The Furnace Kitchen in Telford and Wrekin

The furnace kitchen is an amazing little café/ small restaurant with such high standards in terms of ingredients and adult food choice. Staff is very polite and professional. The only downside, but it can be improved very quickly, is the menu choice for under 5 or very picky over 5 y/o. Something simple like sausages or vegetables crudités could be a sensible alternative.

Can't fault them, great with large bookings and a lovely location, great range of options and tastes fab. Very friendly even to vegans ;) highly recommend

The coffee here is great. The main issue is that the customer serivce is lacking. I don't think i seen a smile on any of the staff faces the who time i was there. Not even when serving, which would go a long way. Faces like slapped backsides. Doesn't create a great atmosphere for customers.

Toast was as hard as the wood served on, sausage on breakfast was not cooked though. Phoned and left message. No reply. F goodness sake. Not difficult. Have made a review before. Sad really looks like they believe they care but don't... It's not cheap at this establishment. So you would expect the food to come out of service, to make it a experience to come back. We are local restaurants. So disappointing. They have not even responded to my phone call... The general manager needs to know what's happening.....

Only stopped off for a pot of tea. The menu looked tempting but not cheap. Rather noisy inside, school holidays. I found an outside table to relax. The open air part of the museum (free) is amazing.

Lovely ham and cheese toastie . Tasty.

The Furnace Kitchen is pretty much on my doorstep. It's tucked away by The Museum of Iron. We walked into a bright, airy and cool industrial café. The furniture is funky and comfy. My son and I chose a table. We were directed to where we could get water and menus. I chose the croque Monsieur which came with salad and skin on yummy fries. Not really a traditional croque but still very tasty. My son had the pulled teriyaki beef flatbread with chips, he said it was really good. Great selection of teas, coffees and cold drinks. Well priced, cool on a hot summer's day but I can see that it would be a lovely place to come when it's cold outside.

A pretty cafe/restaurant. Indoor and outside seating. Appeared quite pricey. Hot chocolate £3.95 or a special £4.95 Drinking water freely available. You order your drinks and they are bought to your table, there was a wait. Hot meals, snacks and cakes available. Toilets available including a disabled one. Nice soap and hand cream. All on the ground floor, step free access. Paid Car park, spend over £25 for free parking.

Perfect place for coffee or lunch. My mushrooms were delicious. Certainly a cut above the usual cafe fayre.

Really helpful, friendly service. Fantastic coffee and dog friendly, fantastic! that meant I could wait for my family sitting with a coffee, thank you.

Delicious lunch, cakes and coffee. Not cheap but worth spending a bit more for the quality of food. Nice atmosphere and friendly staff. I will be back.

Great location. Lovely cafe, comfortable seating great coffee.

Substituting without consultation could have harmed my daughter. We ordered soup of the day leek and potato. What turned up was a bowlful of vibrant green soup. Upon tasting the soup , which was incredibly peppery she knew this was not what was ordered and remonstrated with management. We are not happy with the response and will never eat there again.

Very disappointed! Order soup of the day potato and leek. Insipid green and extremely peppery almost like a watercress soup. Unable to eat as my lips were tingling. My mum who loves pepper found the soup too peppery. Staff unable to sort a lunch I could eat wouldn't cook me a bacon sandwich as it was after breakfast time. so ended up with a flapjack that was overly moist and stuck to the inside of my mouth. Real shame as last summer had an amazing pizza there.

Unfortunately they no longer do gluten free pizzas, which was the reason I chose this place to eat. However they did still say they had plenty of gluten free options, including sandwiches and a gf flapjack. My husband had the flapjack and thought it was ok. My daughter had a normal toasted sandwich which she really enjoyed. I ended up going for a chicken with pesto mayo & sun blush tomatoes. It was really delicious, one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. Coffee was good too. Very convenient for the museum, but pricey!

