Emerson & West in Leicester

Went for lunch at Emerson&West. Sign sounded promising advertising delicatessen. Entrance area holds a delicatessen shop, body language and facial expression of service staff demonstrated no welcoming attitude. Tea room upstairs quite traditional and nicely decorated. We ordered sandwiches and panini. Chicken mayonaise sandwich tasted bland, mayonaise overload no spices. Prawn cocktail sandwich tasted ok, but cocktail sauce was not special at all. Bacon, poached egg and avocado sandwich was dry as there was no sauce or butter to make the thick sliced brown bread more enjoyable and edible. Ingredients itself were of good quality. Panini with cheddar cheese filling tasted nicely. Service was friendly. Toilets were clean. Overall prices were far too high for the quality you got in return. We had higher expectations from a café/restaurant calling itself delicatessen. And honestly you get better and cheaper sandwiches elsewhere. Good ingredients alone make no good sandwiches.

Lovely bakery in Market Harborough with a good restaurant upstairs.

Popped in for my first of the year, hot beef roll, which normally melts in the mouth and gorgeous. First observation is the price has gone up 10%, I struggle to believe that the components in the roll have increased anything like 10%, so this is likely just greed But the main problem was that the quality of the beef joint looks to have been dropped one or two levels. The fat that is usually buttery smooth and tender was inedible, rendering the roll incredibly disappointing

Very impressed with the food and service. Delivery was friendly and helpful

Very English, love the deli, visit whenever we are in town. Had a lovely full English breakfast today. The granary toast is simple and awesome.

The lady who served us was absolutely lovely. She was on her own and worked very hard. However the food (2 roast pork, 1 roast beef, I roast turkey) was rather tasteless and there were not enough vegetables for four people. Disappointing.

Nice breakfast, could have been abit warmer

First visit. Always good to go to an independent, traditional eatery where personal service is great. Good selection of food.

Friendly service nice local honey

Had a day off so went out for lunch and was not disappointed. I think it was fully booked shortly after so recommend booking

The most amazing white tin loaf. Perfect crust, light and fluffy inside. Like a hot knife through butter when slicing! Almost worth the drive from Cambridge to get another one.

We went here after having great food on previous visits. It was chaos none of the waiting staff seemed to know what they were doing. The tables were dirty we weren't given a menu until we went up and got one. We thought we had lots of time as we had over two hours left on the carpark but we barely made it back in time. We didn't want a three course meal just snacks. It was highly amusing watching the obviously poorly trained staff as it was like a comedy of errors. Having been in catering for over 30 years I didn't blame them as I really don't think much training had taken place. Won't go back . Food ok but chips barely cooked

Dropped in for lunch it was very busy for a Tuesday.Have been there a few times before. Had to wait about 40 mins for the food which was getting near the unacceptable. When the food arrived the chips were going cold and the fish was poor quality. The roast dinners seem to be the priority here and come out pretty quick and we would have had them if there was a veggie option.They are very popular. Next time I will stick to the cheese toasties. Its a bit hit and miss in this place which is a shame as i like it a lot and downstairs is a a great place to get those treats. Fingers crossed for next time.

Love the place. Hasn't changed much in the last 35 years. Still enjoy the poached eggs on thick toast, a Saturday morning tradition. Excellent bakery. Worth a visit.

If you like good food served by friendly staff this is the place to visit in Market Harborough. The Emerson and West has been in business for many, many years which is reflected in the fact that disability access for the restaurant is non existent and there is no parking. However this is not the fault of the business but you should be aware, they’ve just been overtaken by progress. If your on foot and as fit as a butchers dog and don’t mind stairs then I strongly recommend Emerson and West. There is a lovely little shop on ground floor beneath the restaurant.

Back again in 2023 for another treat. Emerson and West has been in the current location for 50+ years, and in business since 1872. The longevity is not surprising, given the quality and tasty-ness of the pastries. Well worth a visit. The upstairs tea room is delightful. The excellent cakes make choosing the one you want quite difficult.😊 Staff were very nice and helpful. In addition their shop downstairs is full of food items, including quite a few that are not normally available elsewhere.

