National Glass Centre Brasserie in Sunderland

The cafe environment is nice and the views are lovely. Unfortunately the menu and food are really disappointing. Limited menu, not cheap and food was poor, toasted ciabatta ata not toasted and hardly any filling.

A super place to have a simple coffeee or a good meal. Is a lovely place to sit with good views. The food and drink are excellent Friends I was with this time thought it was also excellent

Four of us for an enjoyable “Festive Lunch”. Short menu but good. Presentation good. Quality (and quantity!) good. Staff and service good. So, that will be good then!

Enjoyable visit for Breakfast. We have always found the staff to be friendly, and this visit was no different. My husband had a sausage sandwich, which he said was really tasty and I had a toasted tea cake with jam. On the way out we decided to purchase two cheese scones to take out. They looked really nice, but we were disappointed when we ate them. They were dry and stodgy and the only cheese was on the top of the scone.

Called in for late lunch while visiting the museum. Gluten free bread not available for toasted sandwich, jacket potatoes not available either. Salad Nicoise the only option left for my gluten and dairy intolerant daughter. The vegetable and five bean dish certainly had 5 beans in but not 5 different varieties although it was obviously home made. Asked for glasses of water 3 times … I think the staff were on closing for the day mode… Not a cafe I would recommend.

Cafe now "cash-free". Staff member claimed this was due to Covid. I am tired of Covid being used as an excuse for poor customer service and discriminatory behaviour. Will not be returning.

Enjoyed a ‘light bite’ meal here in between attending a fused glass workshop. We were able to reserve a table to ensure we had seating at the set break time which was an excellent idea, as Sundays can be busy.Enjoyed an omelette and toastie from the menu and drinks of cappuccino and got chocolate. Everything was extremely tasty and service was quick and friendly.

We went as a family for a birthday meal for my husband. As it was the Sunday before Christmas we are always apprehensive about the quality of a Christmas menu. We were not disappointed. From telephone booking for reserving a table to choosing our food, the service was superb. The staff were really accommodating and the choice on the Festive menu was good. The presentation of our meals was good and the meals were delicious. Views over the river were lovely. An enjoyable family occasion.

We were visiting the national glass centre to do glass bauble blowing and booked a table for two for the festive lunch prior to attending our workshop. We only had two courses of pate starter and turkey dinner for a main. The food was simple and really nice. We he staff were really friendly and helpful.We had a really good experience and would recommend a visit to the cafe.

The glass centre is a friendly and welcoming place, staff lovely and lots to see. We had Sunday lunch today and were very pleased. The tomato soup was freshly made and delicious. Bread roll could gave been warmed though. My vegan butternut squash pasta was tasty and plentiful, served with a side salad as I couldn’t eat the Parmesan bread. Friendly, quick service. I’ll be back.

Visited with friends from out of the area. Had a great time looking round the National Glass Centre., however cafe was a great disapointment.Last time I visited it was waitress service , this time we just sat down and waited and waited for the young staff to finish their chat. I had to indicate we ready to order only to be told you had to order at the counter.Scones only average, tea insipid.Shame.

really good food and drink withing the glass museum. Lovely staff and great simple food and drink. The space it light and airy and overlooks the river and dock. Great when a ship in dock adds to the atmosphere. Lovely to sit and ponder life!

Regularly have coffee and cake here and today ordered lunch with a waiting time of "25 minutes" which we accepted. 45 minutes later, still waiting, our 10 month old granddaughter was pretty tired by this time! Although it wasn't the fault of the front of house staff, not once did they apologise or comment on our waiting time( inadequate training in customer care,in my opinion) Food was ok, but really, those in charge- owner, manager???need to be on hand to actually see how things work rather than leaving it to overworked and hard pressed frontline staff. I'd think twice about returning for a meal.