Veggie options a bit rubbish - can't take meat off the normal breakfast, can't add eggs to the vegan one 🙄 avocado/poached egg on toast is bad, just tastes like you're eating a lime. Everything else is alright but basic, and why is it so expensive? £7 for a tiny bit of bacon in a roll (brioche - why)? Bread is nasty, too hard and tastes bad. And the place could do with some soundproofing because at the moment EVERYONE IN THERE IS JUST SHOUTING ALL THE TIME AS IT'S SO HARD TO HEAR WHAT ANYONE IS SAYING

What wonderful place... So peaceful, hidden gem. The food was outstanding so tasty, its hard to make Gluten Free bread taste that nice - Thank you, I can't wait to come back

We have visited the furnace kitchen many times and particularly liked their pizza, which were made on site while you wait. However it appears there has been a major cost cutting exercise as these are no longer available and the menu is much more restricted. Such a shame, we ended up having a basic toasted sandwich, come on furnace kitchen, you are capable of more than this!

Update May 2024 Unfortunately they have now removed their eggs florentine and benedict from the menu which means we won't be returning as often from this point. In todays visit we had a ham toastie from the lunch menu which at 8.50, really underwhelming- was greasy - you would prepare better doing it yourself at home. Not sure why menu and quality has changed since Christmas.

Food is a little on the pricey side but it is very good. Not a huge selection but plenty to cater for most people’s taste. The staff are super friendly and do a great job of getting on with what needs doing while being smiley and pleasant

Visited Saturday 9th feb for the first time. The cafe is clean, staff were lovey and service was very prompt. Unfortunately we won’t be returning. The food if of excellent quality but it’s certainly not worth the money they are charging. I’ve never seen such an unfriendly kids menu - a couple of small pieces of posh pizza for £6? My youngest finished and straightaway said ‘mummy I’m still hungry’ .. brilliant, just what you want to hear! Why no garnish? Cucumber, pepper, tomatoes, even a couple of chips or crisps - anything basically to justify charging people £6 for it!! If it doesn’t fill up a 3 year old you’re clearly doing something wrong.

Since the Furnace has re-opened the menu is really limited. So disappointed they no longer serve a cooked breakfast, it used to be amazing and was really popular. On our first visit after reopening we left because we had come out for breakfast. Today, we watched a table of 8 arrive and then leave! I do think you guys need to reconsider the menu, and I suspect most locals feel the same way.

Beautiful surroundings, very limited menu, not a child friendly menu, expensive for what you get served, overall not a good breakfast experience, shame !

What a disappointment, last time we visited we had great customer service and fantastic vegan options, today was shocking total ignored and no vegan options, enquired re options and no way did the staff have any confidence on what or wasn’t vegan. Have been many times before but not going again. We ended up walking out without purchasing and had the pleasure of paying £1 to park

Staff are lovely, friendly and helpful. Food is cooked to perfection, hot and tasty. Large room, high ceiling, clean, beautiful ladies toilet. Only downside on this occasion, kids being allowed to run around the restaurant spoils it for those who just want breakfast in a chilled atmosphere.

Disappointed in the “festive” night. Food was good, although the steak was a small, thin cut but cooked well. Lights too bright for an evening meal. Only the barest of effort in terms of festive decoration and no Christmas type music playing in the background, just a few paperchains draped on the walls, for the festive night! Not much effort made by the staff I’m afraid. Cocktails on the menu were summer drinks. The wine list wasn’t extensive and availability extremely poor. Of the four reds on offer the first choice wasn’t in stock, we chose an alternative for a table of four, later in the meal, tried to order a second bottle to find out, this out is stock too. Luckily of the two bottles left on the menu, none of the other two tables had ordered any red wine, had they, not sure we would have been able to have a second bottle. Management, if you are going to advertise a themed night, please put effort into it, advertise it better (and you might have more than three covers all night) it’s an expensive night with set menu, we are local and would like to see the Furnish kitchen survive.

First visit here a lovely environment from the moment you walk through the door to the moment you leave. Staff friendly and welcoming, nothing too much trouble. Food excellent good quality produce.

Great friendly and welcoming service. Lovely breakfast menu. Quality ingredients make the simple menu taste amazing.