Didn't use the restaurant upstairs but perused the lovely food shop downstairs. So much to choose from, cakes, pickles, meats etc etc! Opted for a proper Melton Mowbery pork pie and some lovely pickles. Nice friendly staff as well.

Old fashioned , but friendly, nice service.

Step back into time and soak up the wonderful setting here. Steeped in history and such a throwback. Delighted with our breakfast and will be coming back on a regular basis. Staff brilliant and attentive. Really lovely place!!

I took my elderly mother for fish and chips here , and was sadly very disappointed . The fish was awful it looked like it had come out of a box from the cheapest range in a supermarket . The chips were ok but a bit soggy , we should have went to a fish and chip shop it would have been a lot cheaper and much better quality . Disappointed.

Wonderful tea rooms. Excellent food and service. Good shop downstairs with quality produce. Recommended

One of MH's historic restaurants Dessert taste very traditional Many local families will come early in the morning to buy their favorite desserts during the holidays

What great value for money. E & W provided a buffet for our family function and it was excellent in every way. Good variety of well filled sandwiches and savouries with sweet items as well. Delivered on time and presented in hygienic containers. 10/10

It is a lovely shop with a lovely tea room above.

Fantastic place, superb service. Only had a quick bite and cuppa, and seeing what other people where having, food was lovely

Lovely friendly, helpful staff, good service, clean place, clean toilets, Great food! Lovely views. Lovely atmosphere, highly recommend.

A pleasant lunch in a traditional restaurant with a good selection of fresh cooked food.

The best hot pork and stuffing cobs. Fantastic produce

Found this lovely shop and restaurant /cafe at market harborough today . The lunch was excellent and the staff were friendly. Will definitely be returning there y friendly with

I visited here for lunch on a Friday not having read any reviews. There were 2 vacant tables on arrival. First impression is that of dated decor, pvc tablecloths and cake domes with no cakes . Not a warm and welcoming environment to eat lunch. The room desperately needs redecorating and bringing into the 21st century! My flat white coffee was very good but the waitress forgot my water and I needed to remind her. My brunch was distinctly disappointing with dry and hard bacon. Presentation was poor. There was no checkback from any of the 3 waitresses to whether I'd enjoyed my meal or not. The bill was dropped on my table and I was informed I'd have to pay downstairs in the shop. None of the waitresses attempted at any interaction with me during my meal. I might as well have been served by a robot! Things didn't improve in the shop when the assistant tried to overcharge me by £6. She said that the till was broken and she had to add up my bill manually. At this point I asked for the manager. I gave my feedback and the manager made excuses for the lack of service I'd experienced. It was very busy in the tearoom today etc..She didn't accept my feedback argued with me in front of other customers! I found her very rude and dismissive. Needless to say I will not be returning here. I just wish I'd read the reviews beforehand. However, I wanted to give it a go. BIG mistake on my part. There are so many other better eating establishments in Market Harborough. I recommend you try any one of them and avoid eating here!

Restaurant a bit cold. Good value though

Nice place for breakfast but service slow when busy. But friendly staff.

Good food but very slow service.

Food was really good. Could have spent a fortune buying all their home made goods. Definitely go back

Nice place, people are friendly. Food is good and well presented

Great shop, you can see that the owners and staff really care. Quality of food is second to none.

First time to visit, will definitely go again. Food good at a reasonable price. Staff efficient and friendly.

Always such wonderful food & friendly service 🥰 it’s a true gem of a place 🙏 Lorraine & ian wright

Loved visiting this family business, service with a smile, some interaction and will come back when in the area again, thank you

Lovely old tradition building. Service was excellent and food was delicious.

Good food & sarni's (the chicken mayo with celery a favourite filling), very nice cakes too

Super lunch of newly cooked roast beef on a roll, salad and a hot drink - perfect. Also excellent service both downstairs and upstairs. Will visit again soon.

Every time I've gone in to the deli here, the staff stare as if I'm something nasty on the bottom of their shoe. The overall impression is that they don't want to be there, and they don't want you to be there either. Expensive prices for very average produce, lots of the cans and jars on the shelf have dust on them from sitting there so long. The staff are unhelpful and unwelcoming. I also noticed during the food supply issues in the pandemic they were repacking things like pasta and flour into paper bags and were charging insane prices for tiny amounts. Predatory.

