Coffee Shop Isis in Powys

TOTAL ABSOLUTE RIP OFF!!! Popped in for 2 bacon sandwiches on white bread (pictured below) and 2 lattes...guess the price....no honestly have a go, pick a number at random. Guessed yet??? Bet your wrong!!!!!! £20 shocking pound. Yup, twenty Great British Pounds. 4 slices of the thinnest bacon imaginable 4 slices of brown bread despite ordering white and 2 teeny tiny lattes. £20 quid. Avoid like the absolute plague.

Food is not well labelled for ingredients. Staff could not tell me if an item contained aggs or dairy. Cake had far too much margarine in it - not pleasant. Nice sofas. Spacious. Not crowded. Well lit. But the opening says are erratic. Only seems to open peak seasons - which is a shame as other places in town are often over full.

I had soup, it was leak and potato, didn't taste like either, the bowl of soup was half empty, only 1 piece of bread with it. In my opinion very poor won't be going back.

I don’t know whether it was our bad luck, or the wrong time of day, but our experience wasn’t as good as it could have been. I ordered Assam tea, but they’d run out so I had English Breakfast tea instead. My husband’s coffee was disappointing as it didn’t taste like quality coffee. My husband had a slice of lemon drizzle cake and I had the gluten free lemon curd cake. Both were dry, thin slivers and certainly not value for money. The servers were friendly and polite.

We wandered round Hay looking for cake and stumbled on this place. Thought it was rather quirky on first glance…. We ordered banana & chocolate loaf, an ice tea and a regular tea. Service was very slow considering the cafe was deserted. When our order arrived, my hubby was presented with a mug of water. The teabag was on a small saucer. The male server attempted to toss the teabag into the mug however it landed on the tablecloth so he just picked it up and dropped it into the mug with a shrug!! Absolutely disgusting 🤢 The cake wasn’t the freshest either, rather dry and I struggled to eat mine. Wish I’d read the reviews or I would’ve given this place a wide berth.

Not a great cafe, lovely young girl served us. My tea was reboiled water in a cup with a tea bag on the side- horrible. Cakes were ok - lemon drizzle and chocolates tiffin. Not busy but tables left uncleaned

Slow service, and overpriced £4 for the worst lemon slice of my life.

I have no problem paying £5 for 2 cups of tea. One hopes , of course, that the cups of tea comes with boiling water, milk, a tea pot perhaps a couple of teaspoons and a modicum of service. What we got was two mugs of hot water and two teabags, On the side. We had to make our own tea – why do Cafes and restaurants do that – it’s very annoying and incredibly lazy when somebody is paying you to make them a cup of tea. So that’s £2.50 per teabag (and yes, of course, I accept there are overheads with running a café including, one imagines the aforementioned but completely lacking service and perhaps even a touch of cleanliness – not so in this case). And to illustrate my point further,if we take a typical box of 80 super market teabags and sell each for £2.50 that’s a lovely round sum of £200. Again, I do appreciate that we aren’t just paying for the teabag but I really struggle to justify what else we were paying for. As so many reviewers have said prior to this, there are better places in Hay.

On the surface, a very pleasant looking cafe with al fresco seating. When we went in the cafe, there wasn't an especially welcoming atmosphere and it was unclear if it was table or counter service. We were in need of refreshments, so we ordered and paid £5 for 2 mugs of tea from the serving counter. On seating, there were piles of uncleared plates and cups from previous customers both inside and outside on nearly every table. When the tea failed to arrive after at least 10 minutes of waiting, we politely enquired if it was going to be much longer. The response was rude "you've literally been waiting 5 minutes" and an explanation of how long it makes to make tea. (2 mugs of tea, no tea pot, just boiling water in a mug with a tea bag!) No apology, so we retreated to our seats and waited 5 minutes longer. Still no tea. We then witnessed the guy serving customers outside, have what looked like an angry exchange and slamming drinks down on their table. These customers promptly left. We decided after waiting 15 minutes and an unpleasant atmosphere, it was best to cut our losses and we politely let the waiter know we were leaving. He just glared at us. We left minus £5 and without our mugs of tea. I understand it was a very busy time with the Hay Festival and they were presumably frazzled from the aftermath of a busy day but it wasn't busy when we arrived at around 3.30pm and there is no accountability for rudeness.