Tried to book a table over 3 days. No telephone response. Finally left a message for them to phone me about a booking. They didn't!.. Turned up at the Glass Yard. Had to stand 20 minutes in a queue to order food. It was another 30 minutes before the food arrived. The food was unappetizing. Quiche Lorraine was like a slice a custard tart, with an extremely thin layer of ham along the base, served with some cold red cabbage, and shredded lettuce. Ugh! Won't be eating here again. Food and service used to be good; but not any longer.

We went to the Glass Centre this morning for coffee, which we do fairly often and looking forward to eating Lemon Drizzle Cake. When we got there, about 10.30, it was to find that they did not have cakes on offer until 11.30 (since when has this been happening). Breakfast was possible from 10-12 but we did not want this. We could have a variety of croissants or scones so settled for a cheese scone and a fruit scone without the cream. The cheese sconce was so dry that I struggled to eat it and the fruit scone was burnt. There were very few customers which doesn't surprise me so sadly we will not be returning which is a great pity because we really enjoyed going.

Me and my family visited here for Fathers Day. We booked a month in advance yet when we turned up today we had to wait an hour and a half for our meals (sunday dinner) which came without veg. By the time the vegetables arrived everyone had eaten their meals, not to mention how freezing cold the meals were. We informed the staff of our issues only to be told that it was because other groups brought more people than they booked for which somehow makes it okay for our meals to suffer despite the fact we actually brought 2 less people than booked for. The food was atrocious and the staff even worse. If you want to treat your loved ones to a nice meal there are plenty of better places in the north east.

This could be a great experience but it's not, it the second time we have visited and both times our experience was not good. You wait ages for food & it's not busy tables not clean & poor attitude from staff at the counter.

Lovely venue, went for a business lunch and received our tea almost immediately. Unfortunately, the loose leaf tea was very weak with a terrible bitter aftertaste. We waited twenty five minutes for two salads and only on enquiry I was informed that the order had not gone through to the kitchen. There was only one other cover alongside us so it wasn't busy. We had no apology from the manager, didn't get a full refund and the customer care was shocking. Needless to say we won't be coming back...such a shame as it's a great place to meet with colleagues and business partners.

Slow service, long wait for food, inattentive staff, used tables cleared terribly slowly.

How disappointing was our visit to the glass yard - very! This was an ideal place to take my mother for lunch as there is plenty of room for wheelchairs and being on the Riverside is great. We looked at the menu on line beforehand and were looking forward to the grazing boards or hot dish of the day. The actual available fayre bore no resemblance to the advertised menu which should be taken down as obviously there has been a change of ownership/management. No grazing boards. Hot dish of the day - sandwich and soup. We grudgingly chose chicken tikka Masala which was like a bland frozen ready meal, prawn and avacado salad - just horrible and cheese and ham toast - the winner. Forty minute wait, two choices from the limited menu had run out. If you're going then stick to coffee and cake and don't expect much.

What has happened to this restaurant. I have not visited for a number of years and looked forward to Sunday roast lunch. The lunch was the worst I have had. Mash potato or was in Smash, nuclear roast potatoes, hard vegetables and rubber Yorkshire pudding . Everything about the meal and the service delivery is cost saving and lack of customer focus.

Visited the glass centre today as a family and wanted something to eat so thought we would eat here. The food is so expensive, £10 for an average meal which all looked like processed food, not home made. We had 2 coffees, a cake and an ice cream for my son, easy enough. The Victoria sponge cake was stale, all of the outside was solid and I could bash it with my fork and chunks would crack off, so we got up and told them and got another slice which was better but still stale rather than soft and moist as it should be. So, we finished the cake and our coffees and 17 minutes later were still waiting for the ice cream so we got up again to tell them and finally got the ice cream on the table without apology nearly 20 minutes after ordering and after we had finished our drinks and food.

The atmosphere in the cafe was nice and the view was good but the food was expensive with little options available. However they do cater to vegetarians and the staff were helpful.

