The Vale Cafe in Northumberland

The smell of cooking oil just hits you when you open the door. Not an encouraging sign. Mediocre coffee and cakes. Seats dated and uncomfortable. Whole place looks untidy and unkempt Asked lady who was serving where the toilets were. Was directed round to the back of the building to a filthy muddy courtyard only to find there was a handwritten sign on the door saying toilet was closed. Thank goodness there are lovely public toilets just round the corner. What a shame that this seems to be the only cafe Rothbury has on what used to be a lovely Main Street but sadly like so many other towns is showing signs of decline. Will take a picnic and a flask the next time we visit Rothbury!

Absolutely filthy, really wish we’d just walked out, food awful, needs a complete overhaul and a damn good clean, such a shame people just looked in then walked away, while we were in people waited at counter for so long they gave up and walked out

Asked for salt and vinegar, woman raised her eyebrows, waited 30mins for Terrible chips and curry sauce, place looked like it had not been cleaned since it was built, had to go to the charity shop for a fork!

Wasn’t the best bacon deep fried then was like rubber with no taste and dry the place wasn’t very clean coffee was not much cop either

Amazing Full English Breakfast at a reasonable price. The staff are very accomdating if you want to swap a few items on the breakfast too. No wonder the bikers use it. They know it's secret!!

Terrible service, terrible food, typical greasy spoon, deep fried everything including your bacon, expensive, waiting time is ages. However not much choice in Rothbury.

What a wonderful breakfast. Very tasty indeed. Fried Bread is a treat I don't get often and they do it good in here. Great value, friendly service and an authentic place. Just perfect.

This is a cafe on the main street in Rothbury. We were staying nearby and popped in for a drink on the way home. My son needs a gluten free diet so i asked what was gluten free, not an unreasonable question these days and a notice behind the counter said to ask about dietary needs / allergies. The girl serving had no idea, no offer to find out or any interest at all, essentially a shrug. My daughter had already sat down for a promised drink so we had those then left, needless to say we won't be back here. The table was also sticky. The place appears to be popular with bikers and has a greasy spoon feel to it, the full English and the bacon sandwiches did look decent to be fair but particularly in the holiday season places need to have a cross appeal and in this case a basic lack of customer service has cost them possibly a weeks worth of visits.

Popped in for coffee, cake and rest break. Toilet still out of order... Didn't stay. Went to pub over road. Good coffee, nice cake and a working toilet there. So spent our cash there.

Absolutely disgusting. Sour milk. Dirty surroundings. Toilet through dirty ally. No toilet paper. No hand washing soap. Where are the Health Inspectors? The place should be closed down immediately.

This is a bit of a 'greasy spoon' caff - nothing sophisticated here but no pretentions either. They have banquette seating indoors with some seats out front. Nothing out back. No customers toilet - but fortunately there is provision elsewhere in the village. We ordered tea and cake but the cake was dry and rather stale. Staff were effective but not particularly welcoming. Prices okay This place is popular with bikers

I came here on a busy bank holiday with mam, at a time when there were loads of guys on motorbikes passing through and stopping for a bite to eat. There was a menu of sorts behind the counter (none on the tables which would have helped) - the drinks were priced but the food wasn't. After a short time I realised that you had to order at the counter rather than waitress service - again no notification about this. We ended up having a cup of tea and sausage sandwich each. However, this was after I made an initial order of a full English and a Bacon sandwich for mam, only to be told that they had run out of bacon. But I noticed after this that other customers were ordering a bacon sandwich without any issues, plus someone else sitting behind us got a full English which I could have had. The sausages were fine - the communication with customers wasn't. We don't come to Rothbury very often but the next time we may go somewhere else.

Good coffee and good cake. Sadly the interior is less successful. In need of a face lift. Bench seating squashed in around tables. Outside toilet that doesn't encourage another visit unless desperate. A pity as this seems to be the only cafe in town! Quite busy with outside seating on the main street. OK but missing a trick or two

Very nice food! Made fresh to order. Good value for money. Will definitely be eating hear again, with my friends.

Like a full English after a couple of days on the fells. Been here years before & wasn't impressed but hoped it had improved. Went for the chefs special at £15 expecting something good. Very poor. Bacon like shrivelled pig tales & the rest really lame, mediocre at best. They could do with visiting Fed & Watered in Ryton or Riverview Bakery at Blackhall Mill or a host of other cafes in Tyneside to see what a premium breakfast at this price point should be. Tables sticky - certainly discouraged elbows on table! Floor under the table greasy. Smelt like the fryers could do with a refresh. I was amazed how tight the cutlery was wrapped in a napkin until I discovered the napkin was moist - not hygienic surely? Had 5 out of 5 for scores on the doors hygiene rating so good for them

Best Burgers Ever! You have to try them. The other specials were also excellent including the Truffle Chips. Wow xxxx

Fantastic food and service. Really friendly staff. Great place for families with children to eat. FANTASTIC REAL chicken burgers and the new menu is fabulous!!!! Try the burgers 💯

Had lunch here and it was absolutely brilliant. They have changed the menu and the steak burgers are absolutely brilliant along with their truffle and parmesan fries. Definitely recommend it.

