The Hideout Cafe in Stroud

Absolutely outstanding service it was a lovley welcoming atmosphere, the food was terrific, excellent portions every thing was piping hot, i wish this pub was more local to me but will be returning

We arrived in Stroud mid afternoon on a Saturday. The kids were starving and every other place we tried to get into was in the process of shutting. Despite Stroud being packed, Milano appeared to be the only place open that was still doing lunch or any type of food for that matter ! The lady behind the counter was super friendly and everything that we had to eat was tasty and really good value too. My youngest especially liked the Spag Bol and the proper milk shake made with ice cream. Don`t be put off by some of the reviews on here, it`s a nice place and really friendly. Just don`t go in expecting a restaurant, the clue is in the word cafe !

Popped in today with a few friends for brunch. I expected amazing things but was left with a sour taste. I had the Avocado with poached eggs. Unfortunately, the toast it was served on was very hard, making it difficult to cut, and the avocado was either a pre packed kind, with lots of citrusy preservative or they something to it which makes it tastes as such. It was sour and bitter and really just not that nice. The full breakfasts looked much better, I have to say. Another unfortunate incident was being given a 3-shot coffee. I have a pet-peeve about large coffees that don’t have extra coffee compared to small versions, so I asked the server if the large has extra coffee compared to the small, and I thought he said ‘it has en extra shot’. A little while after finishing my coffee I suddenly had heart palpitations, when the bill arrived I realised why, I had been charged for an extra shot. I’m not blaming him necessarily but it was so loud in the cafe that I’m assuming he didn’t hear me correctly and me him. I think it would be worth mentioning to the staff that it’s worth repeating the order to a customer because if he had said ‘a large cappuccino with an extra shot’ I would have very quickly corrected him. I did mention it to the woman taking payment and she thankfully took it off the bill, so at least I didn’t pay for it. So I left the cafe with a bad taste from the avocado and heart palpitations from the coffee. Such a shame.

The first issue with the restaurant is lighting… If you have a window table, they are really dark and badly lit. They also have to shut the window blinds in the evenings because the house is being flood lit from outside - so the light would be too bright - which is a shame because you therefore can't actually look out of the windows in the evening. The second issue I have with this restaurant is the staff spend more time looking at their computers with their backs to all the guests - as if the computer is going to tell them how to give good customer service - when actually all they need to do is face their guests and keep their eyes open. I struggled several times to get the attention of any of the waiting staff. However, once you had their attention, the staff on the whole very friendly and helpful. Particularly the female breakfast staff. The third and most concerning thing about this restaurant is that I ordered something with a side of mashed potato and the mashed potato they gave me was obviously from a packet of powdered mashed potato; it was of a horrible texture and tasted disgusting. This is completely unacceptable for a restaurant at a Mercure hotel. Beware… The hotel also accepts dogs so I spent most of my dinner sitting listening to a dog yapping in the living room through the archway next door. If dogs are barking, the staff need to not ignore this and instead go and have a discreet word with the owner rather than allow them to disturb all the other guests. Not everybody likes dogs - and most people in any event don't want to hear dogs barking constantly while trying to eat their dinner. I don't often say this but I would not recommend until they change a few things.

Has gone downhill since opening