Visited Today with my wife and kids. Food was delicious I had chorizo pasta and my wife had the braised beef which was dish of the day. Kids both had a kiddy meal which included a fruit shoot. We did have to wait 15 minutes but the food was lovely and it was busy, due to half term which we were informed when we were chatting with the staff. Good value for money in total we spent less than £30. We all came away very happy. Keep up the good work

The pasta is the worst it taste like rubber and the service is rubbish I will only go there for drinks

Well my sister and I have spent the last two to three years regularly visiting the Glas Centre bistro.

Confusion from the first instance. We booked a table as we were led to believe Sunday was busy. Nobody on reception...where is reception anyway? Eventually led to a table. Obviously no need to book. Sign on counter says -'order here'. Apparently that's only if you didn't book. Otherwise you just sit like a lemon and then have to ask for service. They all look so bored. and they're slow. Service is sloppy. Nobody seems to know what's going on.

This restaurant is at The National Glass centre and is housed in the modern building with lovely river views and displays of art glass around.

We were booked for the day on the ceramics course on Sunday so we wanted a table at lunchtime for a sandwich and a coffee. Not much to ask for I would think even if they were serving Xmas dinners. How this place has gone downhill. The staff were untidy for a start. Their white blouses were definitely looking shabby, hair untidy and rough. What happened to the smart waiters showing us to our tables. Oh no you now have to queue for your food. I read that this was being trialled earlier in the year to get served more quickly. Well it does not work and if the manager reads all of the poor reviews since then he will change it back to what it was. I had to return to the counter three times just to get my coffee! No sandwiches only a couple of scones left at 12.30 which were stodgy. This is a restaurant in an iconic visitor centre in Sunderland. You don’t expect as a visitor to be told you should have booked for your food even at Xmas time. People are coming here to see the wonderful glass displays which are excellent so why is the restaurant letting it down. Something needs to be done to improve it. As for table service. You queue to place your order then hope they bring the food! A table nearby waited over half an hour for their Xmas dinner which they’d booked. Not good enough.

First time in here and we won't return. Staff need to find their manners. Waited in the queue and were told we needed a table number. The other people in our group were looking for a table and the waitress said the table they were going to was reserved. When asked which tables were not reserved she replied "the ones without reserved on!".

This was our 5th year for bauble blowing and Christmas dinner. Unfortunately even after booking in September for 6 people to dine and even though we chose our meals from the menus on the table, we were told yesterday that there was no Christmas Dinner available??? Apparently we were misinformed in September?? Even though we visit on the same weekend each year!! Someone forgot to mention that the Christmas Dinner will not be served until 1st December. Disappointed didn't begin to explain how we felt. But we all re chose although I then asked for the turkey sandwich (with BBQ sauce) without BBQ sauce. Simple enough but guess what that wasn't possible. By this time there were 8 people waiting in line to place their order because this year the 3 waitresses no longer waited tables to take orders. They stood by the bar next to me!!

We went here based on a suggestion fro. TripAdvisor and we were not disappointed. The building is fantastic and gives a great view over the river.

Called for a visit round the museum and a lunch in the restaurant. Has changed since last visit where order placed at counter after lengthy wait in queue, instead of previous table service.

Have not been here for a year and it's gone down hill a little bit

The cafe is at The National Glass Centre and has a lovely view over the River Wear. As it was a cold day we ordered hot food for lunch - and then waited over half an hour for it to arrive. No explanation, no apologies. If when we had placed our order we had been warned of the long wait, we would at least have had the opportunity to cancel or change our order to something that didn’t require preparation. The food, when it arrived, was good, although the soup had been slopped over the side of the bowl. The children’s portions are very generous.

Visited The Glass Yard recently with a friend as she had never been here before. This cafe is really nice with lovely views of the river, and also offers an outside seating area. We both had a piece of cake and a hot drink. The lemon cake was delicious and the carrot cake was lovely and moist. I have been to The Glass Yard a few times and have always found the staff to be friendly.

Went as a group of 4 for birthday lunch Two of the meals were fine but the roast dinners were cold.I asked for mine to be warmed up but it came back just as cold.The room was quite cold .Wouldn’t recommend.

Great latte .... awful bacon sandwich.

