The Prom Cafe in Bournemouth

First time visiting and the food, especially the fish and chips were lovely, fast service and good value for money

Great food and friendly staff went in twice today

I've had to leave this review due to the diabolical experience here, which I'm not annoyed about, it's just more so funny😂 First of all, the prices are HIGH! About £3.75 for a Double Espresso which I ordered. The coffee came out seemingly majorly under-extracted, which resulted in a very watery and sour coffee. The funny part is, I went to the toilet for 2 minutes and I left the coffee on the table. Now, I was planning on leaving after the toilet, BUT... in the scenario that I wanted to come out and finish it... I couldn't. Why? They took it away🤣 I was only away for 2 minutes😂 Unfortunately, I won't be returning. Whilst I'm sure that the service always varies and the quality of coffee will fluctuate, I do believe that the coffee should not have been served as it was so poorly made. I can somewhat understand if they were busy and they just needed to get drinks out at just an acceptable standard, but I was the only person in the queue! I'm not sure how their coffee is made, but if it is with an espresso machine, they should have seen the severe under-extraction and redone the shot. I didn't complain in-person as like I said, I wasn't too annoyed, but the quality of service is unfortunate. I personally wouldn't recommend, but I hope that this was a one-off and that other people have better experiences here :) Just please, don't rush the coffees out if they are not good, ESPECIALLY if you're not busy :)

Pleasant setting, reasonable service, reasonable food and reasonable price.

Fish & Chips ...Shocking....Visited this place and ordered Fish & Chips ...which was the smallest cod in the UK and at big prices . Chips were served nearly cold . Dont go here . Management need to be sacked for cooking and serving the food we ordered. Terrible.

Great food, great service, good location, plenty of seating and kept clean and tidy by the staff. Would recommend here for a pit-stop.

Fantastic place with great views

Terrible sausages. Bacon good. Bit expensive for what you get. Everything small size including eggs, beans etc. still hungry after spending £12.95

Went several times. Idéal meeting place. £6.50 meal deal good value. Fresh scones very good. Also larger dishes. We took back lukewarm coffee and they instantly replaced it with piping hot!

Had breakfast at the Prom Cafe for the 2 days we stayed in Bournemouth. Great service, food and very hard working staff who ensure the cafe is nice and clean. The menu was good with a great selection of cakes. Please try the fresh orange juice it was lovely. Will definitely return when next in Bournemouth. Keep up the good and hard work. Great management too.

It’s ok and if you need food it’s not too bad. The sandwiches are a bit boring but I think the place is better out of season when you get some more attention. Cooked breakfast is actually pretty good.

Cute cafe and welcoming staffs. But the vegan burger was bit bland and chips could be better seasoned.

Good selection of food and drinks. Freshly squeezed orange juice was great and decent coffee. Bacon bap was good. Service is ok considering the location and how busy it can get. You order inside and take a table number after collecting your drinks. The food is then brought to you. Plenty of outdoor seating. Not the most comfortable seats but ok for a quick bite to eat.

Take the 5 minute walk to spoons. £5.80 for a small orange juice that was warm. No butter provided with egg bap. Staff seemed moody too

Nice to sit on terrace. Watery coffee.

Please read, this is an honest review. Had a very bad experience yesterday (31/07/24). OK this was a day out as we traveled for 3 hours to get to Bournemouth beach, had a lovely day with the family (hubby and son). At the end of the day we decided to go for dinner and the cafe looked good. While ordering our food and constantly repeating ourselves due to the music being very loud at the till, in the end my husband said that the music was too loud as the young girl could hardly hear us. We ordered fish and chips x3 (fish was very small and too many chips on the plate) , and 3 drinks (1 strawberry milkshake, 1 strawberry milkshake with NO Cream and 1pepsi max). Our son is autistic and does not like cream, so they gave him a milkshake with cream, I informed the young girl who brought the drink over and said this was with NO Cream, she then said is there an allergy to milk, I said no it isn't it is that our son is autistic and does not like cream, she then said she will just scape it off, which I refused and she stormed off to make another one. On her way back to the kitchen I overheard her saying to other colleagues that the kid has no allergies and there is nothing wrong with him. In the meantime another young girl slammed the new drink down on the counter and sarcastically said strawberry milkshake with noooooo creeaaammm. That was it I spoke to the manager and all I got was ohh sorry I will have a word with them. We paid £52.05 for our meal and do I think it was worth it........ No not really. Young girl who made the shake was around late teens with long blond hair in a ponytail. The other girl who brought the drink to us was also in late teens and tall with dark hair also in a ponytail. Unacceptable behaviour and this is the only reason I am writing this review as we had been there on our last trip to Bournemouth and it was very good. This had ruined the day for me and after this we just got back in the car and traveled home.