Asked if they could do me a flat white coffee was told yes. What I got was a black coffee! I took it back and pointed out the error, the waitress said that somehow orders had got mixed up and she would make me another. What I then got was a milky coffee, which could’ve been made with instant! It was so hot that I couldn’t drink it for 10 minutes. Absolutely awful at £3.60!

The staff were rude and unprofessional, we didn't feel welcome. Our tea was nice though, there's not much that can go wrong there

Walked in without our dogs, asked if dogs were welcome and told yes. There were 10 people and 4 well behaved dogs. We went in and sat down and a unpleasant man came out of the kitchen shouting at us and I do mean shouting "no way, no way" and told us to leave. Obviously we took our spend of over £140 elsewhere. AVOID

Poor service, high prices, no clean plates so some service was refused!

My wife and I didn't get as far as ordering anything in this 'interesting' establishment. We walked into the cafe area to be glared at by a young water who muttered at us to order at the servery. At this, a waitress walked over there, we presumed to serve us. She proceeded to ignore us and have a conversation with her colleague essentially about what she had done in the toilet! Needless to say we went elsewhere and won't be returning!

Went to Hay for the festival this weekend. Stopped for a coffee while strolling round the town. Sat outside - tables hadn't been cleared so we just moved the dishes to the next table. Ordered 2 hot drinks and 2 sift drinks. Waited about 20 minutes. Went in to make sure we hadn't been forgotten about and was literally shouted at by the lady behind the counter! Not sure if I was afraid or insulted or both. Gent at the table next to us asked for a refund because he was fed up of waiting. No idea what the delay was. There were only a few people inside who were already eating. Drinks arrived - OK but not really worth the wait. Wldnt recommend.

I have never witnessed such an embarrassing display of foul mouthed bullying in my life. Streams of four letter abuse aimed at two young girls who were trying to work there. Not even worth mentioning the food and drink which must be the worst in Hay. The manager/owner (?) is a public disgrace - so many people left offended or fed up of waiting - by his tirades - a shameful establishment that needs closing down. No young person should be abused like my wife and I witnessed today in a bustling bank holiday Monday. (the star is obligatory and not deserved by this intimidating tyrant)

Needed a place to sit and have a bite to eat and drink whilst popping in and out of all the bookshops. We had paninis' and they were delicious 😋 I also had an iced coffee, which was very refreshing and well needed! Cosy and very comfortable place to stop and get a bite to eat and drink. 10/10 would recommend 👌🏼

What a strange little place. Don't know if it's a café, a tat shop or a what. Bizarre sofas laid out like a charity furniture store, with an odd array of random things for sale. Funny how all of the other cafés were packed out and this one was empty. Probably because of the indigenous man who just wants someone to talk to. Top tip - find a different toilet! 😄

What a welcoming place. We turned up en masse (11) and they couldn’t have been more helpful. Wonderful service and good food. My scone was superlative :-)

Loved this place! Great value, lovely food and fantastic staff, funny and friendly. Wouldn't hesitate to come back, thankyou.

A below average service,with above average prices. Beware don’t let the curb side Al fresco format fool you. Latte coffee served in a paper cup. Jacket potato served without its crispy jacket.

Started off good - staff friendly. Very basic food arrived on paper plates, soup in cardboard bowl, and coffee in paper cups. Considering the price of the food and drink it, we at least expected crockery. We sat outside (thankfully) as inside was akin to a storage unit with boxes piled here and there. The toilets were absolutely disgusting!!! Overflowing waste bins, toilet stained, walls stained, sink dirty. It doesn't take much to keep a place clean and tidy - especially food premises!! Please don't bother as there are so many better places in Hay.

Sadly the location does not make up for the disappointment of being served Coffee in paper cups in a "Coffee Shop" and not cheap prices either. We appreciated the use of the toilet but they could have done with a little regular TLC.