A really nice place to eat good selection of food good friendly staff food well presented with detailed menu card only downside for me was lack of ales ordered a ale got a lager. Apart from that good food bit on the pricey side

Stopped off here for a light lunch and ended up ordering the pea and mint soup (made in house and delicious) with a side order of skin on fries (triple cooked?) which were crispy and fluffy. We accompanied this with an Earl Grey tea which came in a cafetiere style pot filled with lovely loose tea and a can of Cawston rhubarb. The portion size was just right and our waitress Caroline (?) was very attentive. All in all a fantastic lunch and we shall definitely return.

After visiting Enginuity we had lunch here . We were very impressed with the venue and the quality/price of the food. Coffee was excellent too.

Beautiful relaxed space; nice food and friendly staff.

Spent a lovely morning Enginuity and decided to go to Furnace for a snack, it was chaotic, waited for ages to place an order and it was an hour before we received our food. Seemed to be lots of serving staff but no one appeared to deliver the food which was left on the counter to go cold as the double doors kept opening. It was £3.50 for a cold cup of coffee. Order was supposed to be skin on fries but they were just frozen ordinary chips which cost £4.00. The table we sat at was wet which we didn't notice so our clothes and menus got soggy. Not a good experience would not visit again.

Our party of 11 arrived about 12.15 and was greeted at the door by a pleasant lady who showed us to our seats outside. After ordering our drinks ourself inside ,as no one came to take our order we waited and waited, then four hot chocolates came and and was just placed on the table with out and communication, after another few minutes four more drinks came and was left on the table with a comment of “the tea will be longer as we have no lids for the teapots”. In the mean time I consumed my luck warm hot chocolate. When the tea did arrive it was not worth the wait and the service from this waitress was appalling and defiantly not service with a smile. This younger member of staff really needs to complete customer service training as after all the customer pays her wage.

Superb pizzas, among the best we have ever eaten. But, chaotic table service with a very long wait to order. Some tables not seen to be wiped down or cleared between change of sitters. A glitch I hope, would use again.

We had spent the morning in the enginuity musuem, unfortunately when we came out our car had a flat battery. We decided to go in the furnace while we waited for a drink. As a family of 4 with 2 young children, there were no tables of four so we sat on a 2 sitter table and high stool table. We had only just sat down and a woman asked if we would be eating, I said I don't know we haven't looked, her response was well we need to know because my colleague needs to know. Taken aback I just said no. A 4 sitted table became free so we moved there so we could sit as a family. The woman came over to us and asked us to move back as this table was for food, so we moved back, to our separate tables. I've never been anywhere like it. We waited ages for 2 drinks, people who ordered before us got their drinks before us. We considered having food, but after the service we received, we didn't want to spend any more money there. Before we went in there we enjoyed our morning and we were considering buying a pass for all the museums. But thanks to your terrible service we won't be returning.

We emailed in advance, and booked a table and let the staff know about the food allergy. We arrived on the day, a lovely table had been reserved for us and all the food was totally safe to eat. The staff were considerate, kind, and the food was fab and very well priced. Would definitely recommend

This is the 2nd time we have visited the 1st time was with friends. Both times the food was lovely and great coffee. This visit we had a pizza and risotto which was delicious. Staff friendly.

A really disappointing experience. When I arrived all the staff were busy, so I took a seat. I got essentially told off by a waitress for this. My mistake, I thought, so just forgot about it. I arrived at Noon at it took 20 minutes to take my drinks order and I didn’t get order any food until gone 12.45pm. Again though, they had warned that the kitchen was a little behind (they said 10 minutes) and a large group arrived just after me so no big deal. Then, as one of our group went to the toilet a waitress grabbed the empty chair (without asking) to give to another group. We very politely informed them that there was in fact someone sitting there. “You should have put a bag there, then” came the reply. Very unpleasant & totally unreasonable. I won’t be returning & I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone

Stunning cafe and the toilets are gorgeous,like a fancy hotel lol. Lovely coffee

Lovely tea , and the scone delicious !