Had tea & scone tea was ok bit weak and scone looked nice but tryed to open it up to put butter on it it just crumed everywhere got 1 butter which was like oil ! It had been nr sun ! I eat some but left most rip off place !

The food was great, fast service I was surprised we did not even wait a little. There are indoor and outdoor seatings. Overall it was great🤍

Went with my partner and ordered a large almond cappuccino and an almond flat white. Was told that almond milk was free but then was told we had to pay extra. My cappuccino was more like a latte and the flat white was more like a white Americano. Why price different coffees at different prices if you're going to make them wrong? They were poor quality and the large was basically just extra milky. When I was still drinking at my table, it was sprayed and wiped down. Unfortunately, I was also sprayed by the sanitiser (thankfully my skin isn't sensitive) and I had to angle my coffee to avoid any sanitizer going in it too. Was massively overcharged for horrendous, badly made coffee, sprayed by chemicals and just over all didn't enjoy my stay. Piss poor.

I've been here a few times over the past year and this is now my place of choice. Very well run, fast, friendly,efficient and great food. Surpasses all expectations . Went with a first timer today who was super impressed 💯.

One of the worst places I've ever been to. When we arrived we waited bout 10 minutes to be served, a customer with lighter skin walked in bout 5min after us and got served straightaway with a smile . My kids have allergies anaphylactic ones, and was made to feel like we Inconveniencing them asking what the ingredients was in the ice cream. Molly the manager at the time laughed at me for asking this, which I found very rude and disrespectful. All I wanted was to get my kids ice cream with out having to rush them to hospital, or risking their lives.

We wanted to go there and eat and drink something with a group of 14 people - our group from germany. But the Prom Cafe said, they dont take cash! I mean - its different in England maybe... but people from germany or other countries sometimes dont want or can not pay with card in other countries... So we went somewhere Else. I dont understand that - they could earn a LOT of money! But they did not want that money... Well - another Restaurant then got it, were we ate something. If this Cafe doesnt want money, ok... today you need to accept cash - if not, you dont earn so much money, as you could...

The food wasn't exceptionally bad, but the value for money was poor. Two paninis and a portion of chips for £20. Ham and cheese panini contains one single slice of ham, and the portion of chips was inside a small cereal bowl. Staff were pleasant enough and the food was tasty, but can't help but feel as though I was just robbed.

Local located in the center facing the sea. Enchanting view, never take your eyes off the horizon. Bournemouth will remain in my heart

This place deserves the highest accolade - every time we went , it was spotless , the service , for such a busy cafe , was 1st class, and all the staff we came into contact with were so very helpful . We had elevenses and lunch here each day for 4 days . Our elevenses were a great big mug of tea and a huge slice of delicious home made cake - yummy !! So fresh too. We lunched there, and were so pleased that, even if you wanted one of their Meal Deals , you were just as welcomed to sit and eat in / out on their seating , as you were if you had a full meal. Lovely cafe - please go and see for yourself - you won't be disappointed ! Especially recommend the Coffee and Walnut cake ! Came home lbs heavier tho ! LOL !! ( not really, walked it all off!!) :)

Great location with comfortable seating outside. Cake and coffee is average

After we were treated so badly at the West Beach 100 yards away. We came here, and the young boy was so nice he even moved the table to the shade under a tree for us as it was hot and sunny. We will definitely come again for coffee and cakes.

Excellent cafe. Amazing service with huge menu and friendly staff. No matter how busy, the team worked like clockwork. Would definitely go back.

