The Larder at Walthamstow Wetlands in Haringey

This was a great little cafe pre covid, and always bustling and busy with a great atmosphere and friendly, helpful staff. We had not been here for a while so were initially surprised it wasn’t busier. The menu is more limited now but we still expected the food to be high quality - it was disappointing. But what was more disappointing was the quality of the service. There were four staff behind the counter who seemed more interested in chatting or being on their phones. One particular example that stands out was when I didn’t hear the ‘beeper’ I’d been given to alert me the food was ready. They proceeded to shout at me several times that my food was ready… a little unnecessary given it was quiet and they could have just popped outside the counter to alert us or bring us the food. It’s a shame, and we will be unlikely to return.

This is a great spot and the building is wonderful. Perfect for an afternoon break from the city! But was so surprised and disappointed to see that everything is served in disposable containers - soup in a cardboard container with a plastic lid and a plastic spoon, the toast in a paper bag etc etc. Why? Seems very out of step with the times and especially for a cafe in a nature reserve. Yes the plastic was biodegradable, but without a compost bin to put it in, and with explicit instructions not to put it in the recycling bin, it is all just going to landfill where it will stay, not rotting, for years and years. We need to use less stuff, not more! Very odd decision and will stop us from returning any time soon.

We visited the Walthamstow wetlands branch today. What a disaster. £32.95 for food served like it’s in a motor way service station. Awful plastic cutlery and plastic pots for granola which we had to ask to be given to us before our main breakfasts 3 times. When the main breakfast came we had asked for beans on the side and they were stone cold. It wasn’t even that busy so can’t understand why things can’t be hot. We asked to speak to the manager and she was useless. She just told us to email our complaint in as she was ‘busy doing an interview’ and couldn’t be in the kitchen. If things were set up and running well it shouldn’t mater where she is. We used to love coming to the Larder before Covid but I can see now why it wasn’t as busy as there are far better food and service offerings in the area for the same price. Extremely disappointed.

Had a snack there this week. Reasonable choice of food and was nice, service a bit slow though. Sat outside as it was a nice day, but the tables, chairs and parasol were filthy. Mostly bird poo but also food where tables hadn't been wiped clean for some time. Shame as the wetlands is such a lovely setting.

Buena comida y servicio! La fritura completa es deliciosa. El entorno y la limpieza son insuperables.

I knew this place was going to be a bit pricer compared to other cafés given it’s locality (it’s the only one in the Walthamstow Wetlands) but I was so disappointed with the staff. With the exception of one guy, all the staff I engaged with lacked any decent customer service skills - it seemed like they didn’t want to be there and that any customer was an annoyance to them. The food itself has potential- good portion sizes and my hot chocolate was decent enough (I’m so fussy about hot chocolate) - it was lukewarm though and I wished they had said I could have had it with coconut milk - it wasn’t obvious that this was an option - had I known I would have happily paid more for it. It’s such a shame the staff were arrogant - even some basic customer service skills would have helped - I could have easily given a 5 star rating even despite the over priced menu. If the service had been better we would have ordered some cake and more hot drinks but instead we decided to leave. I was thinking of even buying some food to take away but the service left a bad taste in my mouth and I didn’t want to give them any more of my money. I am gutted as Walthamstow Wetlands is amazing - I love what they have done with that area. Next time I go there I’ll bring a picnic instead!

As a local in the immediate area this is pretty much my only choice for a coffee shop / cafe. So it’s so very disappointing that the service is so terrible. Myself and my partner have visited this cafe 4 times now, every single time the service is the same. I understand weekends are a busy time but you are so severely understaffed! We have waited half an hour once for 2take away coffees (!) in fact they ended up stopping any coffees altogether which clearly means there is a serious staffing issue. Given you are a cafe I think there is a big issue that you can’t serve hot drinks when it gets busy. The staff are clearly stressed and have been rude / abrupt to us on all 4 occasions, not only that but we once witnessed a staff member visibly throwing cups into a sink in a rage and shouting that she was too busy. I even came during a quiet Tuesday afternoon and still had to wait 10 mins just for one take away drink. It’s such a shame but we can’t recommend this place to anyone or return until you sort this issue out.

We came in for morning coffee and returned for lunch after a walk on the wetlands. The coffee was excellent quality as was my lime, almond and polenta cake. For lunch I had a very nice vegetarian breakfast with mixed baked beans but only one poached egg. Overall the food was lovely but you pay for the quality.

Beautiful Wetlands site to enjoy a coffee on the terrace - be interesting to see how they cope in the winter thought when it's cold as there isn't a huge amount of seating inside

The Wetlands are certainly beautiful and on entering the cafe it looks the part however this is where the positives end. I will never ever be offering my custom again. As lots of reviews comment on I would need to agree that the customer service is appalling. I left very annoyed and of course underwhelmed with The Larder. If you are paying above the odds and the prices here are high I expect perfect service, anything should be no trouble and staff should be courteous and professional at all times - no exception. I didn't see this and therefore this will be my first and last visit here. What a shame.

Lovely stop off along the river with great food and really friendly staff. A regular spot for me and my friends - get the coppermill breakfast!

