Cloister Cafe in Herefordshire, County of

We’d gone to the cathedral to see the Mappa Mundi. Dating to about 1300, it’s the oldest surviving map of the world, as then known. And not just of geographical significance but, placing Jerusalem at the centre, of religious significance as well. The cafe is located just outside the room where the map is located and explained. It was lunchtime so, having fed the soul, it was time to feed the body. No hot food but a variety of “stuff with salads”. So that was a ham, pea and feta frittata and a cherry tomato and black olive quiche. Both very tasty and served with spoonfuls of each of the salads – mixed leaves, grated celeriac, cucumber, pasta, tomato and cous cous.

The young man serving was totally indifferent to customers including myself, to the point of rudeness. My order was casually plonked in my general direction without any eye contact or communication in a slapdash manner. It really doesn’t take much effort to be friendly and it obviously helps in creating a welcoming atmosphere. I was in a party of seven people and we all felt like we were treated like a rather annoying distraction.

Tricky to comment. The menu seemed to be quiche or quiche with salad; or sausage roll or sausage roll with salad. To be fair, there were also samosas on the counter, and I am sure there must be other choices. Anyway, to say 'quiche', there was a difficult choice between 3. I chose the Mediterranean quiche with salad, which was different from what I have chosen from elsewhere. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. 5*. My wife also rated her quiche and sals 5* as well. The staff, seating, cleanliness etc were all excellent. I must also say , we inadvertently chose to visit when the cathedral was partially closed for a graduation. It was busy. The 2 of us, through lack of choice sat on a 4 seat table. Logically another couple asked to use the empty seats. Such is the nature, the ambiance, of such a place, we were happy to accept. They turned out to be from Tennessee on a tour of Wales (?). And we had a really enjoyable chat. It sort of underlined nature of the place. Needless to say we returned for afternoon tea. Also excellent

Pretty diapointed this cafe does not allow dogs after driving 2 hours to meet friends. No messages on door. Good is supposed to love all creatures, clearly does cover the!! cafe!!!!!!! Not an enjoyable experience.

I had read some of the previous review of this cafe so I wasn’t expecting too much but it was very nice. There was a good range of snacks and drinks and you could sit inside (inside the cathedral) or sit outside in the lovely courtyard. The staff were helpful too. My cheese and ham sandwich was proper cut ham (not thin watery slices) and the bread looked like it was cut from an artisan loaf given the crust. Very tasty.

Local Free range pork pie and fresh Salad, excellent! There was a good choice of fresh food available, and not expensive.