I tried this restaurant for the first time today with my husband but will unfortunately not return there. My husband’s eggs Bénédicte were fine, but my Croque Monsieur was a slice of bread smothered in mustard, with cheese on the top. This is not a Croque Monsieur but mustard and cheese on toast. The salad was also very tired and the chips greasy, cooked in old oil. This is a shame as we liked the old fashioned homely atmosphere.

Quorn locals coming home from a short break in North Yorkshire where we couldn't find any forced rhubarb in Richmond, Masham or York but to our surprise and delight E&W sorted us out. Great deli 🙂👍

Great little tea room in the centre of the town, great quality food, great staff.

I love this place love cheeses and their home-made food nice trip from Leicester to come here well worth it.🥰

Always a great lunch, doesn't break the bank .

Very good meal, staff were excellent and looked after us extremely well.

Great, honest, tasty food in a traditional English setting at very good price

Great breakfast lovely friendly staff

Went in for a drink and possibly a snack but at the prices no snack just a pot of tea for two and a tea cake the whole nill came to £7.10 think a little bit on the expensive side will not be going back in a rush. I don't know how they can justify £5.99 for a bacon roll that is just greedy

I would like to say a massive thank you to Emerson & West for the catering of our wedding at bridge house barn. The catering team were amazing, polite and professional. They helped in every way possible to make our day special and as smoothly as possible. Not only this but the the food was outstanding and superb. This had the whole wedding venue talking about how amazingly delicious the food was. The lamb cutlets we had were brilliant and very well cooked. I would highly recommend these guys and their team. Second to none. Kind regards Ben & Polly

Old fashioned style tearoom, very good value, freshly baked breads and cakes and a good range of food including cooked breakfasts and roasts. Everything made fresh when ordered. Friendly & polite staff, great standards of hygiene, linen tablecloths recently replaced with wipe clean ones. Gets very busy over lunchtime!

Grat good value 3 course meal. Excellent staff too

Great coffee, but very noisy background as next to main road.

Didn't enjoy this at all. Dropped in on a weekend with the family and managed to get a table. Not sure if they offer a booking service or not. Anyway it's a nice traditional old fashioned style tea room so first impressions were good First odd thing is the menu pricing. It's in market harborough so never expected it to be cheap, but some of it is just odd. Beans on toast- £6.75 as an example!! We ordered various food including a ploughman's. The service was abysmally slow. I mean almost an hour for 5 dishes, and the freshest thing we ordered was bacon and avocado on toast so no idea why it took so long. The ploughmans was poor. Massive plate of lettuce and salad, big chunk of pate (you can choose cheese or pate) and not much else. No pork pie which I've never seen before, which for around 8 pounds was a let down Service was very wooden. Didn't feel welcomed, but not as bad as to call it rude either. Won't be coming back. Far better off getting takeaway from the deli downstairs. Shame really as I hoped for better.

Highly recommended with its old fashioned tearooms above a 19th century delicatessen, seeing is believing 👌👏

We visited and had tea, late morning on Monday. I also had a teacake and another member of the group had a prawn sandwich. Toasted teacake arrived hot at the same time as the sandwich which is great and it was the best teacake I’ve ever had. Apparently the sandwich was excellent too. I also forgot to pay which the proprietor dealt with very well when I rang later to pay over the phone. Heartily recommend. Especially the teacake.

They provided an excellent cold buffet for a birthday luncheon party for ten including cutlery and crockery and delivery. There was an extensive menu choice at prices no more than a good quality restaurant and we would thoroughly recommend using them.

Bought some fabulous cheeses today. They were really helpful with which are raw and which were pasteurised. Thanks.

Nice sausage roll but the pork & stuffing butty wasn't great. Might have just been a bad one as very fatty and quite cold. haven't tried much else so Ive gone with average.

Traditional delicatessen, baker. Great food and service.