Needs to improve the jacket potatoes are disgusting cold small toppings absolutely vile. The chicken burger looked amazing and tasty. Few adjustments needed.

Had a panini lunch and then a delicious bacon bap for breakfast the next day. Great sea view. Avoid the cappuccino (weak, cold and tasteless) and have an Americano (slightly warmer but tasted way better). Watch out for seagulls pinching your food 🤣

I hate places that do not know how to make a flat white. They use the wrong milk non barista oak milk, and did not heat the milk or froth it. Very disappointed with the coffee here. If you want good coffee go somewhere else

1st time visit on 19th June 2024. plenty of seating inside and out and basically on the prom. They sell everything from snacks to meals and reasonably priced. we had coffees and toast and was ok. easy access for wheelchairs etc.

Very good and lively place with excellent service.

Joke. No scrambled eggs?? .. ordered beans on toast and you could tell the beans not fresh...who knows how long in pot, and toast not done fresh??? Joke.

Worst place I’ve ever been to. They need to sort it out asap

Fantastic place to wait, chill for a moment and people watch. Mid summer coffee on the front. Nice coffee. Ideal for the beach train or esape from the kids.

A very busy cafe at the sea front. Food was fine, orange juice was fresh and lovely, but in a small glass (not enough to go with a meal). Nothing to write home about, but perfectly edible too. Service was more of an issue. Everyone was lovely, but seems they kept getting orders mixed up. It was probably just an effect of of it being extremely busy when we were there, but seeing as it must be busy often they might need a better system.

This place is truly awful and I can’t believe people come here . I’m a local and will never go back. Everything is frozen and the coffee is from the worst ‘machine’. Might as well be instant. Overpriced. And you have to put your own milk im.

Visited here Sunday 19/04/2024 for lunch. Lovely location near the beach and good food choices. We chose a burger and chips each and it was pretty good. Staff were on the ball and service was quick.

Worst coffee and stale cake, at high prices. Would not recommend and would never visit again.truly awful its a lovely location but terrible food and drunk, don't waste your money.

Delicious breakfast & big portions for the price. Rounded off by fast service & friendly staff especially Sofia.

Good location, queue was long, service was slow, and that was 10 in the morning. Nice spot in front of pier.

Over priced, slow service, dry sandwich, over cooked chips, staff shouting across the place to each other, wrong food served to us, brown lettuce in the salad box. Can of tango was lovley.....

Nice small cafe on the Bournemouth front looking over to the sea. A mixture of cooked food and cold snacks can be had with a variety of warm and cold drinks. Plenty of seating in and out and toilets on site. Nice staff and friendly atmosphere. There is no parking but there is a disabled entrance for wheelchairs. My only gripe is that they let dogs in. All animals, unless guide dogs, should be kept away from food as an hygiene precaution and prevention

My son wanted to have a cooked breakfast at this cafe today. Went up to order our breakfast and they do not cater for gluten free,not even gluten free bread! I have never come across this before as most places cater. They catered for vegans. I really think the company need to look into this. We went to Westbeach cafe instead which had table service and turned out to be cheaper!

Lovely and well clean cafe in a beautiful location. Unfortunately, on the days we were there last week, kitchens were under refurbishment, so little choice in regards to food. Coffee was from a machine and was very overpriced for such a small cup. Would be great if they could review their coffee as it would be a wonderful place to do so.

Lovely sea facing location adjacent to the pier. Good selection of meals at reasonable prices

Great for a simple breakfast with good quality ingredients but it’s quite expensive being at the seafront. It was £12.95 today for a what looks like a small full English, and they have a strict “no swaps” policy, so I opted for a £5/£6 bap instead and felt that was better value although a bit dry.

Called in for coffee and cake on a damp wet morning. Cafe was friendly and welcoming also collected a meal deal at lunctime very good. This establishment put others in the area to shame in decor and cleanliness

Mediocre food, poor service, expensive. But it's on the seafront and the only real breakfast option

Great setting on the Prom/front,good food and great service.

Excellent fast service despite being busy very busy & nice food. Staff all lovely & helpful.

