House of Fraser in Gateshead

Well popped in with my friend today for a quick drink and a bite to eat I had the poached egg avocado and toast and it was absolutely perfect eggs lovey warm runny yolks whites cooked spot on avocado vibrant and fresh as could be and the toast wasnt just any old slice of white bread it was unreal have to say thank you to both of the Donna's who served us lovely friendly welcoming girls nothing but smiles all the time we were there fantastic meal fantastic staff and compliments to the chef simple DIFINE.

I always pop in here when I visit the metrocentre which is at least 2/3 times a month. It is always a cosy atmosphere with lovely chatty staff however, the past few months I have visited I have noticed the same stuff is on the menu that they were serving a year ago. Today, I went and the “salad bar” looked quite poor and the sandwiches and flatbreads were just bulked up with Rocket and huge beef tomatoes. I opted for leek and potato soup and what mistake that was. It came barley warm and tasted like pure water. There was no flavoring in at all, despite me smothering it with salt and pepper it was still terrible. My husbands chips tasted like they had been in a hot plate for hours and were also barley warm. This has been like this the last few times we have been here however, we have just put it down to them having a bad until today. I won’t be visiting again as for two light snacks and drinks at £19 I simply don’t think its worth it and for £2 I could have gotten a HOT soup and a drink in the well known high street bakers. I MUST STATE CLEARLY the cleanliness of the restaurant and the staff are not to be faulted.

Excellent service, friendly and helpful staff nothing is a problem, good choice of fresh food would recommend to everyone

Called in while shopping at metro centre. Lovely breakfast and coffee. Clean and good service. Situated in House of Fraser.

Please remind your staff that the customers are given a number stick to place on their table. The order correlates to the number... it’s not good service to allow another customer to touch the food if it is not theirs. Deliver the food to the correct table and this won’t happen.

Had lunch and had to wait half an hour for a lasagne that arrived cold and a soup that was not what we ordered. Do not visit as you will be disappointed. Okay for cold meals that do not need cooking. They need a new chef

Called in here one morning for a couple of flat white coffees. The woman serving obviously didn’t know how to make them properly. 2 cups of what looked like frothless liquid mud. Took them back and instead of making them again she poured them into bigger cups topped up with water. They were vile and nearly £5 wasted. Although the cafe itself is very nice, I would never go back.

We have recently become regular visitors to this little cafe, whilst shopping in House of Fraser where the cafe is located. The coffee is really very nice (from an avid coffee fan!), the selection of food, snacks and lunch on offer is very good. Hot food always arrives quickly, is fresh and tastes lovely. The cafe is decorated very nicely and the staff are always pleasant. I would recommend a visit!

Excellent breakfast- good coffee and better selection than the normal fast food. Avocado and eggs was particularly good. Will be back!

I visited the house of Fraser metrocentre caffe botanico for my lunch, i had previously visited and quizzed the staff about their gluten free range. So popped in and ordered the so called Gluten Free Fishcakes with chips, well what was delivered looked like the named product, until you actually cut into it, i was on the belief that a fish cake had potatoe and fish and some herbs and then maybe some kind of coating to make the shell, well seems Botanico’s version includes mainly peas, not sure why, then out of all the product i only found one piece of fish i could identify as fish. So not a good start for me. I also included a portion of their Italian slaw, well it really needs improving. The only good thing was that they serve Pepsi Max, but at very expensive prices as in £3 for a 330ml bottle. I was hoping that the Gluten Free product would be good, but seems work is still needed.

Had a fresh mixed salad from fridge counter - was really good Staff were friendly and the cafe is lovely 😊

Visited today for a quick lunch and was very pleasantly surprised. The staff were lovely and very helpful. I accidentally dropped a shortbread and it was instantly replaced free of charge despite it being my fault! My main course (risotto) was also delicious and very well cooked. I’ll certainly be returning!

Went to this restaurant on sat 17th feb. On entrance to restaurant we noticed a board which showed Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon. Great we thought so we ordered it for both myself and my wife. What arrived bore no resemblance to what was being advertised and to top it off there was no smoked salmon only a slice of ham. If i wanted to spoil my morning i should have returned both meals and asked for my money back. Surely this was so blatant or was the apprentice on duty on Saturday morning!!

Our first visit to this cafe and while the tea and coffee were good and the food on display looked tasty the noise - mainly from banging out coffee grounds - was very intrusive. Go but dont expect to have a conversation!