We ordered 4 drinks and 4 Panini's just for a lunch snack. There was no mention of delays or issues.... After 40+ minutes we still had no drinks or food. We chased the staff a couple of times and eventually our drinks arrived, we had finished our drinks when we decided enough was enough and decided we wanted our money back for the missing food. My friend overheard someone saying "They can have a credit note " ! We was told the food was ready at that moment so went back to our seats. The panini's arrived and were very plain and small not worth the £6.50 price.... Gladly we won't be going again, save your money and go elsewhere.

If your going to charge top prices for coffee and a panini, at least serve it on a plate, with proper cutlery and proper mug instead of disposal utensils, cups and plates. Also bad for the environment. Panini was pretty poor too, coffee was ok. Try somewhere else.

Waited an hour for three cream teas that came ready made (would prefer to have cream and jam in the side). Jam was cheap and nasty and cream was not clotted. “Teas” eventually arrived after we pointed out that we ordered cream TEAS as disposable cups of hot water with teabags on the side. Separate company waited equally long for tiny weeny jacket potato and similarly small panini with sad looking salad leaves to go with it. Their coffees took 45 mins to arrive… All served on disposable plates - what a waste! Waiter kept putting the disposable plates in public bin. Just a bit off putting generally. Takes a lot of negatives for me to write a bad review but this one pushed all the wrong buttons. Could easily do so much better.

Long wait, we’d only ordered a panini and a drink each, but it took half an hour to come out (not even the drinks came out) and no mention of long waits had been made at time of ordering. When we checked on our food after about 20 mins a somewhat offended woman stated that there were a lot of orders ahead of us (there were maybe 12-15 people sitting outside, hardly anyone inside). My partner then chased another 5-10 mins later and the owner shouted at his staff, yelling obscenities at them in front of customers. We kind of get his frustration, but you just don’t do that in front of customers. Food was perfectly fine if a bit small, coffee was nice. Service absolutely dire though.

Overpriced for coffee and cake which was pretty average - more like London prices and no toilet facilities - have had plenty of time to get the latter !sorted

superb coffee!!! fabulous place to watch the world go by!!! long may it continue!

Much less busy than some other cafes, had a perfect scone with cream and jam and a great cup of tea in the sun. Lovely.

Visited here for a drink and light bite, I did only have cake and cold drink, however the cake was quite dry and boring. I was disappointed to see that the toilet was not available, surely an essential when stopping off for a drink. Another customer did challenge this that surely the toilet should be there for customer use. However the man serving was very rude about this, to a point of being verbally aggressive. I would have left had I not already paid. I will never visit this cafe again although myself and family do visit the town of Hay on Wye quite frequently.

Stopped off here for lunch, and of course, especially at the moment, you want to be able to wash your hands properly before eating, as hand sanitiser is only useful if there is no option. There was a big sign up saying that the toilet was closed, which I challenged as having previously worked in hospitality I know there are laws about this. I was completely fobbed off and told that it was against Covid rules, despite all other cafes in town having theirs open. The man serving (Older guy with a long ponytail, mentioned in a previous review for poor attitude) then changed his story and said it was because they would have to pay £15 an hour for a cleaner (really??) to have them open. His attitude was awful, very rude and aggressive about this, and had we not already paid upfront for food we would have left. He also suggested I should go and clean it myself, at which point a family next to us got up and left. Another couple walked past as we were eating, saw the sign and decided to go elsewhere. The paninis we had were fine, though the cake a bit dry (shame, as I have had nice cake here previously) but after the service when there are so many other nice places in town we will be giving this a miss in future.

Welcome break from coffee served in glasses and other horrors. Friendly service, good value, tasty, clean and down-to-Earth.

Absolutely lovely little Cafe. Yummy carrot and lemon cake. Highly recommend Service great. So lovely sitting outside in the sunshine

The manager (owner) was very friendly and accommodating. We enjoyed their coffee and milkshakes and were made to feel very welcome. You sit on couches surrounded by some of the eclectic gifts on offer. Decor is homely, rather than classy. A nice place for a quiet break from town.