Lovely place, food great but a little expensive, staff really friendly and helpful. Very clean, would recommend

We stopped for an excellent coffee and then went back for lunch. Really good Gravillax from Specials board; beautifully seasoned salmon with cream cheese and slaw in a toasted bagel. Had excellent strawberries with Chantilly, meringue and flavoured jelly. Light, delicate and delicious. Good service, interesting location. Really recommend it.

Tasty food at fair prices, in comfortable surroundings.

Stopped in for a quick bite before the museums. Food was good, it is just a very busy place with a lot of people trying to get served, find a table and pay.

This is a lovely place to visit. Food is good and lots of selections. Staff are friendly and its dog friendly too. Lovely setting.

We are localish, and its our go to cafe for a number of years . it has easy to access (with a wheelchair on occasions) and is pooch friendly too. we seam to mainly have breakfast but pizza good also. Car parking could be offered free with food purchase but that the gorge museums parking issue all over ! Great staff and most importantly for me "good coffee".... well done.

Great place to stop for lunch whilst visiting the iron museum, the burger is amazing as is the pizza.

Very pleasant restaurant, good service, simple menu with good choice, tasty food. Only small hiccup - we missed the specials board and it was not brought to our attention. But a minor thing. We would return.

Nice food, great service from helpful staff.

The food was amazing — great taste and presentation but the service was quite slow

Great spot for breakfast, lunch or early dinner. Today I opted for the Curried Lentil Dhal from the specials and it was delicious.

Beautiful breakfasts, cooked in the furnace oven, the smoked bacon is incredible. Beautiful settings, lovely staff.

Great atmosphere, food was super tasty

I came here with my boy. Lovely place... shame we wasn't here for long.

Not the quality of cafe/restaurant normally associated with a museum location even in Ironbridge. The service was quick, staff pleasant and professional and the pizza excellent drinks were good too. Rustic appearance which fits the building in which it is sited but clean tidy and comfortable. The toilet were the best quality we experienced during our week in the area, normally a weak point of many a restaurant cafe but not here. It is clear from the customers that it is a popular place for people not necessarily visiting the museum to visit and eat with friends and family.

Been a couple of times now, foods always good but the menu seems a little restricted now in comparison to other times we've visited

Father's Day set lunch was superb scran, nice pink beef and didn't hold back on the veg! Cauliflower cheese was top draw

We ate here for Father’s Day and the food was stunning; tasty and plentiful. Husband had the beef, which he said was excellent. As was the garlic flatbread starter. Beautiful setting, friendly staff.

Lovely building. Great gluten free options, including all the pizza. Staff aware of allergens and able to assist. Good food, nice setting. Free WiFi.

Chose Furnace Kitchen for breakfast...very disappointed with the plant based breakfast. Small piece of hash brown which had been kept hot too long. A tomato, a mushroom, wilted spinach and 2 pieces of white toast. Change of chef? The Manager greeted us warmly but food disappointing

Wonderful food, fantastic service and a gorgeous setting! 5/5 :) The food is always home-cooked, with quality ingredients and professional presentation. The staff are always lovely and couldn't be more helpful. Give it a visit, you won't regret it!

Lovely location, nice atmosphere. Had run out of some breakfast items but no substitute. Pricey for not a lot of food.

Amazing food all fresh produce staff are amazing and friendly

The Furnace Kitchen is well worth seeking out if you're visiting Ironbridge or planning to explore the historic area around Coalbrookdale. We popped in yesterday after a brisk walk up to little Wenlock and back. The hot drink and cake really hit the spot. The staff were very friendly and took an interest in our stories. With parking outside the door, this is the place we will be returning to again when refreshment is urgent needed.

Carl and Ken (the old fellas) had a kind and attentive personalised service from the two lovely young women this afternoon. This venue has a grand yet quiet location. Great range of sitting positions to look out on the big Coalbrookdale historical vibe . Spacious easy feel to the restaurant cafe. A rather nice destination for a hot drink and some delicious cake.

