The Nook in Derbyshire Dales

Went on a day out to Eyam 31st July 2024. Went for a coffee at ‘The Nook’ what a mistake. I ordered two white coffees and a cookie to take out and paid for my order. I was the only customer in the shop, but was asked by the young girl serving to wait outside, admittedly it is a small space, but there was no-one else to be served so I was a little surprised. I went outside and stood waited insight of the shop counter as I wanted to pick up my order as soon as it was ready. The young girl did not even start my order and then a few minutes later another customer went in made an order was not asked to wait outside and the young girl immediately started her order, I was clearly still waiting and I saw the young assistant look at me several times. Then an older middle aged dark haired assistant entered the shop, she made conversation with the customer being served , who was still being served by the young girl but neither made no attempt to serve me, even though I was clearly visible to both of them. I waited until their customer left and re entered the shop. This was very poor customer service. I asked why the customer who came in after me had been served before me and that I intended to post on line this poor customer service. It was only then that the younger girl said ‘Sorry for your wait’ and pushed the cookie I had ordered towards me on a plate but it was the aggressive verbal abuse of the older assistant that was very concerning she screamed ‘If you do that I will loose my Job!” I advised that was not “My problem as I was the customer “ The young girl offered to return the cost of my order , but I refused this. The older assistant then shouted at the young girl “what did she order” I advised that I had ordered two white coffees and a cookie to take away. I was very concerned at how she verbally abused this young girl , I could see she was afraid of the older woman as she had moved away from the counter and was visibly weeping. The older assistant immediately started to dispense the coffees from the machine, but while she was doing this she continued to verbally abuse me screaming that she was a customer too? and that she had to do everything including cleaning and that I needed to tell her manager ? It was only at this point with no apology or in any reasonable tone offered to refund my cost for the coffee , I refused this aggressive offer , she then finished one of the white coffees but she did not put any milk in the second coffee , but did aggressively push a hot black coffee towards me over the counter, when I asked for milk she tutting and continued very aggressively in both manor and body language. I left the shop and saw the young girl go into the bar on site and I went in to see if there was a manager on site. There was a female who was very helpful and very apologetic for what I had been subjected too and she gave me the managers name and phone number. Then the aggressive female assistant come into the bar I asked that they stopped her as I felt intimidated, but both the young girl and the female bar assistant did nothing to prevent this aggressive woman from coming into the bar , so I left . A short time later the female assistant from the bar approached me and advised that her manager was arriving shortly but even though we had not even finished our drinks we had decided to leave and would not be waiting for what I feared could be even more abuse. This experience of this abusive assistant is totally uneceptable I am very concerned that if I had been an older more vulnerable individual it could have been much worse as I did feel physically intimated. I f my grandchild had been with and subjected to this level of aggression I would have had no choice but to report the matter to the police. I also feel any management of this site have a duty of care to the other staff she works with. I understand retail staff have very difficult jobs and can be subject to abuse from entitled customers, this post is not about that and I rarely post anything on line. I have posted this as I was subjected to poor customer service which would have been resolved by a professional apology. It is the real concern I have that this individual is dangerous, not just to customers but to the other staff she is working with I hope the others working there are OK .

We called here for a coffee after watching Eyam carnival to find it closed. The waitress was just closing up and said "we've closed early as we were too busy. We had people queueing out of the door so if I hadn't closed I would have never have been able to go home" I find this absolutely astonishing and can't help wondering if the owner agrees with this strategy 🤔

Located in a courtyard just off the main road close to Eyam Hall, this is a great place to take a break. Lots of outdoor seating, good range of snacks/coffee, access to the Coolstone Bar & Bistro and gift / hand made jewellery shops. There is also a second hand book barn with a wide range of titles. The funds go to local charity.

Don’t get me wrong this is a gorgeous place but their food offering is dire. My partner and I visited and the staff were lovely and friendly giving us a very warm welcome. However, we ordered a latte each and a brownie. Never have I had such a weak latte, it was like drinking a warm milk and water mixture and I didn’t bother drinking mine at all. The ‘brownie’ which is supposed to be a lovely stodgy chocolate cake was so dry it literally crumbled to sawdust in my fingers. Really disappointed and it wasn’t cheap either! Although we will certainly visit the village again we definitely won’t be wasting our money here.

Stopped here with my family for lunch at Easter. They had meat/cheesy options, while I asked for vegan options and had a baked potato with beans (vegan cheese was also available). I wanted to say that the staff were friendly and knowledgeable about the vegan options, and didn't make me feel like a nuisance (which is a nice change)! Even had vegan salad dressing and margarine for the potato. I think they also have vegan cakes but alas, I did not try them. Overall, I would recommend to anyone :)