In the Metro Centre, you don’t often glimpse the outside world. It may be sunny, the rain may be beating down, it could be light or dark - the world inside a shopping mall is insulated from the changes and chances of nature. So how good to find a restaurant in here where you can look out and see - yes! - not just traffic on the A1, but beyond it, fields and trees and sky. Botanico is a delight to eat and drink in. The decor is based on a stylish taupe, and the ambience is very good. As is the food - not just adequate but of a high quality, enjoyable, and nicely presented. You don’t ask too much of a Christmas shopping pit stop, but places like this do lift the spirits. There’s only one thing to rob it of my five stars: my usual gripe about the mindless music that accompanies your meal. Yes, it’s played at a low enough volume, but if it’s not meant for listening to, why play it at all? (I never get an answer to this comment about music, an endemic irritant in almost every restaurant and shop I visit - maybe this time someone will notice it? In an upmarket store like HOF, the music needs to match the quality - or better still, be turned off altogether. End of rant.)

This is a lovely place for a break, situated within house of Fraser. Lovely decor and very inviting entrance. The staff are friendly with a great choice of drinks and snacks. Plenty of seating. Try a mocha coffee and a walnut crunch slice... Very nice. Definately worth a visit

I came here with my partner after after fancying some food. We'd heard good things about this place. I'm gluten free so wasn't hopeful but I soon found that I could be catered for with ease.

The cafe itself is very clean and looks well after refurbishment, we ordered a tuna and lemon mayonnaise s/wich with tea and coffee. The bread itself was very hard and defo not fresh, maybe been in fridge overnight and the small amount of tuna in sandwich was just not worth it. Not worth the money at all, defo won't be paying this cafe a visit again, maybe a smile from the staff or management maybe helpful.

I have been into cafe this morning with friends.its a lovely modern restaurant,with friendly,nice staff.the food was delicious.i had scrambled eggs on bruchetta while friends had healthy brunch.yum yum.we will definetly be returning to this this stylish,friendy restaurant again.well done cafe botanico

You have a good choice of meals if you want a meal or just a light snack the staff are friendly and helpful at any request you have.

Almorcé aquí un par de veces, si estás en el centro de metro lo recomiendo encarecidamente si quieres un buen almuerzo. El ambiente es precioso y el personal, tanto de servir y era más que servicial. El menú tiene una gran variedad de alimentos para todos los gustos y a un precio razonable. Sin duda volveremos.

Visitamos por primera vez hoy, bacalao personal muy amable fue preparado perfecto! Recomiendo encarecidamente el plato de bacalao. Sin duda vale la pena una segunda visita!

Y yo a menudo compañero comer aquí, la comida es siempre encantador bebidas servidas por el mismo personal amable, limpio y con su nuevo han habido algunas reformas es un encantador lugar para cenar, con una preciosa vista de la ventana y ambiente relajante.

Me visita Cafe Botanico bastante a menudo ya que trabajo en el metrocenter, en visita de hoy me sirvió Donna, que era encantador, como todo el personal. Los alimentos siempre frescos y sabrosos, tuve el tomate y queso de cabra risotto de hoy y fue increíble. También recomiendo el bacalao que he tenido unas cuantas veces.

This is the first and last time here only went for breakfast what a shock 1 sausage cut in half 1 egg not cooked 1 mushroom don't know slavery bacon and at £5 what a rip off

Have been here a few times recently but unfortunately this place has slowly let me down. On first look the restaurant is modern and looks lovely, but once you enter you will most likely be disappointed.The staff are very dull, and unfriendly. There was no ketchup for our fries, and we weren't offered an alternative. It was a quiet time in the restaurant yet 5 tables were left a mess, none of the staff were interested in tidying up. It's a shame because this place could be lovely but it is a let down.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, I have a soft spot for the cafe at House of Fraser. What I most like is that some tables are by windows, which, in this largely internal mall, can mean access to sunlight. The food and drink is reasonable and, although unlikely to blow you away, it can be good.

We visited one Saturday morning and my husband had a very tasty bacon sandwich, plenty of well cooked bacon in a ciabeta bun, hence we recently visited this cafe twice more, but not having the same experience !Last week we tried a traditional breakfast which was very poor.The bacon was undercooked as was the sausage which was tasteless.This took some ordering as I asked for 1 pot of tea , 1 cup of coffee and 1 traditional breakfast. I was given 2 pots of tea with 1 coffee and they had not taken my order for a cooked breakfast., although I had ordered this.We visited again last Saturday, which will be the last time !It took 3 attempts to pay , said the ' card machine was slow' which had been this way on previous visit. 1 well done bacon sandwich was ordered , which was nothing like the first sandwich that we had at this cafe.There was only a tiny piece of undercooked bacon in this sandwich which cost £ 3.99p.My husband complained and he was provided with another sandwich which was far superior to the first one, there was an acceptable amount of bacon which was cooked to our request unlike the first sandwich.My coffee was not hot on both of these occasions and my husband,s pot of tea was much smaller than served in other establishments.This was our last visit, plenty of better places to have something to eat !