We have been to this café on several occasions as a couple and if I’m visiting Hay with friends I always make a point of having either coffee and delicious cake or a tasty lunch with some tea and cake here because it’s so cosy and unpretentious. The main reason we started to visit was because they made our small dog so welcome every time. The couple that run it have always been perfectly lovely to my husband the dog and I& if I visit with friends or my daughter I’m always warmly welcomed. The cakes are phenomenal and not skimpy portions either. The pots of tea are always hot and I appreciate a jug of hot water to refresh the pot too. Today’s soup was delicious incidentally. I was extremely delighted that today, on the counter they had some honey for sale, which I duly purchased. I shall continue to support this lovely café whenever I’m in Hay on Wye.

Muy chulo recomendqble 100 por cien

We visited Isis on Friday 2nd of August for coffee when my cappuccino arrived i pointed out that i had ordered and payed for a mug not a cup the older man with pigtail told me i was a winger and if i didn't like it i could have my money back and go elsewhere.He then only wanted to pay back the price of a cup not the mug i had paid for.He continued to be verbally abusive.The experience was very upsetting to me a newly retired service provider.

Disappointing coffee and attitude, try the many other coffee shops nearby

I didn’t even get in the door! I had my bike with me so wished to have a coffee outside. After failing to attract the attention of two staff (owners as it turns out) I lifted my bike off the ground and stuck my head in the door. At this point the owners (who had been sat reading) suddenly noticed me. The gentleman sat bolt upright and yelped, and the lady screamed ‘No bikes! Out! I’ve just had the carpet cleaned!’ I commented on the warm welcome and promised to return for afternoon tea. Just plain odd behaviour. I’d recommend going to any of the multitude of other coffee shops or restaurants in town.

After visiting the Hay Festival we went looking for somewhere to have a cuppa and cake and stumbled upon this cute, quaint and quirky cafe'. It was fairly busy but we ordered tea and cake. The 2 young ladies waitressing were really lovely. However the older gentleman and lady were quite rude to their customers. Not to us but others around us. Some had waited a while (15 mins approx) for just a cuppa and when they approached the bar to ask where their order was there was quite a few rude comments thrown at them such as "if you want a faster service go to McDonald's". Basically stuff a member of stuff would say away from the customer as opposed to their face. I think this may have been down to the organisation ie one order at a time so if you just wanted a cuppa you had to wait for the people in front of you to have their hot food made. Maybe someone should make drinks and get cake organised and someone do hot food so that there is a system of you ordered something light so it comes quicker than having a meal cooked.

Quirky little place that we visited twice in 2 days because the cake was so good. Really nice to be able to get a selection of vegan cakes as well as vegan lunch options.

Had a BOMB at the Isis coffee shop

The Isis cafe (named after an Egyptian God so no funny quips, they have been said many times before) is a really cosy cafe in the centre of Hay. There are some very comfy seats and the owner is really friendly.

such a comfortable place to rest.. and good coffee

This tea shop on Hay's main street is a bit low key and also a craft shop, but the service was good. We were not long before closing time but we not made to feel we had to hurry in any way - unlike some places! Fits the relaxed and laid back Hay style and well recommended.

In the centre of Hay, this tea shop has a mix of ethnic goods and cafe. It reminded me of Glastonbury and felt dated but not unpleasant. Quite expensive for basic baked potatoes and panini but good on a grotty day.

Love the coffee here in this quirky coffee shop where they also sell crystals and ephemera. They also do a nice selection of cakes.

As well as being coffee shop, this place is also a gift shop. You can buy kites, crystals and cutlery as well as a whole range of stuff of varying usefulness. There is limited organisation of products, and they were short of ingredients for the café due to the festival that ended a week ago. However, the service was friendly and the coffee and sandwich was great. I think the word is 'quirky',

Food is average at best and overpriced. Paying £5 for cheese on toast I expected some kind of interesting bread and decent cheese. Instead I got two slices of supermarket brown bread with supermarket mild cheddar and a load of grease on top. Pretty sure it was microwaved rather than grilled as there was no pleasant bubbling or browning of the cheese. Taste was underwhelming to say the least. Panini's were also pretty ordinary - very soft and not crisp at all.

Fantastic friendly service and good food too!!

Excellent Coffee Locally roasted.

Good food, Nice coffee but expensive. Typical for Hay on Wye. They think they are in London City Centre!