Rotunda cafe in Brighton and Hove

My 4 word review is: No Potato Available Anymore For full review including photos, see potato_world_and_beyond on Instagram!

Great spot to come for a coffee! The food looked so good too but I’ve never actually ordered any food from here. In the perfect location surrounded by the park!

Food's good and prices reasonable

Coffee and cake were fine. Surrounds were tired.

As a former Brightonian, I always try to pop in here when I'm visiting. It's been a while, but everything was as good as usual. Thanks!

Having been vegetarian for many years I can say this was the best vegetarian breakfast I have had. Well cooked, well thought out selection , really good quality ingredients. Perfect poached egg. My brother had poached egg on toast with bacon which was also spot on. Definitely recommend.

Very convenient coffee shop at the southern end of Preston Park.

The Rotunda was a perfect party venue. The staff were amazing, so helpful and smiley. The manager made the booking simple and communication was really good throughout.

Abysmal attempt at "fine dining" , with the only thing they have managed to do correctly, being to perform daylight robbery on the families of Brighton. As a born and bred Brightonian, I am shocked and truly disappointed that such a historical, and long-serving public cafe in the park is being used for simple extortion. The prices of the food, drinks and simple snacks such as cakes and ice cream truly exceed the cost of those found in some of the most expensive cafes in London, and you'd half expect they were to be wrapped in gold leaf upon serving. However, they are the same product that has come out of the cardboard box from Bookers whole salers, of which every other cafe in the city also sell for half the price. The staff member we experienced was extremely rude and pretentious, with no regard for customer service. Which resulted in the loss of multiple customers for them during the visit. I don't imagine it's the 1st time families who have visited this park and cafe for many years, over many generations, have chosen to leave and venture elsewhere with their money and custom.

The coffee was ok but the bar for cafes is high in Brighton and merely being located in a good spot is not enough. Go to Rust instead it is just a short wander down London road, infinitely better and about the same price

A nice dog friendly cafe on the edge of Preston Park

This is a great place to meet family or friends. And take a walk around one of Brighton's best parks before and/or after some refreshments. The breakfast menu is good and available until 12.

Awesome wedding party venue, super helpful staff - and it couldn’t have gone any smoother!

Beautiful park 🦋 was perfect on a sunny day for a warm cup

Beautiful garden 🪴 with beautiful flowers 🌺 🌹 🌷

I've been here once a week for a year, in my work break, they do a great coconut cappuccino (although do charge extra for plant milks sadly). The staff are always very friendly and kind. It has lots of space for wheelchairs, a range of different seats and tables, dogs are allowed and it has good wifi. There are quite a few vegan options and it is next to an amazing rose garden with seats outside too.

Half filled paninis, cheap and nasty ketchup, friendly enough staff. Weird little no children allowed area next to where you queue makes it pretty annoying queuing if you've got children.

Great venue and cafe. I like the new decor in a beautiful setting of the rose gardens. 🌹

Lovely place perfectly place in the park.

A lovely place to have a snack and enjoy Preston Park and it's wonderful rose garden. Prices reasonable but the menu limited. Nice looking cake.

£8:60 for two Magnum ice creams!! Sorry but that’s disgraceful

Lovely outdoor seating with large space inside that allows for different needs from being in the cafe. Some people were having a work meeting in person, a few working on laptops, others for social meetups. Very relaxed inside.

In a cafe nestled in the park, the ambiance of chirping birds adds to the delight of enjoying their great hot chocolates. It seems like the perfect spot for those seeking to relax outdoors.

They go out of their way to make you feel uncomfortable for bringing your children inside. It’s such a shame, considering it’s proximity to the playground.

Popular since it's the main cafe in Preston Park, in a great location next to a pond and rose garden. The 1920's rotunda building has tons of charm (which they perhaps don't make the most of) and the people who work there are nice. But the food and drink is standard caff fare and priced a little high.

