Midpines Cafe in Arun

Dropped in for a coffee with a girlfriend catch up, we had cappuccinos to start with during our catch up with a shared slab of carrot cake 😍. We ordered from the Specials Board after a while 2 Italian veg soups which was DELICIOUS! It had so many veg and slivers of Parmesan shavings on top with two slices of griddled sour dough toast. Highly recommend and hope will be on the menu again as we head towards Autumn.

We booked ahead, as there was a large group of us (10). They were very accommodating- we all had breakfasts or brunch, coffees, teas, waters, fruit juices etc. The meals all arrived hot and well presented and together- very tasty! We stayed after for more drinks and chat. Lovely atmosphere and very enjoyable. Will visit again soon. 😀

Coffee had no taste it was like hot watered down milk, I took it back and they said we will make you another. I said no Thankyou but no refund and it was £4!!!!!!! Very slow service, it used to be ok but we won’t be going back,AVOID

Sadly we had a very poor experience at Midpines yesterday. We’ve often come here for drinks and enjoyed the coffee so thought we’d drive over for lunch. We ordered food and drinks, when the cup provided for tea arrived it was filthy so had to be replaced. We’d ordered a carved gammon ham and cheese toastie and paid extra for chips.. When the toastie arrived I opened it up to remove any visible fat, only to discover they’d put a slice of fatty bacon in it rather than ham. The bread also looked soaked in fat, was floppy and unappealing. I was given a refund for the sandwich when I complained but why wouldn’t you just tell the customer you’d run out of ham instead of putting bacon in and hoping I wouldn’t notice? It might have made things better if they’d given me a full refund as the chips were also poor and undercooked, but we ate them otherwise we wouldn’t have had any lunch. Rubbish and disgraceful customer service. At £9.99 for a sandwich I won’t be returning anytime soon.

Sunday 19th May, visit to Denman Gardens and Birthday Lunch. 13.45 not serving any food as we have “run out of crockery”. Tables had plenty of dirty crockery on them. Oh well 30 years in the trade and I thought I had heard everything. Gardens were great.

Very disappointed. Hot food stopped being served after 3:00pm… I guess I shouldn’t complain as that’s their policy but they are probably missing out on a lot of trade. However, we did stay for tea and cake. Big mistake! £14 for a small pot of tea and two tiny pieces of cake! I would not recommend coming here and we certainly won’t return.

We were SO COLD - you could see our breath when we talked! We kept our coats on, but we still grabbed a couple of the ponchos provided, to cover our legs. Very frustrating that there was a gas fire nearby and when we asked if it could be lit we were told they were waiting for gas! We ordered the steak and ale pie to warm us up, but sadly this was very salty and the meat was tough and chewy. The pie also contained smoked bacon, which obviously added to the saltiness. We didn’t stay for coffee!

It looks very welcoming when you arrive with the throws over the back of the chairs. You don't realise that you will need them to stop your legs getting cold on the metal frames of the chairs. They also provide below knee ponchos-which I initially thought were for sale but no you need to put them on it's so ridiculously cold in there. We came for lunch which took the best part of an hour to arrive. 2 toasties, one wasn't properly toasted, one caeser salad with crsipy bacon-half of it wasn't crispy at all, one burger & a quiche. Very disappointing especially for a farewell meal. This was mid October, not mid December! Get your act together guys put some heating on!!!

This has to be one of the best afternoon tea places in sussex gorgeous food lovely staff value for money wouldn't hesitate to recommend try it you won't be disappointed xx

Unfortunately my experience was of unappealing décor, very slow service by disinterested - borderline surly - staff and a rather limited menu. The food was average for a garden centre cafe.

I had a V2 radio voucher for the brunch stand and it was amazing! It came with sausage and bacon bails, a salmon and cream cheese bagel, pancakes with fruit, yoghurt and syrup, and crossaints with butter and jam. The tea and coffee with it were very nice. We sat in the conservatory area and it was lovely and airy with a good atmosphere, especially as it was early on a Sunday morning. The man serving us was very friendly and polite and could not do enough for us, he even gave my son a fruit shoot for free! Would definitely recommend and will certainly return.

Waited over 45 minutes for food order to come. No warning of delays when ordered and no apology. Terrible service. Menu repetitive and limited. Nothing for a smaller appetite

Lovely food in great surroundings - next to Denman's gardens. Good service. Went back later for tea and cake.

We went there on BH Monday for a late breakfast . We checked on Facebook for opening times . It said that breakfast would be served until 12.00 but the restaurant would close at 1.00 due to holding a private function . Fair enough, we got there with our family at 11.40 to be told they were now closed and not serving food . We queried this along with another couple. The woman behind the counter pulled a face and huffed and puffed , the chap came over and said that they had closed end of discussion! These new owners won’t last long if they keep on upsetting the locals ! I looked back on FB and it’s not the first time they have closed early , a business won’t last if people can’t trust the owners to be open when they say they will be open . They clearly have no idea what effect their choices have on a visiting family . Kids have to be loaded back in the car and tempers soothed . They will lose customers over this I’m sure. I commented on the post on Facebook but of course they have deleted the post !

I was shocked and appalled by what happened when we visited this cafe. When we arrived I told the woman who was serving that I had coeliacs disease and could not eat anything containing gluten, or which had been in contact with anything containing gluten. She assured me that the soup was gluten free. When the soup arrived it came served with a mountain of bread that was not gluten free. When I pointed this out., the woman was very defensive and said it was only a simple mistake. She took the plate away and came back with the same soup that had been on the plate with gluten containing bread and some gluten free bread that was inedible. So I had a small bowl of soup for £8! In this day and age, with most establishments being very aware of allergies and intolerances, this is very disappointing. I’m pointed out that ‘just human errors’ could cost lives. She was unapologetic! At no point did the person who had made the mistake come to apologise.

