DQ Terrace Bar & Café in Eastbourne

Awful.. We use to always meet here for lunch and a girls catch-up. Been today. Menu has completely changed and not for the better. Kitchen closed….now 2 poor girls having to take the orders, make the drinks and the food then deliver to the tables. The one star I have given is purely for them. They were working so hard I hope they are well rewarded. Two other tables heard us talking and said they will also not be returning. Such a shame.

I was very impressed with this cafe. I was in Eastbourne for work, the cafe and facilities were immaculate and I had the most delicious slice of home made banana and biscoff cake! Exceptional quality and the best slice of cake I’ve had in a very long time! The staff were also very friendly and helpful, I look forward to coming back soon :)

Myself and my partner have been visiting this cafe for a couple of years now on a regular basis, always had a pleasant experience, eating a lovely comforting lunch including panini, jacket potato etc, as well as watching shows, but this week when we returned (yesterday) after the venue had been closed for a week or so. Well what can I say!! What a difference, the prices were extortionate, the food was awful (bland) and poncy…it was like the menu itself is something you would find in a high end restaurant but without the quality to go with it. £6.50 for a dry badly packaged sandwich with very little filling and my partner needing a GF option could only have a soup which was also flavourless. The rest of the menu is ridiculous and not suited AT ALL to a place in eastbourne….What have you done eastbourne council??? It seems you are ruining what was such a lovely little place to come and enjoy. Needless to say we are very disappointed and will not be returning. I advise anyone planning to visit this place to think again, there are many other eateries very close by which I will be using in the future . I am so frustrated about this 😡😡

My wife and I have used DQ on an almost weekly basis for 4 or 5 years for lunchtime meals and snacks ( even getting takeaways during Covid restrictions ). They had been closed for a couple of weeks to supposedly revamp their menu but to our great disappointment on returning today ( 10 July 2023 ) the new menu now has No Jacket Potatoes, No paninis, No Sausage Rolls, No Sharing Platters and in fact very little except drinks, cakes and vegetarian salads. The normal busy lunchtime was reduced to about 4 customers and very sadly that did not include us. We were forced to go elsewhere to get something to eat. Whoever is responsible for this change of direction please think again as you have ruined a lovely luncheon venue. I have never written a restaurant review previously but we are so disappointed that I am moved to say something in the hope the very poor Menu can be improved or with much sadness there will be no point in our returning.

After visiting the Barbara Hepworth exhibition we visited the cafe for lunch, only to find many items on the menu had been crossed off. We didn’t stay! Shame as it was always our ‘go to’ venue in the past.

It was an impromptu gathering of 15 people to celebrate a birthday. We had a variety of drinks with a selection of cakes and biscuits. As it was a sunny day we were able to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful view. The cafe was quite busy so I really appreciated the kindness and patience of the staff in getting the various orders ready. Thankyou to all of them there. They did a great job.

Have visited now over a year ,shame consistency is lacking ,over last yeat now 5 times no homemade cakes ,just shop cakes ,walked ,went to the Tennis cafe Gildredge park ,homemade cakes dog freindly, lovely staff .I do not the chefs fault as she needs a holiday ,it's the manager of the Eastbourne council for not putting measured in place ,quickest to loose loyal customers . Kelvin Luscombe

Well placed cafe overlooking Devonshire tennis courts- with indoor and outdoor seating. Very disappointed by the lukewarm jacket potatoes. Nice fillings but cheese not melting at all when on/in the jacket potato. Coffee tasty.

I stopped here for a quick lunch before going to see a show. The homemade carrot soup was delicious. There's was a large choice of homemade cakes, reasonably priced at £3. I had a tasty moist toffee apple sponge. The café atmosphere is very relaxed during the shows in the theatre, but gets very busy and noisy before shows. Today Heidi was in charge behind the counter & did a sterling job of managing the rush for food and drink before the afternoon show. She kept her cool under pressure & I was surprised to find out that she was a new staff member. She was handling the situation and other staff as if she had been doing it a long time. Well done Heidi.

This is a nice spot for a tea/coffee or brunch/lunch as the cafe and terrace have lovely views over the Devonshire Park tennis courts. We enjoyed our sandwich and cake here but, as others have commented, service was a little on the slow side. I have to say we were not bothered by this and, after all, many hospitality venues are short of staff during these times.

What a gem, therw homemade cakes are the best, light fresh, absolutely delicious 😋, well done Eastbourne County town hall, for your insight into employing a specialist cake maker i really hope you pass this on, and appreciate the repeat customers who return for these cakes coffee, ive been told the lady is called Kate, i would like to say thank you, please hold on to this valuable lady.there is no where else around that matches these cakes. KR Honest Kelv

Don’t waste your time. Badly run very very slow service. Food came out late was cold I didn’t waste my time taking it back only one person at the counter and was to busy to even acknowledge people.