Held my father's memorial here. Staff were super helpful, and helped make it a very special day we will always remember. Thanks to everyone!

Felt warm and friendly, and the coffee ☕️ was one of the better ones I have had in Brighton and Hove.

Stopped in for a comforting hot chocolate 🍫 and it was fantastic 😋 nice atmosphere and in a wonderful location

Never had such a measly sandwich. One small slice of thin pastrami broken up for the whole panini? The cheese was also broken up to go further! The mustard mayonnaise and 4 slices of girkins gave it some taste! Never again 😂😂 ok coffee though.

Wonderfully friendly staff, delightful new decor & great coffee and cake. Someone has seriously turned this around from its previous incarnation and it is proving very popular.

Over priced , very poor service and poor quality food at high end cafe prices ! You pay for your food then you have to carry all your cutely and condiments to the table yourself then go fetch your coffee when it’s ready! When you pay to eat out at £15 for a breakfast and coffee it’s nice to sit and enjoy it not serve yourself ! Dogs barking and fighting makes for a very unpleasant meal !

Used to come here often but now it’s £4.30 for an oat chai latte I won’t be back. We’re not in London! 😫

Lovely quiet Cafe which is dog friendly. Tasty soup very welcome on a cold day

We loved this place. Popped in to get out of the rain and loved what we found. We ordered tea and mulled cider and enjoyed our sit down out of the rain. Lovely atmosphere. Staff couldn’t do enough. Perfect for us. We’ll be back.

Great find! Beautiful setting.. variable menu.. enjoyed fish & chips, burger, toastie with chips.. finished off with tasty brownie & ice cream. Friendly and helpful staff.. Will definitely be back!

Tuesday morning, 11 o’clock. Cafe almost half full. Ordered food and hot drinks. Service immediate and devoid of any fake corporate customer service personality. Very good start. Ordered vegan breakfast which took exactly how long it would take when cooked to perfection. Wonderful. Coffee nice. Cafe clean and tidy with lots of nice seating for couples or groups. Couple of well behaved doggies and some parents with their equally well-behaved pre-schoolers. Lovely place to land when you have an hour to kill charging the car up the road.

Female staff were particularly good ,extremely helpful and friendly

I wished they have more ale drinks on bottles. Good was great but guy taking the order looked like he could cheer up more.

Had possibly the worst English breakfast this morning. The eggs tasted like vinegar and were pale and small. The sausage was about 1" long and bullet hard. Mushrooms were grey and slimy, the toast cold and rock hard and the bacon undercooked streaky. Apparently the breakfast, which cost £12, was really good last week!

wow what a fantastic find! amazing fish and chips for us children enjoy their pirates plate filled with tasty sausage and mash finished off with delicious ice creams so many choices WE WILL BE BACK

Arrived with our 16 month grandson hoping to have a lunch with dessert at about 1.30pm. Place was quiet both inside and out on one of the sunniest days of the summer. Sadly no highchairs available! This is in a cafe about one minute away from a children’s playground. I did raise the question with a manager who told me the owner refused to spend the money needed to buy them! A ridiculous notion when they can be bought very cheaply. Why don’t they want children? We had a cold drink - outside - and left. Such a wasted opportunity for a family friendly space. Very disappointed.

Awful! Visited today with a friend and two children under 3. Waited to be served for a few minutes (with screaming kids wanting ice cream can feel like an hour). Counter staff served a customer who had just walked in. I interjected to say had been waiting to be told I had queued in the wrong place. I said okay and still asked to be served first to which I was just told No. Just AWFUL CUSTOMER SERVICE! I will NEVER spend money here again and I will tell everyone I can not to.