Looking for a late light lunch we decided to try The Glass Yard. I had an omelette which was well cooked and tasty, but the salad was minimal. Another member of our party had a fish finger sandwich, which also had minimal salad, and the fish fingers were cut in half before being put in the sandwich. Nice surroundings, and the photography exhibition in the room off the restaurant was excellent. So generally a pleasant meal, pity they didn't add a bit more salad and fish finger.

I have been to the Glass Yardany times and the service is never the greatest,but today it has been terrible. So slow and I have finished my drink, looked around an exhibition and my food still hasn’t arrived. Don’t think I’ll be returning for a while. Very disappointed

Frosty reception when seated,when we had chosen from menu told of 30 minute wait for food,why not before? The food, dry brown bread not a lot of filling,veg burger very bland, no offer of condiments,a while since we have been here, even longer before we return

My friend and I love to walk to the Glass Centre from the city for snack lunch. The staff are always pleasant but service is usually slow. Today we ordered and paid at the counter and sat outside. We asked for our tea to be served with our sandwich and chips so that it would still be hot when the food arrived. The tea came in two paper cups! When I asked the reason I was told it was a new rule! I questioned this again when our sandwich came and was told that cups were not allowed outside! Strange..as food is not served on paper plates and all around us people were drinking wine etc out of glasses, not plastic tumblers! The sandwich was served in white bread, instead of the brown which we had ordered, it was replaced, but on inspection there was hardly any filling. After complaining, a slice if ham was brought out to us. We had to ask for condiments..sachets of mayonnaise and vinegar were brought, then we asked for salt and pepper! Not the best ! I hate drinking tea out of a cardboard cup, and we weren’t even given spoons to remove the tea bags. Not the best experience. It is a lovely place to go and we have always loved to visit, however I think we will have to think long and hard before we return

Great views over the old docks so a mix of nostalgia and new businesses popping up. You can sit outside when it is sunny and there is lots of seating inside. Good friendly service and great options for lunch as well as tea and coffee. We visit this place every year we come up to Sunderland to see friends. After refreshments you can wander through the shop, gallery and see the exhibits. Great parking too.

Followed a coach party into this excellently positioned cafe and rather than stand in a queue we were shown to our seats and served very quickly considering the amount of customers ahead of us. I had the Toffee Cake and Jen had a Fruit Scone, good presentation and fantastic taste.

Because we were in a large party we got table service from very friendly staff. Our order was varied, but well cooked, well presented and delicious Thank you we will return.

Went for lunch here with my 4 year old grandson as we were at the Glass centre for a workshop. The staff were lovely friendly and attentive. The brasserie was a little grubby I appreciate that it was lunch time and busy but there is really no excuse for tables chairs and floor to not be cleaned during service. Grandson was hungry and, as a 4 year old does, he wanted chicken nuggets, beans and chips. The portion was huge, freshly cooked and he said it was delicious - result. I had the worst cheese scone I have ever had ( they had already ran out of fruit scones despite advertising afternoon teas) it was large ,dry and tasteless in fact it was so dry that when I had finished my coffee I could eat no more as it just sucked the moisture from my mouth. As to price our lunch was just short of £11 I think the glass yard should have a children's meal deal as £4.80 for a child's meal and 90p for a bottle of flavoured water is a little steep. Oh and review their scone recipe.

This is obviously a popular place to eat, not just for visitors to the Glass Centre, but in its own right too. We visited on a Sunday and several other diners had the Sunday lunch, complete with the most enormous Yorkshire puddings!

Pop in after visiting the glass blowing. This place doesn't know what it wants to be. It is basically a cafe but it wants to be a restaurant, It has unnecessary table service for folk who just want a coffee

Decided to go through new art gallery first so walked straight through brasserie and into gallery so on way out took a empty table at the back for eats drinks etc as was getting busier.after about 5 mins was ignored and i went to counter and asked for menu i was told we give you a menu when you wait at front of brasserie to be seated i explained id been in gallery and middle aged lady said she would come over,she didn’t come over she dealt with customers who waited at front in line.after a few more minutes,(i was ready to leave )and eventually a young girl came and took our order.food was delicious and priced reasonably.need clarification on seating etc and better all round customer service.nice atmosphere and lovely views also.