Choose this cafe as the menu on their website had a good section of options, however, when we arrived and were handed a menu it was nothing like advertised on the website. The waitress explained that they had a new chef and he had changed the menu. This new chef must have come from a pizza restraint as that is what the majority of the new menu offers. I had Greek salad a lot of salad and a very small sprinkling of feta cheese, my wife ordered pasta in tomato sauce I had a spoon full and it was very bland. Unfortunately I cannot recommend this cafe based on what the new chef is now serving.

This is a well lit roomy restaurant. The food was great, and there were gluten-free free cakes, too. They have good tea options. The coffee has milk alternatives, and I chose oat milk for my latte. Staff were really nice, and the lady who served me was really happy to help, and that added yo the experience. They do hot food, and the piźa looked amazing. It's not cheap, but I'd say the price reflects the quality. Great way to make the experience at the museum more enjoyable

Fabulous coffee and cake. Excellent attentive service. Lovely decor.

Nice place great food- just wish they served breakfast all day

Good food was a bit disappointing 😞 as I was taken by a friend but the menu had been changed by new management but still managed to get what she was raving about thank to the chief 😋👍

One of the best dining experiences I've had in Shropshire. Will now try to plan a party here, and come back with many friends and family: it would be a great day out to plan a family trip to the museum, and a meal at the Furnace Kitchen. The Chocolate brownie is insanely good.

Fantastic breakfast, drinks and service. Highly recommended, thanks 2 years later I still agree with myself :)

I ordered a pizza which was very tasty but huge so I brought half of it home. Maybe they should offer a smaller version.

I have only had breakfast. The breakfasts are well worth trying.

A cafe, in what used to be the 'Hands On' building of the museum, with very few changes to the interior. So the large room has a high ceiling, paved floors and no soft furnishings which makes for an extremely noisy experience, voices and scraping chairs echoing round, not comfortable at all. Food is a 'modern menu' so does not include traditional breakfast items and it is very expensive, however service was quick. The entrance is accessible and there is plenty of room inside for wheelchair users. As other reviewers have pointed out, the car park is a pay car park, and again not cheap. I can understand this for visitors to the museum, or for walkers but the cafe should be exempt as in other restaurants and cafes round the country. The fees provide for upkeep of the museum but if the fee is compulsory then it is not a voluntary donation. Altogether disappointing.

Lovely place. Was my first visit. Defo recommend it.

Great place, good food and atmosphere

Nice modern appropriately industrial chic cafe.

I have been here a few times. It is very nice. Very clean. Service great. A great coffee. Now gone into winter hours, so closed Monday and Tuesdays.

At quarter past 10 in the morning somehow all the tables are booked and we are forced to pay expensive prices to sit outside. Bizarre

My favourite place in the Gorge when I fancy treating myself to a luxury light bite or a cuppa. Food is always really fresh, flavourful and attractively presented, atmosphere is relaxing and staff are friendly and helpful. Would eat here more often if I lived locally.

With drawn original review as it was the wrong place, sincere appolagies. Food here was fine, we all enjoyed it, maybe a touch pricey? The chairs were awesome, made of heavy metal, quite noisy when moved 😄 Nice place to sit in.

A. Welcome rest from. The sights we walked to.

Lovely place, food amazing all freshly cooked. Staff helpful amd friendly

The usual Coffee Shop experience. Nothing to like or dislike.

Great breakfast, been many times. Worst thing is you have to pay for parking even though your not visiting the museums. Needs to be addressed, would of given 5 *

Lovely cafe with good food & coffee

Not as good now they have rearranged the furniture - it doesn't feel as cosy. But the food is still good and they do one of the best coffees in telford! Staff are always friendly and polite.

Great food options for adults and kids, nice lay out and decor. Service was fab, really helpful, friendly, quick and personable. Place was reasonably busy and had a good vibe. One of the best eateries we have been to at a museum type place. Son enjoyed nearby Enginuity and Parents enjoyed nearby iron museum!

Always enjoy the food here, service good too. Advisable to book at lunchtimes.