Nice vibes and a cool building but not lots of options and the bacon and sausages they stopped serving at 12 which was bad☹️

What a great idea to have a pop up pizza and bar in the park on Thur/Fri/Sat evenings in the summer. It's such a lovely place to have a drink in the evening sunshine. We've visited it 4 times. My only quibble is the guy serving the drinks isn't that friendly. He is sullen and doesn't appear to want to serve anyone. On our last visit yesterday. I asked him how he was and he said fine, but no reciprocal enquiry. Then, for my wife's G&T he got a half empty bottle of tonic out of the fridge. When he opened it there was no fizz, so clearly flat. This didn't stop him emptying it into her glass. She tasted it and said it was flat. He then replaced it but made no apology. The service experience could be a whole lot better.

Bought two icream . While I was in the queue holding my kid . a female member of staff totally ignore me and would like to serve a lady behind me .when I asked why she said I was holding 🍦, then I said I'm not here begging . I was here to buy you should ask me . Before that she was moving around as if she doesn't want to serve me The only reason she didn't was to serve me because I'm black .

Enjoyed a delicious pizza and beer at the new pizza evenings at the Rotunda. I believe they are Thursday Friday & Saturday. Really lovely to sit in the sunshine overlooking the rose garden. Food excellent and service. Always enjoy the Rotunda for coffee and cakes etc. Always lovely staff, very helpful. Keep up the good work.

Welcoming staff. Beautiful location and inside decor very appealing. However, the policy of having the exact money if paying cash is completely unacceptable and discriminatory. This would put me off returning.

I went here on a Friday and it wasn't the busiest which is great as I got served quickly, Had possible the best latte I ever had by the nicest server she said her name was kalula or something like that, I got a blt and it was fantastic bread was soft bacon was hot and lettuce was crispy, I sat inside as although a nice day a little breezy at points, nice music playing in the background but one thing spoilt my whole trip and I am not likely ro return, somone who I can only guess is the owner stormed into the cafe area moaned at a member of staff picked up something and marched off somewhere only to be heard moaning still and was not seen again for the duration of my visit, such a shame amazing food and coffee and brilliant staff

Such a shame, zero atmosphere or music, huge Q, for a simple ice-cream. No prices on display so a shock to be charged £3.20 for a Cadbury flake ice-cream. May I suggest that the ice-cream is displayed with prices so parents can make an informed decision and avoid disappointment. A range of affordable ice creams/snacks would appeal to families. Beautiful location, it could be a wonderful cafe, if more inviting atmosphere and affordable.

Came for Breakfast/lunch as working nearby. Coffee was good but the food wasnt fantastic. Food wasn't cheap either. Inside is a bit dull when its so sunny outside. But didn't like the look of all the dust/filth on the pendant lights above the cakes. The whole place just needs brighting up. and the backwards clock is just pointless. Outside. In the sun sitting outside is pleasant but lacks tables. Theres a couple of benches which are knakered and I cannot understand why they have not been removed as they are not even usable. Outside needs a good jetwash as its just seams so filthy. My first time in brighton and this wasn't the best experiance.

Simple menu, plenty of seating inside or out when the weather is good, set net to the rose garden. Can get bust at peak times.

Good cafe bar, and it lets dogs in 👏

Fantastic art deco refurbishment complements the building perfectly. Food was amazing and well presented. Staff are friendly and attentive. The Rotunda was a great venue for our special anniversary, so spacious and wooden floor made for dancing.

We were staying at a hotel by Preston Park & we’re walking our dog through the park when we found this cafe. It was a cold morning so we went in to get coffee & were surprised to find they were very dog friendly so...

Nice coffee, friendly staff, lovely setting and building.

Delightful setting by the rose garden. I had cooked food which was simply yet absolutely delicious. Staff were very friendly too

Overall: 9/10 Potato Score: 9/10 Other Fud: "nothing to grumble about" (my dining companion has not yet seen fit to emit a score) Service: 8/10 Accessible: 10/10 Price: 7/10 My first choice of target as Potato World's inaugural visit in my role of Head Reviewer,...

