despite it being a take away type menu at the moment. The latte is nice and the Greek chicken wrap with fries is very substantial! Dog and child friendly !!

Nice hot chocolate, you can bring your dogs And staff are very nice to customers! And the building is lovely and nice outside area is nice! Complaint is put some milk in the hot chocolate Thankyou To all the staff!!!!!!!

Always super friendly helpful staff there...Great food and drink and nice to have a place to go after a walk

So welcome on my cycle ride! Really nice atmosphere, good bacon butty.

Mad expensive ut the place looks nice, I got 2 tiny pots of ice-cream for my boys and it was over 4 pounds. (the pots are really small)

OK for coffee after a lovely long dog walk. This is a lovely woodland area with propper footpaths & amazing grassed areas fo the dog to run. Went to see the red kites but only saw one in the distance.

Welcoming and friendly. Delicious cake.

Only used the toilet a queue had formed outside eating you had to use one toilet. Not allowed to use the other toilet unless you are eating inside. Waited 15 minutes to go Only one person used the other toilet not impressed

Lovely cafe, with good food and I like their sustainable outlook too. great spot to start/finish a walk

Café Shrub at the Land of Oak & Iron has been a lovely little escape throughout the Covid restrictions. The staff have been brilliant and still continued to run the Elf Trail at Christmas along with some other activities - it's full steam ahead for their pizza and music events on a Friday evening. The quality of the food/drinks in the café is brilliant, whether it be the seasonal offerings i.e. Christmas hot chocolates, mulled wine, mince pies, pigs n blankets etc to the huge scones! Really good quality at reasonable prices. The shop itself has some nice things - I recently bought a Northumberland and County Durham walks books. The safety throughout covid has been very clear and easy to follow. Worth a visit to park up, go for a walk in a lovely area and grabbing yourself a drink/snack as a treat!

Good cafe in the cycle path. Excellent food and friendly staff

A welcome rest spot after a good walk around the red kite trail, offering refreshments and comfort facilities

Quiet place for coffee and catch-up with a friend

Lovely cafe and perfect location along the Derwent for a drink mid walk! Panini’s also really good!

Great starting place for a lovely walk on the Derwent Walk . Only had a cup of tea to take out but could see that there was a good range of foods and drinks at reasonable prices. I didn't get to look around the whole of cafe but will return

Nice stop and get a coffee and cake 😍

Nice food tuna and melt and ham and cheese toastie Quick service with a smile Definately return

Great staff, service food and chef!

Really pleasant staff, good coffee and food however food is a bit expensive.

Nice cafe good grub friendly staff lovely location.

Nice little cafe well situated very clean staff really friendly a welcome site after a long walk. 👍👍