Our first impressions were good as all the food was set out really nice. My husband had problems with the card machine and I picked up our cutlery while we waited for our meal.... two forks I picked up were dirty. The staff did not appear to have passion in there roles that was the impression I got. We waited around 25 minutes for our meal and Luke warm coffee as our order had got mislaid. We were asked did we want coleslaw with our meal again the impression we got was that it was free within the price but it was not... just a bit of hard selling!!! Our meals were just ok nothing special for the money. Lovely decor and quite trendy but style over substance!

Must be a couple of years since we have dined in this restaurant and it looks a lot smarter with better seating nowadays.We have been a couple of times recently having the scones and muffins both of which were really nice. Visiting here mid-morning when this self-service restaurant in the House of Fraser was not that busy.We are not great fans of the eateries in the Metrocentre but this is definitely worth a visit for the scones and muffins.

They may have refurbished this café, but the standard of food is still not good. We went for early Saturday morning breakfast and paid over £12 for 2 bacon sandwiches and 2 regular Americano's, which were in the smallest cups imaginable. In fact so small that by the time our sandwiches arrived the coffee was cold. The bacon was undercooked - we had to peel off the white fat - and the bread was dry. Definitely an experience that we won't be repeating, especially as there are so many other nicer eating places in the Metro Centre.

I am loathe to criticise a restaurant but on several occasions recently this establishment requires some attention. Tables being left with dirty dishes for considerable amounts of time. I even stacked dishes on to a tray thinking when our meal was delivered to the table it would be easy to clear unfortunately this was not the case. Our order of chips were an insult no more resembling potatoes than chips. No more than inch long fragments almost burnt to a crisp just like the residue left in pans after cooking.However today we decided to try again big mistake we ordered toasted tea cakes after a wait of 20 minutes lo and behold we were presented with toasted panettone. No mention of apology. Sorry not good enough. My daughter picked at this culinary delight so I did not complain, but can assure readers we will not return.

We thought this place had only been pened a few weeks but according to staff, it's been a lot longer! oops!So we popped in for lunch and had a good experience.Hubby ordered a chicken panini and I a hot foccacia contacting cheese, creamy black pepper etc. They came beautifully presented (should be for a fiver each) with a little frissee salad dressed with balsamic glaze which complimented it perfectly.I had a lovely cuppa and hubby a Pepsi which was nice though not cold enough so we had to get some ice.All in all, staff were pleasant, lovely comfy sofas by the windows.We would definitely go back if we found ourselves hungry in the metro centre. It's got to beat the likes of Cafe Nero surely?!

This was the first time that we have been in Cafe Botanico and in all honesty I don't know if we will be returning. The Cafe looks lovely and has a good selection of food to cover light meals, hot dishes and snacks; but unfortunately they don't appear to have the staff to provide a quick and efficient service. HOF are obviously aware of this as advert cards were on display advertising staff vacancies. This is not to criticise the staff who were there; they were doing a sterling job with how little there appeared to be of them. However, standing in a queue for approximately 15 minutes waiting to be served does not help matters and led to the decision just to have hot drinks and a small snack. I chose the latte, whilst my better half had the loose leaf tea. The tea was excellent, unfortunately the latte left that slightly bitter coffee taste in my mouth. A disappointing visit.

The staff were quick to serve us, the salad selection was really good, we noticed there was hot food too and ordered.The meals were quick to come but I have never had a risotto with a crusty top - it was burnt, the lasagne was also cremated around the edges.We would have sent them back but didn't have time to sit and wait so picked out the middle of each dish, which were to be fair tasty, especially nice was the goats cheese topping on the risotto which would have been really lovely if not overcooked.They did bring me gluten free bread which was a bonus.Overall some tweaks needed to bring this up to scratch.It was quite expensive at over £30 for the two of us

This is the second time we have visited this restaurent with our daughter who has Coeliac Disease. We simply wanted a snack as we were eating with friends in the evening, and it is difficult to find places where you can have a snack rather than a meal,if you are having to avoid gluten. However I remembered they did bacon sandwiches, which we had again today. The staff were well trained and knew about changing cutlery etc and the meal went off without any unfortunate after effects. Will definately go there again, as they had gluten free mail meals which looked lovely and sweets. WELL DONE