Came with my friend and her two children one who is my godson, I had a soft drink and a chocolate brownie which was delicious , good service as well

Lovely cafe, lots of space and sitting, very expensive though ! The prices would put me off going back.

Not enough staff coffee was not even hot nor enjoyable

I tried to come to this cafe last week with my two year old twins but was surprised to find that they had no high chairs and no children’s menu. This is a cafe in a park and two minutes from a playground, the fact...

We live locally and always enjoy this cafe, a lovely round building with inside and outside seating overlooking the rose garden The staff at the counter are friendly and pleasant, and the coffee and snacks are very good. The atmosphere is spoilt by hearing the...

Breakfast was decent at a good price. Quick service. Decor is nice. I like the vibe. I had lovely sausages and such lovely eggs thank you will come again if ever in Brighton. Lovely girl served me. See in next picture we ate everything

Visited Rotunda and asked about their gluten free options for lunch. I could see they had gluten free written on some of their cakes which was nice to see but not on any of their lunch options. I asked the guy at the till who...

Visited today and my daughter'treated' me. Unfortunately it was no treat!! Both white and granary breads were both stale by 1.15. The prawn sandwich was watery and my daughter's tuna sandwich was flavourless. What a shame for the price £5.95!!! Won't be going back 🤬💩

Lovely coffee and so tasty and packed chicken and mango chutney sandwich. Great flavour and good value. Other food looks very nice too! Nice to sit looking out at beautiful Preston Park rose garden.

We enjoyed a meal, excellent coffee and draft beer as we looked over the rose garden with its pond feature. A pleasant simple and varied menu. Extremely friendly staff and management, who showed patience and understanding of our children as they choose their ice creams.....

Living on Preston Road, I’ve come here a few times for a cappuccino (which is always top-notch). Brought friends with me this morning and we enjoyed three big breakfasts and three drinks for £30 - so reasonably priced! The service is superb and the staff...

9.40 for two indifferent coffees and one piece of ginger cake. Even for Brighton this is poor. They've never got it right with this place.

Despite saying they are child friendly this cafe has no high chairs and no children's menu. Had to buy an adults jacket potato which was cold and had been pre microwaved so was strangly hard. Food menu was good but considering its next to a childs playground its crazy that they don't welcome kids.

I used to like this cafe but they are still using takeway cups only! Refuse to drink out of plastic cups, so, sorry, they dont get my custom. Really do need to think of the impact of throw away cups on the environment.

Second visit in a month, staff not wearing mask or shield, won't be going again.

Was very happy to see the cafe open again , obviously under some regulations. I had a cafe latte very good coffee and a brownie that was delicious. Great service too

Went here for lunch today and to my absolute horror a member of staff threw out a mother with her young child because he was crying. She looked as if she was about to break down in tears. I couldn’t have been more disgusted at...

Nice cafe but opens too late and shuts too early.

We have been breakfast regulars as we live nearby, however we won’t be returning. As other reviewers comment, this cafe is dog friendly at the expense of being child friendly or even just friendly. The atmosphere among staff doesn’t feel too good - lots of...

Been here a few times with work, I’m a Carer so always looking to take people out to different places. This Cafe is great, lovely coffee, atmosphere and staff always with a smile. It’s a lovely place to come to.

The caesar salad was wonderful and so was the full English breakfast. Staff are really friendly and it's sweet that they allow dogs in :-)