While at the National Glass Centre had a light lunch at The Glass Yard.

Potentially The Glass Yard has everything: Delightful Location with pleasant surroundings , alongside the River Wear looking out to the harbour and the open sea. Staff are well trained, attentive, polite and friendly. The it all goes to pot, figuratively speaking. We visited today Sunday...

This is a large space, it’s light and airy with great views all round through the floor to ceiling glass walls. There is a variety of seating , mostly table and chairs but include a number of large settees. There is outdoor seating too ....

Afternoon tea for the second time, we all really enjoyed it The sandwiches on the second visit weren't as good as the first (looked the end of the loaf and some were a little dry) Scones are definitely one of the best especially when warm...

We have a soft spot for this place. Lovely ambience. We have had many coffees and snacks here and always been very happy. On our 57th wedding anniversary we decided to have Sunday lunch there. Good cold starters, beautiful looking beef and Yorkshire puddings, but...

Great place to meet up and have a coffee. Such a lovely location by the riverside. It is spotlessly clean and on a warm day it was a sun trap

We visited on a Saturday afternoon, plenty of parking. Lift down to the restaurant. We asked if we could have a seat at the window. The young lady who served us was very polite, and helpful.

This place is well worth a visit. Not an extensive menu but, what there is, is very good. We had a delicious fish platter and great tasting coffee. Staff were pleasant and the service was good. All in such a great setting!

We stopped for coffee, an Americano and a skinny latte. Both were hot and fresh. It would have been nice to have been given a complimentary biscuit as you do in most high standard cafes.

We had a nice lunch at The Glass Yard sitting outside overlooking the docks. The food was nice and the staff were friendly.

Popped into The Glass Yard in between activities in the Glass Centre for a little snack. Wasn't too keen on our waitress who was persistent in coming over constantly before we had a proper chance to look at the menu. There wasn't much to the menu and a bit over priced so options were limited especially for our kids. They didn't even sell crisps so just went for a drink for the kids. I opted to have a scone which just fell apart and the cream wasn't very nice to go on it. Some prices were even wrong on the menu. Service was slow resulting in us missing the start of a glass blowing demonstration and the guy that brought our food over didn't seem very friendly at all. My sister in law was considering it for her wedding reception venue but has been put off. Improvements need to be made as this lets the rest of the Glass Centre down.

We had coffee & cake here when visiting the National Glass CentreVery nice open space with the option of eating outside on the terrace overlooking the harbour (if only the weather had been good enough!)

A bit disapointing. Overpriced in the cafe with limited amount of food available. Overpriced gift shop. Interesting view of glassblowers

We were visiting the National Glass Centre and enjoyed a very good lunch in The Glass Yard. The choice of food and drink was extensive and the service was very good.

Visited while going round the national glass centre.The service was a little slow but it was quite busy. Once our order was taken the food arrived quite quickly. The presentation was good and the whole meal tasted wonderful. Price was reasonable for the quality that was presented to us.

We were seated promptly by a nice member of staff, we were give 2 menus, one was a special, it looked great ordered 2 things off there, 2 mins later we were told they had none of the items on the special menu, so we reordered 2 sandwiches and a few sides, the sandwiches came, but no cutlery (Flat wear ). after asking we did get some, however the sides never appeared, but were on the bill, The food was good, and the place was clean and had a nice view, but to be honest I think we would take a pic nic next time and sit out in the sun.