A fabulous shop. Every town once had a grocer like this, but most have sadly been lost, so Market Harborough is incredibly lucky! Fantastic foods of every kind, some of which you just can't find anywhere else. There's usually a fabulous café upstairs, but it's currently closed. Let's hope it'll reopen soon. Make sure you visit. You definitely won't be disappointed. Very highly recommended.

An absolute gem in the centre of Market Harborough. Great selection of cooked meats and cheeses to die for. Cakes to go and a delightful Café upstairs. My only regret is that I didn't discover this great family run shop sooner.

Fantastic afternoon tea delivered to my parents. Great selection of tasty and fresh sandwiches and cakes. Thank you for making a birthday extra special. Great value aswell.

The only place in Leicestershire selling Tiptree Damson jam!

Was pleasantly surprised by this little teashop. Upon entering the shop you go up the backstairs of what looks like a house and voila there is an old-fashioned tearoom stretching the length of the property. All the cakes are handmade and are cut into really really big pieces. Lots of tea varieties to suit and the staff were really pleasant. Overall just a very nice atmosphere not not rushed nice and easy-going will definitely go again. Great deli downstairs as well.

Probably the worst breakfast I've ever had . Sausages overcooked and tasteless, bacon also poor and not very hot. The carpets could do with a deep clean as not a very good first impression. Overall very very poor.

Visited Emerson west today for lunch. Very dissapointed. I had cheese on toast with poached egg. Bread was doorsteps & burnt & egg more like fried. My husband had cheddar okie and. No crusty bread just granary bap & loads of apple,salad & cheese. Coffee very good. Would not revisit.

Nowhere better, traditional but excellent for breakfast or Lunch it’s easily the best place for miles and the best value. Lunch has a wide choice of roasts and you can have the dessert if your choice from everything sold downstairs. Quality

We went for afternoon tea with work, there were 20 of us and the staff couldn't have been more welcoming. The food was absolutely delicious, an amazing selection of sandwiches, scones and cakes with endless pots of tea. Brilliant value and a lovely tea room.

There is a saying that you pay your money ,& make your choice,this applies to where you like to eat,as much as anything of course. If you want to go to a "Subway,or a Costa",then you maybe in the wrong place.? But we have always found the food and the staff to be of a high standard. Summing up,service with a smile,and tasty home cooked food.(just the job).

Thank you so much for the beautiful afternoon tea you brought to us for my fathers 90th birthday party.The arrival and pick was seemless. The food plentiful and delicious was enjoyed by all .As always a first class service !!

Fantastic place, fantastic food, you could get very fat very easily.

Stumbled across this place while visiting the area. The decor is very dated but adds to the charm. I had a warm quiche salad which was lovely- great portion too. The deli downstairs is lovely. Got a piece of Bakewell tart to take away with me which was beautiful! Would definitely visit again if in the area.

Looking at this place from the outside and first steps in, it looks very welcoming. The decor in the restaurant area is a bit outdated but nothing to complain about. The waitress wasn’t rude but certainly not the greatest host. There was my table and two others that had customers on, one of which were only having drinks. It took around 10 minutes to even acknowledge we were there and about another 5 to take our order. The food took about 20 minutes which isn’t that bad but considering it was only one all day breakfast and a slice of cake and one other table ordering food, it’s not the best. I got a white coffee and my wife got a cappuccino, both were lukewarm at best, my sugar didn’t even dissolve.My sausages were very over done and looked burnt, the flavour was okay, though. Overall, my all day breakfast wasn’t the problem. My wife’s cake had 2 very sinew like strings with dirt like clumps on the end of them inside the cake, this obviously put her off and didn’t want to eat any more and when trying to flag the waitress down, couldn’t get her attention as she was putting away a delivery in the hallway. When she did come over to offer the bill, I did mention the cake and asked what the sinew like pieces were, she said she had no idea and said she’d take it off the bill for us, originally we only wanted another slice of cake but I had already finished and we were ready to go, so we thanked her and was told that we pay for the bill downstairs and handed us a paper receipt. An all day breakfast is £11.50 which comes with a coffee and a cappuccino was £2.30, so the total should have been £13.80 without the cake. We originally didn’t do the maths when they charged us £21 but around 20 seconds after walking out, realised and turned around to go and query the price. We were told we were overcharged by 1 coffee, so she gave us back £2.30. But that still left the total at £19, by this point I’d have enough of the place and just accepted and left.I can safely say we will not be coming back here ever again, and I’d advise everyone else not to bother too.