Fui con un amigo y 4 nietos. Cafe está en buena posición cerca de la entrada. Decepcionado al descubrir que no tienen menú infantil. Nos dijeron (¿por un gerente?) Que podían adaptar los elementos del menú, pero este no era el caso. Esto fue más sorprendente en un gran parque casi en el centro de la ciudad que estaba lleno de niños en vacaciones escolares.Pedimos, baguettes, bueno, y patatas de chaqueta que estaban bien. Irritante por tener que seguir pidiendo agua, una jarra para la mesa o de barril hubiera sido buena. Habíamos pedido otras bebidas, así que en realidad habíamos gastado dinero en bebidas.Post Pride, con una gran parte aún separada del parque, no estaba tan lleno como es habitual en agosto. Había una pequeña cola en el mostrador, el personal era educado y no desagradable, pero parecía bajo presión. ? No es particularmente amigable, una sonrisa o dos hubiera sido agradable, pero no fue comunicativa. Larga espera en el mostrador para helados infantiles después del almuerzo. Nuevamente, no hay sonrisa o "conexión" con la persona que sirve.El ambiente en un establecimiento para comer proviene de la parte superior, he tenido y administrado varios cafés, así que, por amor de Dios, ¡el gerente puede cultivar algunas sonrisas del personal! ¡Quizás no se moleste ya que hay una audiencia cautiva! !

Nice place, nice staff, good prices.

Lovely little cafe in the park cxxc

Lovely old building in Preston Park. After a walk around, met up with friends for a coffee. Friendly and efficient service. Coffee was very nice.....will visit again!

Llevamos a nuestra nieta de 17 meses a la cafetería para el almuerzo. No hay sillas altas para niños, así que tuvimos que sentarla en nuestro regazo o en la silla. Intente sostener a un niño y alimentarlo al mismo tiempo, así como tratar de almorzar. No fue una experiencia agradable y terminamos con el yogur derramado. Cuando mencionamos al personal, dijeron que recibían muchas quejas de los clientes, pero el propietario no compraría sillas altas. Normalmente vamos a la otra cafetería en el parque, pero pensamos en probar esta ya que estaba más cerca del área de juegos para niños. Otro crítico también señaló las señales de que no había niños en un área con sillones. También es interesante observar que cuidan a las mascotas mejor que los niños que ofrecen golosinas para perros. Vengo al parque todos los viernes y era obvio que no me quieres allí con mi nieta. Mi esposo también señaló lo sucios que estaban los pisos, incluso si puse a mi hijo abajo, no hay forma de que quiera que ella camine por el piso. Volveré al café mucho más amigable en el parque donde mi nieta es bienvenida y los precios son mejores.

Pasamos la mañana en el parque y pensamos que almorzaríamos en una cafetería cercana, el personal es encantador, excepto por el jefe o gerente que también habla de su personal como basura en frente de los clientes, aunque la señora que me atendió era conversadora y muy amistosa. muy paciente con mi hijo mientras él elegía un polo de hielo, la música monótona allí, y el ambiente es suficiente para que usted se quede dormido y también presencie que asumí que el propietario o el gerente les dice a los niños que también estén callados y quejándose de los perros que ladran, seguramente si usted es dueño de un café en un lugar familiar. Debería ser más optimista con la familia y, desde luego, no decirle a los niños que estén tranquilos. . .

Se le pidió ver información sobre alérgenos para una porción de camino rocoso vegano ya que la hija es sensible a los productos lácteos y la soya. Más bien alarmado al descubrir que no solo no era vegana (contenía leche), sino que tampoco era vegetariana (contenía gelatina de cerdo). El personal me dijo que era una etiqueta antigua pero que no podía producir una nueva, ni parecían demasiado molestos. ¡Simplemente diríjase a veganos / vegetarianos y especialmente a cualquier persona con alergias o restricciones dietéticas religiosas para siempre verificar dos veces y, en caso de duda, evitar!