Good service delicious food and good prices

This a great looking building and thought it would be good for a late lunch. We asked for a lunch menu and were told what was available was cake, no plated meals, no sandwiches just cake. Shame, we had to shorten our museum visit and walk back into town. As somebody mentioned there is a lot of choice in town at all price points

I had a bacon & sausage roll last Friday + a coffee and paid£10.45.I thought l must be in London.

Lovely friendly place. (menu a little on the pricey side) but the salmon salad that I had got my taste buds working overtime. Such a combination of different flavours that all went together. Went down well with the pot of mint tea. ANPR pay as you leave car park.

Loved the decor and how it is laid out. We only had coffee which were very good. Nice toilets.

Undeniably pleasant staff. No sense of urgency - left waiting for ages for just drinks. Staff were very inefficient and poorly trained, all of them pitching in to resolve their colleagues problems rather than letting a single manager sort it rather than keeping their posts filled and expediting orders. Lunch menu on the expensive side with no less expensive options. Bearing in mind this is next to 2 family museums where a range of £5 lunch snacks would do a roaring trade. Coffee was brilliant, banana seeded muffin exceptional! Beautiful place.

Lovely breakfast and extra hot latte requested! 😁

Think of a place where people go to chill after a walk or just sit and read the Sunday Papers... This is it...

Would not trust thier gluten free options as the waiter, lady working on the till and kitchen staff believe they use flour that 'is made from wheat with the gluten taken out' ...this is NOT a thing! Went in with my 12yo and 17yo for lunch. Very cool decor and the guy who looked after us was friendly, polite and very helpful. My daughter and I have a wheat allergy and the only GF marked option on the menu was soup, so I apologised and asked if it was OK to just get my son a chicken burger and chips (kids menu is £6.50ish) a diet coke, pot of tea and bottle of water. The guy immediately said they can do all the rolls and pizza gluten free and ran off to the kitchen to see if they were wheat free. He came back and apologised that the kitchen staff had said they do use a gluten free flour but it is made from wheat with the gluten removed. I didn't want to make a fuss so I just ordered my sons food and the drinks. The food (which looked lovely) and drinks came out fast and the portion seemed large for a kids meal, he had coleslaw, bacon, sauce, lettuce and onion. I scraped off the sauce and salad and my son ate the remainder. We were there for about 30mins. Went to the till and was charged £20.50, so I assume they had charged me for an adult meal instead, I didn't complain as I felt bad only one of us had eaten. The lady on the till asked if we had a nice meal so I apologised I had one fussy eater and my daughter and I couldn't really eat anything, she told me I was the only customer she had ever come across which a wheat allergy and its quite tricky and a 'shame' they couldn't help, I said I wasn't complaining but if the kitchen can do gluten free it doesn't say so on the menu so they could be missing a trick as we usually find something on the gluten free menu and maybe not everyone is specific, she then continued to wo-mansplain to me that gluten isn't the same as wheat it's actually a protein that makes dough stretchy, and that the flour they use is wheat flour with the gluten taken out! I said I'm quite happy to go home and have a Google but I've never heard of that and I'm pretty sure it isn't a thing and I've been wheat free for nearly twelve years, she said I must be the world authority on wheat free then but told me I'm wrong and it is, and that even doves farm flour is made from wheat, I said I bake a lot and I buy doves farm and its made from different grains, she said she thinks I'll find it is! (To be clear Doves Farm GF flour absolutely contains NO wheat). I asked if she seriously thought there was a lab somewhere with people removing the gluten from wheat, to which she replied it would be good as I could eat everything, (missing the point that I can't eat wheat!) I laughed it off to try and escape by saying think how fat I'd be then, and left. I think they may be referring to wheat starch, which is a starch removed from wheat and can be found in some gluten free products as it only contains minute traces of gluten. I usually know which products to avoid for this, ie tortilla chips, but I have never found it in a flour substitute. Either way I would not trust this eatery if you have an allergy as thier knowledge seems very poor. ,,,