Friendly Nettle Cafe in Bedford

A revelation. A small cafe fab coffee and a great place for meeting family and friends in a safe environment for the little ones Food is ethically produced which is brilliant. Would recommend

Popped in with my Sister for a quick lunch ... Ham and Coleslaw Sandwich was lovely but the Ginger and Coconut cake and Cookie Dough Brownie stole the show 😋 Will definitely visit again

What a lovely little place! I've just moved to shortstown so came across this place when I had family visiting. I was amazed at the accessibility of the menu and the food was delicious. Its definitely become my new favourite spot

Breakfast and cakes are top tier level. Running a successful place that serves food and drinks must be so hard. So glad I made it in time for breakfast today.

Lovely food great service local products used and local crafts on sale well worth a visit 😀

Just popped in with my wife, we had toasted sandwiches which were lovely. Very friendly staff and also very clean. Well worth a visit!

Lovely cafe in the heart of a community. The staff are friendly and welcoming, and the food is always delicious. The service can be slow on occasions, but I appreciate everything is made fresh and every time I have visited it has been quite busy. (Good sign that it’s always busy!) All in all, a great spot that I will continue to visit and support.

Have been to the friendly nettle a few times now. As a family of four with little kids, this place is fantastic. The kids area is massive with large comfortable couches to sit yourself down while they enjoy the toys. I enjoy a second breakfast (the classic breakfast baps are exactly what you'd hope for) and a vanilla latte, while they are entertained with the toys and books. There is a decent selection of dairy free cakes, excellent for the little ones. When we invite others with kids to join us, we can have a decent natter. There is nothing like this really in the area, we enjoy it very much. Will be back soon. Great place!

Great place to stop for a drink and a snack. Lovely cakes and shortbread. Great tea, served in a proper mug, just how I like it. Nice surroundings and decor.

1st visit & I will definitely be returning. Really lovely place & many activities to get involved in.

First, but not last, visit to The Friendly Nettle Cafe last night to join the Bedford ‘Oh My Ladies’ Crotchet Club gathering. Very warm welcome received from the owner who makes a delicious Chai Latte and tempting range of treats. Will definitely take a detour to pop back to try the breakfast options.

Visited this cafe yesterday with my mum. Atmosphere was nice and so was the coffee. However, my mum brought a chocolate chip shortbread which was undercooked as was dark and soft in the middle. My mother raised this with the cafe staff who advised it was cooked, safe to eat as it contained no egg and reason why the centre was dark and soft was due to shortbread needing to cool down and settle. My mum was not comfortable to eat it and we wasn't offered a refund or an alternative cake. Therefore our money was wasted. Not good hospitality or customer service!

Really really slow service. Milkshake and tea were nice. Desserts were okay but nothing special. Very kind friendly and fine for families but not to go for peace and quiet.

Such a wonderful place, I went with my baby and they not only had a designated space for children to play safely but also had a great selection of fresh food and drinks for adults and children at really reasonable prices. I had a nice chat with the owner whilst I ordered and she was really friendly. This cafe is an asset to the community, thank you

Visited yesterday, really slow service. The two ladies behind the counter (neither of whom were serving another customer) faffed around ignoring us for a good 5 minutes before serving us. When we ordered food, it included a kids meal deal. Took 20 minutes for the children's half sandwich to come (no food came out of the kitchen before this sandwich). Went into the kids area and there are some not very nice looking stains on the carpet. Loads of crumbs etc... appreciate it had probably been busy, but think a system of running a hoover around when it's quiet wouldn't go amiss. Toasties were ok, just took 25mins to come even though no other food was being cooked.

Went here few times now and the kids obviously like it because there is a space with toys where all the kids can play together. Coffee and cakes are nice but quite pricey. I never had a nice service or friendly.. Today in particular the lady that was serving me was not welcoming at all..she was doing something while taking my order without even looking at me.. she asked questions without puttinher head up.. I find it quite rude. But it's the only Coffee shop there so..

Popped in here this morning, and had the most delicious coffee and cake. The atmosphere is fantastic and the staff are friendly. Thank you!

Met up with a mate for a chat and a breakfast, a nice relaxing cafe with plenty of room.