I like this cafè, only thing to steer clear off is the coffee ( however the coffee is even worse at Carluccios which is surprising ) Am having a cup of tea with soya milk and a savoury pastry is ok not too bad ( feta pea and spinach ). Slightly annoying the guy that served me, despondant like he is doing you a favour lol even if I am a customer. The way he left the carton of soya milk out next to the mug of tea without saying a word not very nice. Normally they put the milk in a tiny jug. Not nice

The place is very nice and if its a sunny day even better 😊. The staff was very kind and nice

¡Muy desagradable para los niños! Teniendo en cuenta que están situados en un parque con zona de juegos para niños. Habíamos llevado a nuestro hijo de 2 años para una obra de teatro y nos fuimos a calentar con un poco de almuerzo y bebidas calientes y nos dijeron que detuviéramos a nuestro niño de correr dentro. Literalmente acababa de salir del cochecito y estábamos buscando una silla alta, era cuestión de segundos y estaba directamente detrás de él. Hay carteles por todas partes que dicen "no niños" aquí y allá. Sugiero que reconsideren su clientela. Y tal vez son de tono. No hace falta decir que nos fuimos a otro lado. ¡Muy decepcionado! No volveremos

It's nice but at this time of the year it's quite cool in there . Nice staff and food.

Por debajo del café a la par. Cansada decoración de aspecto. Personal de aspecto monótono. Comida poco atractiva. No tenía los helados que buscaban mis hijos, entonces tampoco conos.

Han pasado muchos años desde la última vez que exploré Preston Park en busca de un refrigerio, pero hoy, mientras salíamos a hacer un poco de ejercicio, nos encontramos con el Rotunda Cafe justo al lado del jardín de rosas, y fue muy agradable. Como su nombre indica, es un edificio circular, con muchas ventanas francesas que se abren a los jardines. Hay amplios asientos y la variedad de comida y bebida más aceptable y el servicio fue educado y eficiente. La única queja es que la música se estaba reproduciendo en un volumen que hizo que la conversación fuera un poco difícil, y dado que ir a una cafetería los domingos por la tarde tiene una conversación como motivo principal, eso es muy decepcionante. Existe una política de permitir que entren los perros, lo cual es justo, dado que las personas caminan con sus perros en el parque antes de buscar una taza de té, pero los perros deben ser controlados. Hoy, dos mujeres sacaron a sus perros sin plomo, con la consecuencia de que los dos caninos rugía alrededor del café fuera de control, ladrando agresivamente y, en general, molestando a los otros perros que estaban bajo el control de sus dueños y con cables. Afortunadamente no había niños alrededor.

Nos detuvimos para almorzar de camino a Brighton. Algunos artículos parecían un poco caros, el quiche y la ensalada rondaban los 9-10. Optamos por sándwiches y una porción de chips de queso, todos los cuales fueron excelentes. El pan era fresco y suave, los rellenos de los sándwiches eran muy generosos y el personal era amable y agradable.

Rotunda Cafe Preston Park. Laid back atmosphere. Good choice of food. Popular with the locals

Vine aquí para tomar un café y un almuerzo con mi amigo que no he visto en años y el servicio era mediocre, el personal de la cocina parecía demasiado trabajado. Había un caballero extranjero que debía haber sido el gerente o propietario y fue grosero con los clientes que les ordenaban que cerraran a sus hijos y gritaba a su personal. No regresaremos

Very nice cafe. Good coffee and very helpful staff.

Bit expensive - newsagent around the corner if you want cheaper ice creams. Good service tho

I work across the road and sometimes meet friends for lunch in the Rotunda. The food is perfectly acceptable and the choices I have made have been reasonably priced. The service is always prompt and cheerful.

Entorno precioso y podría ser fabuloso, pero realmente lo que en el mundo cobra £9. 95 de quiché y ensalada? El desayuno era claramente todas congeladas vegetarianas y beige y en el precio y estar en Brighton me esperaba un desayuno realmente bueno. Sin embargo, el personal es amable, aunque históricamente reticentes sobre vasos de agua o los baños!

I don't understand why people have been so unkind about this place. It is, what it is: Very Brighton! If you have been enjoying a lovely, brisk stroll around Preston Park and need a wee, a coffee and a bit of a sit down before returning home, this place does the job! For those of us who work in this area, it's a haven for a lunch break treat as there's nowhere else that caters as well, for this.

Servicio rápido y increíble relación calidad-precio.