Lovely place to enjoy the sunshine

Very popular place, lots of people. I had a classic English breakfast, it was good, but the sausages were a bit on the tasteless side, I prefer classic sausages,

Good location and staff, however the food is awful. The coffee cake was dry with no coffee flavour whatsoever, while the buttercream merely tasted of butter. Disappointing.

Nice place to sit for a while and watch the people going from the seafront and into the gardens. We didn't eat but the menu looked good. Only 4 stars as the coffee was out of a machine and wasn't the best but still pleasant enough.

Ordered coffee only , drinks ok service was good and staff were polite and pleasant

Lovely cafe, friendly staff, cafe lovely and clean, I had a ploughman's sandwich didn't take a photo 🙄 lovely and fresh and tasty, I ordered my son a children's meal chicken nuggets chips and beans it came with a Capri Sun, very impressed by the portion sizes sat by the window with the sun shining in just lovely people watching, cafe is busy has a constant turn over but an enjoyable experience I took photos of the menu as I thought it was very reasonably priced.

Nice break for brunch. Near to sea🌊🌊🌊. Italian coffee shop....but there is a automatic coffee machine 👎 so the coffee isn't too good. Nice brunch and breakfast.

First time visiting. Had a bacon and cranberry panini to takeaway. Would visit again

What a treasure to find. Very well situated and laid out. Staff super friendly and nice. Snacks and food nice and not over priced ( which I didn't expect because of its location, right by the pier). Only downside is that there is only one toilet but even so it is clean and well equipped.

Good breakfast. Bacon was nice and thick and nicely cooked. The eggs weren't too good. I think it's when the oil is too hot and the white bubbles and crisps. Also tasted of shell. I would give the breakfast 5 stars if they could get that right. Wife has the vegetarian breakfast which was also good.

Let down went here for lunch its awful not much for the price of it dont go here only if needs be let down

Great little stop on the sea front just over from the pier. Had a cooked breakfast and hot drink on a cold Sunday morning in the warmth watching the weather outside. Good food and great staff.

Surprisingly well priced for such a beach front position. Seems to be under new management as tea comes in mugs not pots and cash only at the moment. Goid selection if snacks and meals. Hope they make a success without putting prices up.

Only popped in for a latte which was distinctly average out of the machine. Nice service and location but the coffee was poor. And NO to Christmas decorations and music in mid-November. Please stop this lunacy.

Thank you to the young man that served me on Saturday afternoon. When I came across your cafe, you had gluten free options and the young man serving me checked the ingredients list and confirmed that what I wanted to order should be ok (jacket potato, cheese and beans). When my order was ready he delivered it to me and was extremely friendly ... and it was delicious !

Worse scone ever.. very dry and stale. Over priced. All the cakes looked stale and our pannis were equally unpleasant.

Our coffee were luke warm and the gluten free lemon cake was dry and crumbly. I was disappointed.

Always a lovely place to have a coffee , or a nice lunch overlooking the pier and the sea

It’s a lovely place to eat, but nearly £6 for a panini and a handful of crisps with it? A Pepsi can separate is over £2 so a total of £8 is a lot. The panini was very nice but it had hardly anything inside of it just one tiny strip of bacon with a bit of cheese and a tiny bit of cranberry sauce is not good enough. I’d expect it to be filled up and at least a packet of crisps with it too. The Mrs valued her meal including the drink to £5 and she owns a cafe so that says something! But thank you for the good service.

Regular visitor to Prom Cafe. Food, coffee okay. Manager & staff warm, friendly with an excellent service. Rewards card appreciated

Very low quality food - cheap sausages (billed as Cumberland) and packet chips for more than £11….really! Take 5 minutes to walk through the gardens into the town and have a far better selection of places to eat.

only had coffee and a sausage roll..thought £4.60 was a bit much for a sausage roll,,other half had tea and toast,toast came out still looking like bread,so they re done it...apart from that a great place to eat and drink

Great spot on the seafront, but food is what you expect at a tourist spot. Freezer to fryer. Basic lunch, but it was fine

You pay full price and you don’t even get half of the fish. Had a word with one of staff member and he mentioned size varies which I get it but we bloody pay full price! Would definitely avoid this con place!