Heart of the community. Always doing and hosting things for the village in mind. A meeting place with a warm welcome. The Terry's chocolate orange hot chocolate was absolutely delicious.

Visited a few times in order to support the local business but getting more and more disappointed. Agreed with a few of my friends with the poor customer service, so they stopped visiting too. Owner of the shop was not capable of dealing with a basic order (just one drink) especially when it gets busy. I witnessed that she misheard the order and was arguing with customer when serving the wrong drink. She did not apologise at all for her own mistake, instead she got angry and tried to blame the customer. It happened to me again another time. It is clearly she did not pay enough attention when customers were ordering. Most people visited the cafe because they want to support the local business, but the owner did not even show any gratitude to her customers, which definitely cannot represent the name of the cafe (“friendly”). A young staff was being friendly on the other hand, which the owner should learn from. Ordered breakfast before but came with tiny portion and it is so overpriced. Would not recommend this cafe.

Nice,but pricey and not over friendly,but OK.

Super cafe. Large enough to accommodate all ages including a sofa area. Good access and children welcome. Friendly staff and good portions and quality food and drink. Parking very near by. Highly recommended.

Latte was very nice, Tea is tea, soup tasted great but cold. Staff not particularly friendly. Service was slow. Waited ages for items to arrive when others who ordered after us got their food.

A place to chill out with people. Beautiful cafe with nice ambience.

A local gem. Good quality food and a good friendly atmosphere, child friendly

The best cafe I have ever been to. My partner and I go every week and the food just gets better and better. The chef is an amazing Cook. All the staff are welcoming and nice. But the food is just out of this world delicious. Thank you so much for your service.

Really lovely in here. Wonderful corner with various toys and stuff for little ones to play in, big open space. Best salted caramel latte I've ever had.

This is a very nice place for ladies to have either brunch or lunch and share experiences about how to take care of the little ones. Good food and nice and friendly staff

This place is of the main road tucked away in the Shortstown/Cardington Estate but us well worth the detour. The quality of food is excellent, tasty and home cooked. Also good for just coffee and cake. It has a real community vibe and is great for visiting with children.

Went this afternoon for light lunch.Tuna and cheese jacket potatoes with a side salad were perfect.Staff are always friendly, and the place has a great community vibe.This cafe is certainly not a greasy spoon!

Been here a couple of times always smiling when I come out. Being a driving instructor great spot for a quiet coffee break. Also a Must try the Vegan/Dairy Free Cakes mmmmm.

Excellent welcome and friendly service... We love their cakes, especially the ROCKY-ROAD! Friendly Nettle staff remembered my birthday date and made Rocky Road for that day!! How cool is that?!! We're so fortunate to have a cafe creating a community in Shortstown... there's much more than just a cuppa and a bite to eat... A great recipe for inclusion and giving...

Unfortunately the 5 staff were overwhelmed by the 6 customers in the coffee shop after 45 minutes waiting for a breakfast I had to ask if they forgot about us to be told they are just serving up now another 10 minutes later and we were still waiting had to ask for our money back then a couple of minutes later breakfast came out. Not a bad breakfast but over priced for a cheap old sausage and only half a mushroom I don't mind paying £10 for a breakfast if it's a good quality sausage and includes a cup of tea and mushroomS don't be so tight Very expensive tea at extra cost on the price of breakfast and impossible to hold a conversation over the really loud coffee machine that should obviously be in the kitchen and away from offending ears it reminded me of working on the runway of Luton Airport similar prices to

Nice cafe with good food and atmosphere but the service can be sometimes slow. I think there should be more than one person at the till taking orders so customers ready to order aren't kept waiting for a customer who is indecisive about what to order or their preference isn't available. I stood around waiting to be served even though there was another lady at the counter who could have taken my order. I had to get back to work so I chose to leave without ordering anything.

Lovely ambience, delicious food and drink, fairly priced for a small business. Can’t ask for more!

Great to take our doggie. Very kid friendly with a large play area. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Good food abd drinks selection

Average food and untrained barista (except the young girl). Milk steamed multiple times and it comes extremely hot so you will need to wait 30 min before you can have a sip. Have had this experience many times. TRAIN YOUR BARISTAS!! Environment is good.

Lovely local Caffè with vegan options.