We booked for Sunday lunch for 12pm, it was quiet when we first got there but it was starting to fill up as we left. We had a starter, I had soup and my husband had pate, both very nice. Sunday lunch was served quickly and there was plenty of meat, staff were good although there seemed to be a lot of them for such a quiet place. The surroundings were really nice and lovely view

We decided to have a drink and snack prior to the fused glass workshop with our children.Lovely atmosphere and great view.The kids had unicorn ice cream which looked great !Carrot cake tasted nice but was very dry .Great , friendly service.

love meeting up in the glass yard with friends. very spacious and has a varied menu. Ideal for coffee and cake or lunch. Staff are friendly. I always migrate to the comfy sofas!

Went here after an inpromptu visit to the Glass Centre. I was glad that we stopped by to have our lunch here, as not only the cafe has a nice atmosphere, the food and service was also good! We ordered seafood platter for 2 but we hardly could finish it as the portion was large! The hot chocolate was divine. We wanted to get some cakes as for dessert but were too full after having the main course. The meal of seafood platter for 2, hot chocolate and soda cost us only £19.80 ! Its much much cheaper than we had thought for that kind of food, service, quality and venue. Overall, we had great experience. We will definitely come back in summer and sit outside!

Just wanted to say thank you to the very attentive and polite waiting staff today- you made my grandparents day after we had the butchers platter and the fish platter which were both adapted to be gluten free. We decided to share both plates which were meant for 2 between us but both were amply sufficent for a light lunch and excellent value for money. The staff were very knowledgeable- extra brownie points to the girl serving us with blonde hair (really sorry I forgot your name). The only thing that might have made our experience slightly better was the fact it was awfully warm- is this just one of the down sides of being in a glass building? Despite this, service was fast and efficient and the glass plates were a thoughtful touch. I look forward to returning much more often. Thank you

Had a great 3 course lunch to celebrate Mothers Day. The food was excellent with a Sunday roast almost like Mam used to make. The service was very friendly and professional- they aimed to please and they certainly succeeded. I would certainly recommend The Glass Yard to others.

The service here has improved greatly since October - don't sure what's changed but the staff were attentive and helpful even though they were extremely busy during half term. We visited twice last week for lunch and coffee/wine - sandwiches and chips were tasty but it was a little pricey for our usual lunch budget. Will definitely go back in the future as the location is great and it seems to keep getting better. Thanks

A lovely glass building containing this restaurant where the food is good the staff are a delight and professional. This is a great place to sit overlooking the river and if lucky large ships loading and unloading. All very photogenic.

We only wanted 2 coffees. Waited to be seated. No lunch menu. Went and got one.Waited to have our order taken. Waited at least 10 minutes before we asked where the coffee was. Waitress stopped clearing an empty table and went to check. Came back to say it would be ready soon. Waited some more while a different waitress got around to it and brought it over. Finished our coffee and waited. No bill arrived. Eventually we went to the counter without a bill and waited. Paid and left. There were several staff around but they seem to have no organisation at all. The most time-wasting, irritating, labour intensive, cup of coffee ever. Despite what the blurb on their site says, it has the atmosphere of a station cafe. But not as fast.Coffee was ok. Will they ever get it right?

Havn't eaten here for ages but fancied giving it a go.Could not fault it. The staff were friendly and attentive. Breakfast was excellent and plentiful. The Glass Yard was busy so that says a lot.

Metro to St Peters and off for walk along the river and headland towards Seaburn. Stopped off here for coffee and scone. Coffee good, my cheese scone very stoggy. Hubby had fruit scone, said was okay. Expensive too. Had better in other places.would not hurry back.

Food and menu ok. Service terrible. Start to finish wasn't very good, was not busy either and I counted 5 members of staff. Waited to be seated then menus were 'plonked' on the table and waitress walked off, she never spoke to us. We ordered via a different waiter who I mentioned about the previous waitress and he apologised. Food came fairly quick I got a sandwich and chips, son got kids fish fingers, chips and beans. My chips were missing, waited several minutes. The waitress who had brought the food was now talking behind the bar so I walked over and mentioned my chips as couldn't get anyone's attention. They came out quite cold in a bowl. My sons chips were red hot. We ate our food, no check backs or anything although we noticed tables around us received this. We waited 10 mins after eating for someone to come over as wanted dessert for son. Nobody came, tables around us were cleared even though there was no customers sitting at them. Again no member of staff even so much as looked at us. After another few minutes I got up and went to the counter to just pay as it was clear nobody wanted to serve us!I told the waiter about the service...something I never ever do. He then got his manager who came out apologised which was nice of him but I think there was no need for bad service. It was a week day, not busy and had plenty staff! The only waiter who was even nice was the 2nd who took our order. First didn't speak and she honestly looked like she was hating life, so miserable and the other Young girl didn't seem very friendly. Manager seemed pleasant however wouldn't return.