The wetlands are a beautiful location here, the staff were warm and friendly and the service was reasonably fast. Loved it

The staff in this cafe are consistently bad. I find them rude, abrasive and very unfriendly. The wetlands are so beautiful and peaceful you would think the staff would be happy to work there! It does get very busy at times and extremely chaotic as there seems to be no simple system in place to manage peak times and I could forgive a snipey service on one of these occasions however, I visited when it was empty and was still treated poorly when ordering. I really think management needs to change something as my experience today has left a bad taste in my mouth and it really puts me off wanting to drop by the cafe again. Such a shame - it really isn't that hard to offer a good customer service.

..It's totally chaotic. There was one menu, hidden by the huge queue of people waiting to be served. We had to pass it along the line, like there was some sort of rationing going on. Then cutlery/napkins etc. were also hidden by the HUGE queue - why??? The queue never seemed to go down, probably as the customers hadn't notice the one menu in the whole place and they were making decisions at the point of service. Why? It's like they don't want to serve food. When you do get the food, it's very nice. Horrendously over priced and a mega hassle to get, but it is nice. This will be my last time here. Pistachio's in Markfield Park or the Waterside Cafe further up the Lea for me from now on

Lovely space & setting! Alas our only positives during our 2 visits to the Larder today. The service at the counter was appallingly slow.Extremely difficult to obtain a menu which in hindsight did not matter as the waiting time for drinks let alone any form of snacks was unacceptable. We opted for hot drinks on our initial visit @ midday which when they finally arrived ( contents mainly in their saucers)were almost cold! We enjoyed a walk in the lovely surroundings before returning to the cafe at 2.30pm, as we had previously arranged to meet a friend.Alas service was equally chaotic &( tables uncleared - though the pastry which was “ our lunch” was good. Sadly we have had similar experiences at the Larder’s Wanstead venue. I will definitely return to this lovely centre but will bring a picnic lunch & would suggest that other visitors do the same as there are plenty of picnic spots..As always, chronically under staffed. A grim experience

They obviously hate vegans at the Larder. Nearly every time I go in there they serve me something non-vegan. 1. I was served a dish with cheese which I was told was vegan when I ordered 2. to be safe I ordered the soup marked...

A friend and I managed to get a seat on an unseasonably warm Feb Saturday. The coffee was great and I had a wonderful piece of cake. If you are headed to the wetlands - its worth a stop. Equally if you are nearby and...

Came here for lunch. Very busy but got attended to and served quickly. Had toasties which were fresh and filling. Great venue and staff.

We both ordered a burger meal. The burger was well cooked and service with chips. I'm not usually a burger fan but this one was especially tasty. The service was great. I can thoroughly recommend this cafe'. After the meal we had a short visit...

Thank you so much to the Larder at Walthamstow Wetlands for catering for our wedding last month. The whole team was brilliant; from helping create an amazing bespoke vegetarian menu that we and our guests loved, sharing their expertise throughout the planning process, a lovely...

I cycle with a group on Sunday mornings in the East London/Essex borders and we aim to have a bacon butty somewhere. The Larder has become a destination because of the bacon sandwiches. They are served in a ciabatta/sourdough type roll, lightly toasted, slathers of...

Recently visited with young children during the school Easter holidays. The children wanted cheese on toast and the adults just had coffee. The bread was very lightly toasted on one side and covered on the other side with an individual preformed cheese slice. Not what...

We go to the wetlands almost every weekend as it is so close to where we live but usually the cafe is so full we can't get a table. A couple of weeks ago we visited on a very wet Sunday so the cafe was...

It was very busy when we visited on a lovely Sunday afternoon, and we were glad that we decided to grab something to eat before we started our walk around the Walthamstow Wetlands, because it was even busier when we returned from our walk a...

Set in a stunning building but both the service and quality of food need serious improvement. Our coffees sat on the side getting cold for about 10mins before they were brought over, a shame as it would have been a decent coffee if it hadn’t...

As a stop on the Lea Valley walk, or a place to rest after exploring the Wetlands, this is a great destination. Coffee good, cakes and pastries brilliant if a little pricey, and a simple lunch also available. Fully accessible to buggies and wheelchairs.

I had a delightful Healthy Winter salad, but the service was a complete shambles. First I thought the staff were not properly trained, then later I was told something had gone wrong with the system, a roll of paper hadn't quite made its way to...

We stopped on the walk through the wetlands. The coffee was great and the goodies were very tempting. Seating area inside and outside.

Food was acceptable and served hot unlike the coffees and hot chocolate which were tepid at best. Drinks were exchanged without any fuss alas second attempt was only marginally warmer. Lacking in condiments. Better form of table identification needed as staff wandering aimlessly looking to...

My cheese and mushroom toast Oe was more than average : bread was untoasted (!!) and mushrooms and cheese weren’t grilled. Nice staff and quick service however - clean toilets MASSIVE down size though are the few steps to access the restaurant as lift is...

Not enough seating to cope with the numbers of visitors on a sunny day during schools' half-term. The food looked OK; but we were told that waiting times for food would be at least 45 minutes, so we gave up.