We had such a lovely experience today. I originally went in and spoke to the manager and asked whether we could build a relationship with them and the charity I work for. We have learners to have learning difficulties and often find cafes stressful. I asked if we could pre order and collect later once it has cooled down, I explained we may not sit but we are working up to that. However upon entering, the atmosphere was perfect and our learner was keen to go in, explore and eat. We are very grateful for the understanding shown and we are looking forward to taking more of our learners here. The fact the food is amazing is a bonus for us.

A lovey little time-out for me in a warm and friendly cafe. I had a latte and it beats any other! Thanks ladies :)

Very unpleasant experience, staff member clearly in a bad mood, was very rude and I was treated terribly

Great little coffee shop! I can't believe I haven't noticed it before.. Friendly staff and nice atmosphere, will be going here more regularly :) P.s. I highly recommend the mint iced coffee ☕️ 🧊

Always a lovely treat on a Saturday morning. Great food and a good variety of hot and cold drinks. Really good service, friendly and welcoming.

Lovely place with amazing staff and a variety of activities.

The clue is in the name, friendly! Good food and drinks.

Music is a little too loud for me, but everything else is top notch!

Lovely space and atmosphere coffee reasonably priced

Love this place. They do so much for the community and the drinks and food are great!

Lovely local coffee shop/cafe. Play area with toys for toddlers in the corner and out of the way but still convenient. Staff are super friendly. And regular events are hosted keeping it engaging to the community

Very good cakes &coffee good value friendly

Above and beyond for me. Very happy will be going again! 😊

I visited today with my toddler and I just cannot recommend this place enough! Such value for money the cakes coffee and sausage roll was delicious! There was a lovely area for my little girl to play! Will be back for sure! Xx

I came here with my sis and nephew and they have a lovely play which you are responsible for your own kid! Lots of milks on offer too, and amazing cakes Also dog friendly so we will definitely be back

Don’t care about kids safety, leave the door open to the whole place despite being by a very busy road so kids can run out into traffic essentially, an utter disgrace. Will never visit again due to the unconcerned nature of the staff that I witnessed.

First time in here, and what can I say, apart from friendly welcoming staff, nice atmosphere and the latte is as good as Costa, will definitely be back to support local businesses 10 out 10.

Absolutely fab café! Great style, great ambience, warm staff, good music, comfy sofas, fantastically delicious food, and the best coffee I've tasted outside of Melbourne! Went for coffee. Stayed for lunch!! I'll definitely be back 🥰

Excellent community cafe, very good space. Top coffee and cakes as well.

We’ve parked outside here to shop next door so many times but not popped in. Well we have really missed such a nice place and will visit again. We both had what’s called adult sausage rolls and though I’m not a sausage roll fan, they looked so inviting. Oh my they were gorgeous, tasty meat, not the typical rubbish you get in other places and flakey pastry and freshly made every day. I had a strawberry milkshake and hubby a chocolate one topped with cream. They have a book swap and a list on the door with events for mums with toddlers. It’s much bigger inside than I though too. Nice atmosphere with relaxing music in the back ground and lovely air conditioning which was needed today. Highly recommend,

Super friendly staff!! Food was at a great standard and temperature, the milkshake was out of this world I really recommend this Caffè. Super affordable too!!!

Didn't think to pop in but glad I did. :)

Lovely cafe and staff so friendly and helpful. Great place to meet wether you have children with you or not. The cafe is clean and was a pleasure having a coffee there and cake

Great little cafe in shortstown

Good coffee, warm and inviting atmosphere. I will be back another day for more of this. Thanks :)

The food is decent and it is not bad for popping in for a coffee but the wait times for us were nearly an hour for just a breakfast. When the breakfast came it was missing one of the main ingredients that were listed. We brought this up and then waited another 30 mins for a replacement which ended up never coming. Really disappointed.

I’m only giving 1 star because I cannot give no stars. Myself and my family have been going to this cafe since they opened to provide support to our local restaurants. Most of the time the food came out cold and un-eatable, but we still tried to support our local cafe. Unfortunately, the Polish owner today came out and said something that I thought unthinkable! She first brought out our food, with some items which were cold, and said, you people always have issues with the food and it’s costing us too much money and we cannot continue serving you! Hopefully, the owner reads this post so I can explain the simplistic ethics of serving hot food. THE FOOD NEEDS TO BE HOT! If the food comes out and it’s cold I am well within my rights as a customer to send the food back. Very very dissatisfied customer which will never return to this cafe whilst it’s under existing management!