Always helpful,wonderful selection of meats, cheeses, pates and pies. Really good cake and fresh baked assortment of breads. Will slice if requested. Very good number of jams curds and pickles too,far too much to list here. Well worth a visit. While you're there don't forget upstairs tea rooms for coffee breakfasts lunches and afternoon teas. The outside catering team put on glorious spreads and would highly recommend them. They eased our special days.

Excellent food and lovely staff, the hog roast rolls are to die for.

We always go in this shop to look and buy. Amazing chutneys, pickles and foods. Great service and great store.

Nice little bakery/patisserie in centre of Market Harborough specialing in home made bread/cakes etc. Has full service restaurant upstairs serving snacks, full meals and afternoon tea - all at very reasonable prices.

This used to be a good place to go for breakfast but we found it to be expensive and poorly cooked. Toast was burnt, eggs under cooked and the beans were cold. Nobody was concerned if we enjoyed our meal. The interior of the restaurant must have been nice once but badly needs a make over.

The food as OK but very over priced for what we got and the general feeling, very tired. They really need to update the whole place to survive with all the food shops we have in town

Tradition by design of comfort but modern by choice of eats. It’s been there a long time, but the quality and service was modern too!

Don't cater for gluten free in the bakery section or offer any spelt bread unlike other close competitors.

The most fantastical pork pies in the Western hemisphere, apparently hand-crafted, secretly, by wee folk in Melton Mowbray. We also had a super light lunch there. An extra star for the real 'English' tea and golden brown chips!

Excellent service, excellent food and wonderful staff. Thoroughly recommended.

Pork pie salad! Quiche salad! Mmmm... Delicious food, plenty on the plate. Service was quick and friendly even though it was very busy. Definitely recommended 5 stars!

With each step up the wonderful wooden stairs you travel back to a bygone time before mobile phones and faddy diets. The large floral wallpaper reminds me of that showing the Black family tree in Harry Potter and the large Cadbury's shop-display wall mirror just adds to the character. Don't eat here if you want another Costa or Nero's experience - you will be disappointed. Here is place to find full-fat and salted buttered toast, honest and hearty English breakfasts and lashings of creamy buns. Time should not be pressing here. Switch off your phone, enjoy the freshly cooked food and breathe slowly.

Great delicatessen and tea room!

Excellent home made food. Will return. Old school in a good way

Service was ok but not great. I had to get my own tea spoon because one was not provided with my coffee and no napkin provided with my bacon sandwich. Food was ok.

Fantastic as always. Their all-day breakfast is the best in Harborough.

Needs deep cleaning and fresh atmosphere. I felt that I went to butcher shop.

A fantastic deli. Wonderful bread etc staff so Helpful and the most fab caterers you could ever wish for

Terrific traditional tea room offering delicious English breakfasts and lunches. Service is very friendly and efficient. The deli downstairs carries irresistible Melton Mowbray pork pies and other fantastic treats.

Visited to day for the first and last time. Arrived and sat down, waited an age for a menu, then waited about 15 minutes to get our order taken. They were not busy, the waitress served a table of 5 who came in after us and basically ignored us. We then decided to vote with our feet and left. Can’t understand why they are so bad with all of the competition in Harborough. Only gave 1 out of 5 because I couldn’t give -1

Lovely MH Cafe. Great for meetings or just a catch-up. Much better than the tax-avoiding chains

We had heard great reviews of this tea room but it certainly didn't live up to our expectations. The food that arrived was not as ordered and very disappointing...a refund was given. The hot turkey and stuffing role came as cold slices and the chips were raw. It was not the most friendly of atmospheres either...I dont like being told not to move the salt and pepper on the table. We won't be returning.

Not been in market harbrough for years, called in here for lunch, disappointing food, portions to large & over cooked, everything we ordered was very brown, omelet, spuds & Chips, gammon was very dry at the edges, I would say that they cooked it and left it under the heat lamps way to long waiting for the food to be taken to the tables.