Oldrids & Downtown Cafe Culture in Boston

Thought we’d try oldrids downtown cafe today for lunch. Whilst in the queue being served the lady behind me asked if her plate food could be put in a takeaway box, the girl serving scooped everything off the plate with her bare fingers (chips and all) into the box without using utensils and handed it to her. Once we sat down the waitress brought me an empty but dirty cup for my tea,when I went to ask for a clean cup the girl looked at about 8 cups before she found a clean one and as I walked away the girl on the till shouted “it’s the dishwasher it’s not working properly !” Well maybe they need to be checking the cups before giving them out ! However I must say that the meal itself was good but it really made me wonder about the hygiene standards in the kitchen if that’s what there doing in full view.

After a busy morning checking out the range of furniture plus other things that we needed after our recent house move, we decided to stop for a bite to eat We ordered sandwiches which came quite quickly and were served with salad and crisps. They were really enjoyable and gave us the energy to do some more shopping!

We had a afternoon tea here last June and enjoyed it very much. Ourselves and some friends had received vouchers for a reduced price afternoon tea, so on recommendation from us, all 4 of us decided to book for yesterday. Well what can I say definately gone downhill, sandwiches dreadful with thick crusts infact some of the finger sandwiches were nearly all crusts with the way they were cut with very little filling. Must say the scones were delicious but the cake selection on the top tier was very disappointing, very nice cherry bakewell but then why date slice with the same pastry as the bakewell and some macaroons. Felt they were probably put together after the main rush so cakes were what were left over. For £28 for 2 which was the reduced price we thought was expensive for the poor selection, hence we wont be booking again much nicer afternoon teas elsewhere.

I don't usually leave reviews but on this occasion I feel I have no choice Today I had the small Sunday lunch and I just can't think of one good thing to say about it,one thing doesn't do it justice,EXCELLENT VALUE,VERY TASTY ,PERFECTLY COOKED SPROUTS, I really enjoyed it if I could have rated it 6 I would have done...

Food here is always great. Just one issue though. I had the chicken gougons salad..absolutely fab. However..there was enough salad to feed 3 at least and I hate waste. This woukd have been great value with just half of the salad. The gougons were exceptional.

Beaut breakfast and really chatty staff. Plenty to choose from and very tasty. Coffee stamp incentive and not too badly priced.

My husband and I always enjoy our weekly visit to this cafe. On this occasion we were especially impressed with a relatively new staff member, Lorraine. Not only was she very personable and friendly, she was very efficient. She was on table clearing duty, and was very watchful for tables being vacated, so she could immediately clear and clean them. It was coming up to a busy time of day as people were arriving for lunch, but she kept the dining space ready for all incoming guests. This is worthy of comment as it is rare to see. More often than not when entering a cafe at a busy time, you are greeted with a sea of used tables, which even if they have been cleared, are rarely wiped and ready for re-use. Not at this cafe though! great job Lorraine.

Lovely coffee and slice of cake . Tables were cleared as soon as they are made vacant. Plenty of staff to deal with customers both behind the counter and clearing/cleaning.

Pleasant and accommodating staff with a buzz in the restaurant/cafe. The food was not so special - hunt the meet in the cottage pie and very over-cooked and almost grey brussel sprouts. The cafe offers a welcome solution for those who do not want fried food but the offerring could be improved.

Sunday lunch has a very limited menu if roast dinner not selected Staff and till not efficient, receipt did not reflect item ordered then wrong dish served and staff not apologetic. Table was not clean. They bring the food to the table but no cutlery, fetch that yourself. The sandwich was tasty and salad was good but the bread was not fresh.

We stopped here for lunch, mainly as we had wanted to go elsewhere but couldn't get a table and this was the next convenient location. There was plenty of available tables with comfy chairs, the staff were particularly friendly, especially the lady taking the orders at the till. My husband had the steak pie with mash & veg, which he scored it a 4/5 and I had the vegetable lasagne, with salad & garlic bread slices - certainly a 5/5! Very good value too. We will certainly come back when back in the area!

Love the staff and the food. We are regulars and they remember what we like to eat. Always smiling. Cakes are scrumptious and special deal with a hot drink. New larger seating area is amazing with lovely comfy seating. ❤️ Free WiFi. Space for wheelchair users and my quad walker too. Ava

We called in just hoping to get a coffee, however, the breakfast menu was very reasonable and as it contained local produce, we decided to try it. Everything was cooked lovely, great value for money. Toast was brought out just before the breakfast and then coffees followed shortly after. Great organisation.

First time visit would not go again. A good setting and offering but the wait for our order was unacceptable. We ordered 2 coffee's and went to our table as is the system here, 30 mins later still waiting on 28/1/23 1030 til 11.00. I spoke to the lady on the till Hayley ? who really didnt seem that bothered so asked for my money back and we left. How hard is it to get 2 coffees ......