I often visit this cafe/restaurant and over the last tear they appear to have covsitanrly improved. The food is fresh and tasty with good selection. You can't beat the coffee and ever changing views of the river never fail to impress

Great setting and good quality - a bit different from the usual! held our wedding reception here and it was excellent.

With having a 4 month baby we never can plan when he's hungry. We had wanted to visit the national glass centre and found the cafe inside a perfect place to stop. Upon arrival staff very friendly. Seated and ordered a coffee, OJ, scone and cream and a gluten free homemade brownie. (The Mrs was pleased) Coffee was excellent served hot which is always a bonus. The scope arrived warm as it was freshly cooked this morning however the jam was cheap and the cream was whipping cream rather than clotted however for £2.50 not badly priced. The main menu seemed to have a good selection of food. However 8.95 for.a full English seemed high. However the location normally increases the price and what I noticed from other dinners it looked pretty good. All in all a good visit and would happily pop in again.

The glass yard is a great place to eat. Due to the layout, even when it's busy it still seems roomy and never crowded. The staff are lovely and very accommodating. I highly recommend the sea food platter.

We went to The Glass Yard whilst visiting the centre and had our lunch there last Saturday. When I say lunch it was a cake and scone affair (which were delicious) with tea and coffee. We were served promptly by a young lady who was full of smiles - in fact all the staff were exceptionally friendly, well mannered and polite. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience and will definitely go again when we are in the area. I would recommend anyone who enjoys good food in friendly surroundings to do the same.

We stopped for lunch here while searching for Snowdogs! What a lovely lunch spot. Our twin granddaughters, aged 3, had a good choice of children's meals and they opted for pizza and chips- tasty pizza on a baguette style bread and really chunky chips. My husband and I chose a sharing captains platter - we were astonished when it arrived- huge portions of smoked salmon, mackerel, poached salmon and king prawns served on a slate board with dressing and bread. All excellent and superb value at £15. Overall a smashing family lunch in a comfy relaxing environment. Well done Glass Yard!

Lovely setting, lovely staff, lovely food. Enjoyed long long with friend, great place to catch up and chat. Relaxing environment and menu choice good. Maybe limited but very nice. Tina sandwich fresh and well presented

Recent visit offered good views over the river, staff really pleasant and helpull, food good quality and well presented. Lovely walk from the glass center along the river to the marine to walk off lunch

Very limited menu. More a cafe than a restaurant. Inside and outside tables. An ideal place to have a cup of tea, a piece of cake and watch the world go by on the river.

Excellent quality, well prepared and presented. Also has the advantage of serving locally produced beer from micro brewery, which should be emphazised more

I was visiting the glass centre with my daughter and happened to find this by accident. The menu here is to be recommended. Beautiful sitting looking out onto the river wear. This is definitely a restaurant I shall be making a point of returning to. Service is excellent and friendly. Top marks all round.

I go here quite regularly for coffee with a friend. Really nice atmosphere -lovely and light and spacious with good views over the river.At lunchtime it can be busy but otherwise you can invariably get a table by the full length windows. Tea and coffee both very good - so are the fruit scones, but sadly they often run out before early afternoon.Staff are mostly young but very friendly and keen to help.