We came for a birthday vegetarian Sunday roast. Firstly it was cold inside, on enquiring about the menu, - at 12.30 - they had sold out of the roasts! A party if people had booked and seemingly eaten any roasts they had. (I would expect one would anticipate this and adjust the quantities you get ready for the days service?) Asking about other hot food we were told there was nothing only soups carrot and parsnip, or salads - sorry this was unacceptable! We left and went elsewhere. Won’t be coming back I’m afraid.

This afternoon tea was fantastic. The table was festive with crackers and we started with an excellent mulled wine. The food was really good with imaginative and plentiful sandwiches, and the scones (2 each) were very good. There were more cakes than is usual and we had to take some home with us! The service was excellent and the whole experience was brilliant! This is the 1st year they have done this and I'm sure it will be very popular.

Christmas Afternoon Tea. Absolutely amazing! The mulled wine is delicious. Lovely selection of sandwiches. Pigs in blankets. 2 types of scone with jam & clotted cream and a HUGE selection of sweet treats: Victoria sponge, chocolate brownie, stollen, mince pie, macaron. All washed down with plenty of tea/coffee. Not forgetting a Christmas cracker. Delightful service. Thank you SO much.

We had booked a table, the atmosphere was pleasant. We were shown to our table and told someone would take our order but if no on showed we could order at the til. In the event we ordered as no one came to take our order. I think it needs to be made clear whether it is table service or not. When our drinks arrived i asked for a glass of water. Never saw that waitress again. When our food arrived i again asked for water and it eventually arrived. Food- toasties were nice but pie was not terribly hot and peas and mash cold. Service was laid back to,say the least. It was a fairly warm afternoon but this cafe does not have heat and you are offered blankets. I would not be going in the winter if I had to wrap in a blanket! Prices were quite high. Value for money fair. I did not find it terribly hospitable. Feel staff need to be more welcoming. If you intend to visit dress warm

Inhospitable Attitude I placed a morning telephone call at Midpines Cafe asking if they did cream teas. The reply was yes. I asked the cost and if a could book a table for 4 that same day at 3.30 pm. Fine – I was told this was okay. We made arrangements to pick up 2 friends, with what we thought was ample time to arrive for the booking. However, we experienced some gridlocked traffic en route and consequently were 12 minutes late. Upon arrival I explained and apologised for being slightly late. I was then told we were too late and that they did not serve after 3.45 as they closed at 4 pm” The scones had been prepared but they could not serve or give us a cup of tea even though I pleaded, explaining that it was one of our elderly friend’s birthday that day. My husband tried to see if they would relent, but still to no avail. The point being that I was not told about the closing time when I had booked. So, if we had been there at 3.30 would this have meant that we would have been told to leave at 3.45 so they could close at 4 pm? Usually, when times are entered on cafes/restaurants websites, it means that food will be served up until the stated time, but one is not told to leave until they are finished eating! An offer was made that we could take the scones away, but when going to pay to take up the offer even that was not possible because someone was sitting at a table cashing up the money?? I was told that I should have phoned to let them know we would be late. I didn’t have the number on me, but even so, it would have not changed the outcome of events. I was told the times were on the website. I have never encountered such inhospitality and rudeness, especially as I have written many reviews on my travels. On their website it states Breakfast 9am to noon. Then lunch noon til 3 pm. The menus listed did not mention cream teas, hence my initial inquiry as to whether they could provide us with this. The website contained the wording ‘Breakfast, lunch and sweet treats for the gourmet in all of us.’ I would recommend clear and precise times on the website for anyone wishing to visit. We departed and found a pub nearby and what a difference. Most accommodating, where we were able to have a variety of freshly made sandwiches and a pot of tea each.

We’ve been staying in Slindon for a week and found this great coffee shop. It’s in a beautiful setting at Denmans Garden and you don’t have to pay entry to the garden to get to the cafe. They’ve a really cool coffee bar and ample seating in the conservatory with a real modern feel. Outside is a gravel area with plenty of seats under the shade of the trees. They offer breakfast and lunch along with fantastic home made cakes. Our first breakfast left us wanting more. It was a busy day but didn’t have to wait more than 20 minutes for our food. The sausages are proper meaty sausages and the hash browns are made fresh every morning. My with had the Mediterranean breakfast with perfectly poached eggs. The coffee is really good too! We decided to go back again for lunch another day and again the food was fantastic. Everything was full of flavour and really fresh. The staff are really friendly and there’s just a really cool, chilled vibe there and the story of how the 2 guys came to open the cafe and start Midpines is both admirable and romantic. If you’re in the area, it’s well worth taking time out of your day to visit. Well done guys!! See you when we come back at Christmas!

Went to this new restaurant with high expectations after reading the positive reviews. It is in a beautiful setting (although a little difficult to get to) and immaculatly clean and the waiting staff were friendly. However what let it down was the wait time for...

Excellent- best afternoon tea I’ve ever had. A wonderful selection of sandwiches, delicious, delicate cakes with warm scones. Lovely professional service - kind and warming. The setting is amazing & very peaceful too- thank you!

This Cafe is set in Denmons Gardens, Fontwell. This is very well set out with tables inside and out so can be used year-round. You can also pay to go and see the gardens. The service was a little slow but considering it was lunchtime...