Popped in for lunch whilst shopping in the Metro.I ordered the Chicken,Mushroom and Tarragon pie with chips and peas from the "Specials" board.We went to find a seat only to be surrounded by people with laptops and mobile phones conducting business....hardly a conducive atmosphere in which to relax and have a meal.When the food FINALLY came it was lukewarm and the chips,peas and gravy (which I'd had to ask for) were bland.However,the pie was well cooked with plenty of chicken inside and very tasty .The addition of unadvertised leeks and broad beans in the pie was a welcome addition...if only the pie had been hotter!Overall,this is not a place I would choose to return to and despite the pie I really can't recommend this characterless cafe with its slow service and lukewarm and overpriced food.

Ordered 2 Caesar salads, a portion of chips and a ginger beer between two of us. Took over 25 minutes to arrive. The chicken was dry and did not look fresh, the bacon was soggy, the croutons were so hard they were inedible, the dressing was from a generic bottle the lettuce however was nice and crisp. That was all that was on the plate, we managed to eat a little but it was like eating cardboard and had no taste. The chips were amazing but considering the whole thing cost around £19 we were shocked at the standard. The restaurant had about 10 people in when we arrived and 20 when we left and that is at lunchtime, I know why it was empty now. We complained and were told it was one of their best sellers (I doubt that very much) we were eventually offered a refund but our day was already tainted and to be honest we were really uncomfortable about the whole thing so we just left. The staff are pleasant but very slow. The toilet facilities were in a shocking state of disrepair, doors hanging off, holes everywhere and sandpaper for toilet roll. The shop itself is great though, most of the staff are amazing and very helpful, there is a nice range of good quality goods. I would not go back to the restaurant unless there was a massive shake up and the quality matched the price.

My Mum and I went in here for a bowl of soup thinking this would be quick and easy. How wrong could we have been! Despite the fact that the soup appeared to be in a container behind the counter the server told us to pay for it at the till, take a seat and she would bring it to our table. We found a seat and waited... and waited... We waited about 20 minuted before 1 bowl of soup arrived. We pointed out that we had paid for two so she apologized and said she would get the second one. My Mum started on her bowl and said it was lovely (really thick and creamy). Mum had nearly finished hers before mine arrived. I started to eat mine and have to admit was not impressed. Mum noticed that mine looked a different texture to hers but by now she had finished so we could not compare. She tasted mine and said she though it had been watered down! I suspect they had run out and had had to scrape the container out to make my portion. Couldn't be bothered to hunt around for an elusive staff member to complain so just left. Won't be back!

The quality of the food was okay, but it was just not hot enough, and the restaurant had not been long opened, it was 10 am, no excuse, breakfast should of been hot

Great scones earn all the brownie points in an otherwise typical high street/mall store restaurant.We do appreciate however the milk in small jugs rather than the awful plastic pots so typical elsewhere.

I wanted to say thank you very much to 2 young ladies serving in the restaurant on 27.12.14. My daughter has coeliac disease,and there are terrible consequences if she ingests gluten. These two ladies were very helpful and resourceful in serving my daughter, and they appeared to understand how to reduce the risks of cross contamination. Well done

totally agree with kelmet about the cafe, shocking service, we ordered toasties and after about twenty minutes decided to go and find out what had happened to them, only to be told they had been on too long and had been burned... but nobody thought to do some more or come and apologise for the wait!!! We decided to give them another chance and they gave us another drink free of charge, it still took them over 10 minutes to eventually bring the toasties out to us by a sour faced member of the kitchen staff with an attitude problem... absolutely awful, will never be back, how difficult is it to toast some bread!!!!

This is the worst shop for customer service in the metro centre, its the only shop you get paid for doing nothing disturb the shop assistants when talking and you get the glare of death not helpful on the mac counter and for god sake dont get aimee cos she cant be bothered and she lost a big sale because of it. The manager watches his staff talking aswell when there is people waiting to be served.

With very few in the cafe and only 2 staff visible I thought great, choose any seat, quick service, I did choose any seat but the service was anything but quick. To do 2 cheese and ham toastie's should only take 5 mins as they already made up, 20 mins later they turned up LIMP with luke warm tea. With only 11 customers in the 2 staff seemed to be struggling to keep up. What would they do if it was full (about 100 seats) ? Now I know why there was not many people in (they knew better)After 2 teas, 2 toastie's, 1 apple slice, and £17.07 lighter we won't return.Ps It felt like the cut back king had been there.