The Glass Yard ( Cafe / Restaurant ) is located within the National Glass Centre in Sunderland. My wife and 3 friends visited at 10.45 today 29 June 2016.Two hot chocolates, they came in an ordinary coffee cup. What about cream ? We cannot give you cream, we have no gas, make of that as you will. You forgot the marshmallows. Right, they were tiny and brought on a plate.A non tea or coffee drinker, have you a fresh orange, they came back with we cannot find any. Again make of that as you will.The coffee drinker got her coffee. Overall pretty poor for an ordinary Wednesday morning. It would appear this could all be put down to poor management of the facility, and / or poor staff trading.

My first visit since the restaurant was renamed and it was really good. There was a good choice of food both on the main menu and the "specials". My haddock and cod fishcakes with chips,peas and parsley and lemon sauce were very good and my friends all liked their food (risotto, piri-piri chicken,salmon and prawn salad). Coffee was good,too and the staff were friendly and helpful. The view over the river was spectacular. I will definitely go there again.

A really good space within the glass museum. Brilliant design. The food on offer was really good and very tasty and the coffee was very good. The staff superb and friendly. A really nice place besides the docks to spend a few hours. Loved it.

I've been here a few times but not since its been renamed. I thoroughly enjoyed a lovely Sunday lunch. The service was excellent. The portions were perfect, the food was piping hot and very tasty. The venue lacked a little bit of an atmosphere but offered a pleasant environment. Good value for money.

I eat out 3-4 times a week, all over the north east with my job. The range of restaurants I visit is quite extensive, from very expensive fine food restaurants to basic run-of-the-mill cafes. Despite The Glass Yard being essentially a cafe that serves a small selection of food, the service, the attention to detail, and the quality of the food matches, and indeed, exceeds the quality of several very very expensive restaurants I've been to. I have to note mainly this is down to the absolutely exceptional standard of service the staff provide. Because of the nature of my work, looking after a disabled client, meal times take a fair while - sometimes up to two hours. So in this time I get to see how places are run as other diners come and go. What I can say about Andrew, the young man who is supervising the staff, is that he does this very very well indeed. Something I see regularly is badly managed staff with nothing to do, just standing staring at the diners. This is so off putting, and doesn't lend itself to a relaxed environment when you eat. Non of this here. Andrew was constantly communicating with his staff, and they were constantly busy with things. Check back was perfectly timed (I've seen check backs done in restaurants anywhere from 10 seconds after you start your meal to when you're just about to finish... Pretty bad timing!) and the staff were so polite, helpful, and I was particularly impressed by a waitress who, despite not being my server, took the time to approach me and thank me for coming. Unfortunately I did not catch her name, but I hope whoever reads this can work out who she is from this review (it's Wednesday 1st June today and I was with my disabled client and female colleague) so she can be personally commended on this, because it was such a lovely touching thing to do. I can't recommend this place enough, and you will be bowled over by the food if you take the time to visit. We'll be back time and time again for sure.

Stopped here for lunch today with work colleagues. I had a delicious prawn sandwich. My company had the sea food share plate and the other a Greek salad. All the ingredients appeared fresh and the service was very efficient. Will definitely call again. Plus the views from the large glass windows- great location.

A fantastic night at The Glassyard celebrating our daughter and her fiance's engagement. Very spacious venue and the view over the river was fabulous especially when it was dark and the lights reflected across the water. Food was delicious with a choice of chilli with jalapenos and nachos and roast duck and noodles. Staff were very efficient and friendly. Definitely a night to remember and a perfect location.

We decided to have lunch here before heading across the river to the Sunderland Empire to see a show. None of our party had visited the Glass Centre before and sadly didn't allow enough time to see the exhibitions & demonstrations - thus guaranteeing a return visit. Lunch was beautifully fresh , served on lovely glass plates by extremely pleasant & courteous staff.

Nice restaurant inside glass museum. Usual food, snacks and drinks. Very clean and staff very pleasant.

Good meal. Limited choice of options but very good value. Presentation and quality were fine. A very pleasant location. Overall an excellent experience.

Do try the lemon cake - with a cup of coffee and the view over the water it's a perfect way to re-energise in the afternoon!