Lovely staff, great coffee and good food.

Very lovely cafe. Great food and drink offerings, staff are very friendly and welcoming.

Can't recommend this place enough. Incredible coffee & food, great staff & cosy setting. Perfect for kids as there is a huge kids corner with loads of toys & books

Really nice coffee shop and it's dog friendly

Very much enjoying the Terry's Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolate and the Blackforest Brownie. Love the atmosphere and the staff make it feel very homely xx

First time there and last time there.

Lovely coffee, amazing brownies and perfect layout for those with toddlers. Our little one loved being able to run around and play with the toys whilst we were able to enjoy our drink and cakes. Definitely will go back again soon!

Was on site working away when I visited so this is not local to me but needed a good breakfast. Great service, great atmosphere, great food, fairly priced, would definitely visit again of I was in the area

Superb breakfast and service 😊👍

This was a great visit. The food and drinks were great, the staff were really nice and there is a great area for the children to play in whole we were waiting for our meal. We will be visiting again!

Very good service and a lovely atmosphere.

My daughter and I had breakfast there yesterday it was really lovely, and the staff were really friendly and helpful.

A friendly warm place with a wide variety menu and toy area for children highly recommend

Brilliant experience staff really helpful and the cafe has a really good range of products to offer. Clean and comfortable and I felt safe and secure and that the staff would do anything for customers a great experience and I would highly recommend this cafe to all.

Love this place, just wish the opening times were better. Friendly staff and great food.

Lovely little cafe in Shortstown, we had brunch with Light breakfast and Avocado toast. As you can see, the portions are plentiful! Ingredients were of good quality, coffee and hot chocolate was good (so glad I’ve found a decent Chai latte in the area!) Service was excellent - they offered to keep my partners breakfast warm whilst he had to go make a work call. Only suggestion I have is to consider a balsamic drizzle on the Avocado toast, because that would make an already good dish excellent! So glad that this cafe is doing well considering it opened just before pandemic started and I hope to continue to see it flourish!

Lovely little cafe and very accommodating 💚

Friendly service and quality food. I had a Special BLT baguette with Avocado, fresh cooked bacon, lettuce and tomato, and an ice coffee which I really enjoyed. While waiting for my food I saw a few people sitting outside having a fried breakfast which I'd love to give a try on my next visit as it looked great.

This lovely, spacious, kids friendly cafe will most definitely stick to you like a nettle. Rasa, the owner pours her heart into everything in this place. There is high quality produce and fantastic coffee. We had a babyshower there. It was perfect as it was really spacious. We ordered a set menu of treats and snacks. Very yummy and at a good price. I would highly recommend you visit this cafe. It is a treat.

Very friendly excellent coffee and delicious soup will be back

In the middle of new Shortstown is this hidden gem. Friendly staff, nice coffee and good food. What more can you ask for?

Me and my kids love their breakfast. It was amazing and the ladies were very good.

Easy to park; comfortable seating, safe well-spaced. Simple menu, very reasonable prices. Good service and generous portions, well presented.

The atmosphere is comfortable and relaxing. The food is amazing all locally sourced from bedford too. Am curious as to who is painting in the cafe its starting to take shape and adds to the feel can't wait for it to be finished.

I was absolutely disgusted at the service the portion size and the cost of the large breakfast £8 for 1 sausage 1 bacon 1 slice of toast beans 1 mushroom and 2 eggs it looked like a childs plate and took 30 mins to Come out to us I will never go back here ever again !!!!

Fabulous café - lovely food and charming service

Lovely cafe with great spacious sofa area for parents with kids on one side. We held a friend's baby shower at the cafe and the owner really impressed with the spread. Excellent value for money and great location with good parking.

What a great cafe. Plenty of space yet it feels cosy. The cake was delicious and the service was wonderful. I will be back and bringing a few friends to join me.

Sooo friendly , is that why ists called the friendly nettle cafe ?

Lovely place, friendly staff and owner. Would highly rate the panninis and the cake