We visit every Tuesday for a late breakfast snack, there is a good choice of beverages and teacake/scone/toast snacks, all lovely quality. However, the main reason for so many repeat visits can only be due to the staff. There are quite a few of them, but none stand idle. Dirty tables are immediately bussed, and even at times when there may be a queue, there is never a long wait for service. All are busy and occupied all the time, but always have time for the customers, to exchange a friendly greeting and a smile. This level of customer service deserves to be compimented, as it is rare these days.

For food,coffee and service I can’t fault it. But for the first time I was with someone who had a pot of tea. Considering the good surrounding and prices I was shocked to notice that the tea pot was an ancient stainless steel one. Come on. Up your standard.

We were there on a busy Wednesday (Market Day). Told there was 20 minute wait. So had excellent coffees whilst we waited. The food arrived spot on time. I had their genuinely home-made Lasagne, which was the quite the very best I've had in a long while. My friend had ham, egg and chips. Again, excellent in all departments. The quantities were just right, not too little or too much. Excellent value - £27 for two for all the above - what's not to like!

We very often have a tea and scones here, but the meals are also great value. The staff are all very friendly and helpful.

I have been at this Cafe last week for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised of how lovely the food was. The customer service was top class. All the staff were very friendly and helpful. All the environment was absolutely amazing. I have to say this is the best Cafe I have ever been in Boston. Huge thank you to all the staff. I will definitely be returning. 😊😊😊😊😊😊

This was an excellent breakfast value for money and a tasty Boston sausage lovily breakfast tea and afterwards a was able to purchase a bottle or pure apple juice good polite friendly service I wish they'd sell wine with breakfast and dinner though in the small bottles would totally recommend this cafe to everyone

Beautiful sandwiches for lunch that were made while we waited (5mins max). Presented with a good side salad and crisps. The hot food that was being brought out also looked yummy.

The food is good, but twice now I ended up waiting a very long time, 45 minutes normally and I chased. They deliver your drinks immediately and you end up buying more.

Went in Oldrids to buy soft furnishing and could smell the food and deided to go in for lunch and wasn't disappointed Partner had steak n ale pie roast potatoes peas carrots I had the chick pea and squash tagine with mash peas and carrots both reasonable portions and very tasty both had scone jam cream Would eat here again

First time we have visited in a few years, we went and the staff were lovely, we were served by a young lady called Victoria I think her name badge said she was so friendly and a real help, the service was incredibly fast and the café was very busy but they kept up to speed amazingly too would definitely come back

Great service today, sat at our table for lunch, got menu then had table service , Holly was excellent she went out of her way to see we were happy and safe, very pleased with food/ Cleanliness/ 2 metres apart from other tables, definitely recommend...

Love coming here. Service is friendly and efficient. Can’t wait until they start serving food again.

We had a traditional meal at lunchtime which was well cooked with a good selection of fresh vegetables. The staff serving the food and person at the cash desk were friendly. As we were paying a member of staff, who appeared to be a manager,...

Arrived at 11.30 just as they started to serve lunch which looked delicious and very fresh..We had pie and veg delicious however when we wanted a desert all that there was was a selection of cakes and scones.Dissapointing.

As on this occasion, we have previously ( previously being the operative word) visited this cafe for convenience as opposed to choosing to dine there, we were caught out as shopping and hungry but regretted our decision to eat here. The service was slow and...

It is light, bright and clean with a nice view of the street from the windows. The staff were pleasant, the food good value and tasty. It might be a store cafe, but I thought it was better than most similar ones that I have...

We were on our way to Skegness and this was a convenient place to stop for a coffee break. We only had drinks which were OK and came from a self service machine on the counter. We stretched our legs looking around the Sale -...

Good quality food for a quick lunch break. Nice seating area. Friendly staff.. shopping and eating !! What more could you want 😀

Have been meeting my friend here for lunch for quite some time but now choosing another establishment. The quality of this restaurant has been declining for some time, the choice of food has reduced, the quality has too. Last time had sausage and mash... sausage...

We called in 13th October, sunday,for some shopping and thought we'd call in the cafe for a bit of dinner, bad mistake. We looked at the hot food and walked out. The peas were black and looked like shrivelled up bullets, the carrots were all...

My husband and I had a lovely lunch here with my daughter. I can highly recommend the sandwiches, really fresh, well filled and nicely presented. The beef ghoulash soup was delicious, plentiful and hot. My daughter enjoyed her meal of sausage, mash and vegetables. The...

Pretty basic shopping café serving selection of salads, sandwiches, cakes, soup. Open late, but arrived at 3.30 and already sold out of many cakes and toasted teacakes.

Whilst waiting to be served, I couldn't help but notice that it seemed chaotic behind the counter...several staff/servers getting in the way of each other. I also noticed that the display of cakes (which looked lovely) were either mislabelled or not labelled at all. It...

Very clean and well presented restaurant.ideal tank fill up while deciding on what items you prefer. Nice pleasant staff, and ample parking.