Visited this place last week numerous times and the food was lovely. However not enough staff during busy times. Tables outside need the glass cleaning underneath. Looks like mould growing on discarded food/crumbs! Suggest it's cleaned once a week. Just little things need tidying up. Cutlery not always clean, had a glass twice with lipstick on it and daughter found some fluff in her vegan cake. I know what I'm talking about as I had a business in catering until I retired.

Friendly staff, good service, we enjoyed jacket potatoes with a side salad and a couple of drinks - my wife had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, while I had a Peroni. There's plenty of choice on the menu for light meals or afternoon tea. It will be a regular stop on our future visits to Eastbourne.

Went for a coffee and Panini! Table outside was filthy and asked waitress for a cloth, she handed me a wipe and I cleaned the table. We asked for two plates but only one came, she was not pleased when we asked again. Panini had very little tuna in it but was served with a nice salad. Staff need to go on Customer service course!

Coffee & food fine but the staff were so disinterested. No happy welcome or smile, food plonked down without a word. Cutlery dirty & l had to clear table next to me to avoid hungry seagulls swooping down. AND no excuse as it wasn't busy !! staff should have done the clearing & cleaning of tables not customers.

Katie cakes still the best homemade cakes in Eastbourne, beats the other cafes around selling over prised synthetic cakes. Katie for me best are Cherry along and Biscof. Missed your cakes this week. Honest Kelv

I had some time to kill on a dreary day. Had soup , cake and drink in this venue. The food filled me up at a very reasonable price for a venue in a theatre complex. Able to sit peacefully and read my book. Large...

A pity to only be able to award 2* but that is all it deserves. Stylish modern decor and furnishings inside. outside tables and chairs rusting and paint comes off on your clothes. Atmosphere is non existent. In a space such as this, lofty, modern...

Poor experience visiting the DQ Terrace Bar and Cafe Arrived at 3.30, waited for someone. Another customer called the staff to say they had customers. Waited some more. My husband went to find the staff who were chatting out the back. When a girl finally...

Coffee very good, scone was good. Staff were preoccupied chatting in the kitchen, sitting on work services swearing. Tables not cleared. A customer had to go to the kitchen area to get their attention. Such a shame as it’s a nice venue.

very nice place and the view is amazing. I really needed this after my stay in The Sherwood next door. I hope I dident spread my beedbugs I got at The Sherwood!

The restaurant was very clean, service was not bad but the coffee was luke warm and tasted awful. Friends and I called in for coffee and cake, we ordered 1 latte, 2 cappuccinos and an iced coffee with scones. The iced coffee was fine, the...

Visited yesterday for a quick lunch as we were going to the Towner Art Gallery. My friend had eaten here before but I hadn’t. It is on a terrace overlooking the Tennis Courts and it was so relaxing to sit there and enjoy the view....

Hi visited the cafe few times now, the best homemade cakes around, made at the golf club for the cafe. Congradulations to who ever makes these cakes, as an expert on cakes these are very good. Just 1 complain, more coffee cake please. The Orea...

I have had some food there a few times already and food is usually good. I love their brunch options. However, earlier I went there with my family and my husband asked for extra butter for his scone. To my shock, one of the staff...

We have often come to this Cafe to enjoy a leisurely coffee either inside or on the terrace in the sunshine. All members of staff are very friendly, welcoming, helpful and efficient. On this occasion we brought a relative with us to have something to...

Is it just me ? Or do most people agree that eye contact and a pleasant smile are the traits required for hospitality ? Lovely location, came here on a sunny day with family. Sat down. No one told us we had to order at...

Unfortunately, despite the lovely ambiance & location, this cafe fell at the table hurdle. We visited and sat at a table on the terrace and immediately noticed that the (impractical) basket woven framed surface edge was covered with fallen and trapped crumbs. The staff member...

There were 5 of us on the terrace on Tuesday really enjoying the  surroundings and the light lunch served by very welcoming staff. We each had something different from the menu and were well pleased. Highly recommended x

Our first time in Eastbourne since the Congress reopened, we usually have lunch next door at the Towner but it was really busy so we decided to look elsewhere. Luckily we spotted the sign for Terrace Bar & Cafe and thought we’d give it a...

There aren’t many places in this area of town where you can just go for a quick bite to eat and a decent coffee, so this new Cafe is a welcomed addition. The big glass box of a building means you’ve got 360 views across...

An unexpected but all-round great experience. The staff were very friendly and making an effort to make things better for us by checking the food was okay (which it was!) and if there was anything they could do for us. I’d definitely recommend coming here,...

This was a pleasant surprise. The staff are lovely and friendly. Great menu with lots of choice. Alternative milk for any allergies. The food was sooo good and reasonably priced. Comfortable seating and soft background music. An all round lovely place to be. Will definitely...