Really enjoyed a good breakfast while on hols. Just get there early if you want an inside seat

Absolutely lovely food, staff very efficient and pleasant.

Very pleasant experience, staff worked well as a team, constantly filling and tidying. The food exceeded our expectations and was good value. Ella has brilliant managerial skills and the whole team was a pleasure to watch. Well done 👏

Awesome place, reasonable prices and the staff members are amazing. Wish I tried this place earlier in my stay in Bournemouth. Only downside is there is only one bathroom, but better than nothing!

The cheesy chips have cheese all the way to the bottom! Waiting was a bit long tho

Great atmosphere and customer service from the staff. However, the food is not up to par with the price. Ordered a buttermilk chicken fillet burger and that was just and ordinary fillet on a bun with couple of sliced tomatoes. I would be ashamed if i was a chef and charge £10 for that!

Server Nikola so helpful with serving 4 amazing ice creams. Very good customer service and a reason to return when served by Nikola. Thanks for the mint choc scoop

Coffee was cold, when I complain to a male member of staff( he mightve been supervisor or manager, his reply was and I quote .." that's the way we role". Apart from the cold not so tasty coffee, food was ok and I female staff members were polite. I an the 2nd person to complain about the coffee and yes I did try to get this issue rectified but to no avail..

i really don’t get the negative reviews.. we first entered at a round 3 and we were seated straight away. we waited around 10mins for food. the food is definitely good, not amazing, but still tasty. the £11 for fish and chips isn’t bad since it includes chips and mushy peas in the price. staff is friendly and the cafe is a very central location. again i really don’t understand the bad reviews because i’ve been here a few times over the years and it still hasn’t disappointed :)

Have an injured knee so sat down at outside table., before ordering . A staff came to me only and said tgst he can see we haven’t spent anything with them and effectively occupying a table I ordered soon after as intended.. He was very curt and having observed fir over an hour many people sitting there with no orders, and leaving after over half an hour.! They were Caucasians. I am Asian. Does this sniff of racism??? I feel very bad about it. It is obvious!! You need to nail this in the bud!!

I purchased three ice cream cones from here which were delicious, however, they wanted to charge me 70p per come for a drizzle of raspberry sauce

The food was nice, however i asked for my burger plain, and it arrived with salad on. When i brought it back to the counter, the woman in a light grey shirt (i am assuming the manager) said that i had already been given the plain burger. My friends and i all showed that our burgers were not plain, however she rolled her eyes and she said she will “tell the kitchen off” for this. When she returned with my burger, all she had done was take the tomato off as there were still juice and seeds in the top bun. This means that someone messed with my food and put their fingers in it. If i had an allergy, this could have been serious.

OK food expensive...the main issue l had there is very loud obtrusive music blaring out as l ate!Also spraying of tables with who knows what while eating!

Typical “we’ve got a good spot” fayre. Breakfast items are cheap and tasteless and thus overpriced for what they are, latte also not the best. Move inland and get better options would be the best bet.

They have a very confusing queue system. Very central to beach for a cup of tea or coffee. Pleasent to sit outside. Seating is under the flyover so keeps the rain and sunshine out.

Porażka miejsce szkoda tylko pieniądze

This place taught me a valuable lesson. Just because a cafe is on the beachfront in a prime location doesn’t mean it’s the best. I came in here for a cappuccino and got the most useless coffee I’ve ever seen. Cold, milk sour, not even mixed properly and just plain terrible. Surely, the amount of money this place rakes in they would do a better job. Avoid at all costs! Unless you want to teach yourself a lesson.

A nice place for breakfast. Great location and service was good too. No complaints at all

This is some of the worst food I've tasted. A total rip off.

Great locatio, staff, service, and outdoor area

Luke warm, very tasteless cappuccino.

Amazing location !! Just by the pier. Food is good nothing to shout about though. Also the cafe only has 1 toilet which meant there was a large queue for them.

Nice seafront Cafeteria/Bar, close to Pier and Big Wheel.

Went into the cafe right before closing and asked for some tin foil for our BBQ and the staff were more than happy to help out and gave us a lot of tin foil