Visited here 7 years ago and it was disgusting. Sadly, due to nowhere else being open I ended up in there again. Same old greasy spoon, air was thick with the stench of frying, so much so my eyes were burning. Tables sticky and greasy, windows streaming with condensation. How the hell this place has not been shut down God only knows. It looks unhygienic, contents of the cake domes (a square of something unappealing) had evidently been sitting on the same dome for days surrounded by crumbs. Those crumbs weren’t from the food sold on the day, it was too early on a Sunday morning to have sold any. Rothbury is a beautiful village and has some lovely shops and eateries. Shame the Vale spoils it. Food hygiene can’t be even 1 star.

Almost empty, we waited 20mins for two sandwiches & coffees. Time to take in the disgusting sticky tables, the shaky seating which wobbles when the next table is occupied, the plastic screens, the lack of decor, the shop fittings which should have been back of house as they were either old and unpleasant or empty and disused. Nothing redeeming about this ‘cafe’. Photo shows the unused equipment that greets customers at the front door.

full english breakfast was so bad no knife or fork to eat the breakfast or anything 25quid for 3 people and u only get one slice of toast 2 sausages and a egg and bacon absolutely rubbish

This cafe needs an urgent clean. Entry door is black with finger marks. The table was as sticky as a fly paper. Overall, it is a dump. The food I had was over-priced considering the quality. Tea and flat white (??) were a joke. Staff...

We had breakfast here today but were really disappointed. ( we couldn't find another cafe serving breakfast otherwise we would have gone elsewhere ). The cafe itself needs a good clean, lick of paint and smartened up. We ordered poached eggs on toast which were...

Coffee poor; not enough coffee, cakes yesterdays. Could do so.much better. Really nothing more to say other than won't be back. Not my habit to leave negative reviews.

Moved back to rothbury earlier this year, started visiting the cafe on a weekly basis for a full english breakfast treat, walked in today to hear the staff shout 17 sausages just walked in, and then then other staff member respond more like ten thousand......

Amazing cheese and red onion toasties, yea, coffee, citrus cake and coffee cake. Food was fresh and the cakes were large and moist.

Picked up a takeaway Sunday dinner it's got been the worst Sunday dinner I have ate only thing what was OK was the cabbage and the carrots whole lot went in the bin definitely not be going back

This is the first time I've ever felt the need to leave a 'terrible' review. Whole experience was awful. Uninterested staff, tatty surroundings and terrible food. Please don't waste your money!

We often come to eat in the Vale Cafe when we're in Rothbury - it might not have the most exciting menu in the world, but the food is reliably good and amazing value. Keep it up - see you next time. 👍

We came here just for a cuppa but for future reference they offer cooked breakfasts, other meals, drinks and snacks plus some cakes on offer in their front cabinet. The prices were reasonable though on the menu there was no price for the cooked breakfast....

They serve an all day breakfast purporting "freshly cooked", well we ordered one at 9 30am and the only item freshly cooked for sure was the tinned tomato. Both the sausages and bacon were very overdone and most certainly had not been cooked to order....

Sadly we had to walk out of this cafe as it was so dreadful. My husband and I went in for a cup of coffee and cake in the afternoon. The Cafe was absolutely empty, so we were pleased and thought we would get good...

When out on my motorbike I always call at the Vale cafe great staff cracking brews and buttys what more do ya need

I can only compare this cafe to a Victoria Wood sketch, instant tasteless coffee and tea which was tasteless. The waitress was a mixture of Frank Spencer and a Juggler...it made us laugh if nothing else. Much better places locally.

Utterly shambolic. Breakfasts served to the wrong people (and eaten!), two orders prepared incorrectly, two orders completely missed. Seriously I've never encountered anything like it. 40 minutes from the order to my brekkie arriving. Saying that it was pretty good. Piping hot. Pleasant staff in...

I have used this cafe for more than 30 years without complaint Arrived for sunday lunch waited for forty minutes.had to go to counter to inform staff.Iwas told they were plating up now.atter another 10 minuets lunch arrived 1 red hot couldent touch the plate...

Popped in for lunch after a walk, decided on the soup with a cheese roll for £6.75. Waited 30 minutes for lukewarm soup in a small bowl with a cheap roll with that awful orange grated cheese! Usually is so hard to go wrong with simple soup and bread but this really wasn't nice at all. Wouldn't recommend.

The seating was extremely cramped, not suitable for a buggy or pushchair.... the food was dripping in oil it was just vile! We won’t be back. Such a shame because such cafés are invaluable to villages as Rothbury... perhaps change the cooking methods and have actual tables and you might be into a winner. Thanks anyway

We had a gorgeous walk and wanted a place to have coffee. We stuck gold with this little gem. We could bring our well behaved dog in, this is another hit for us. I had a lovely mug of tea and delicious homemade scone. My husband had the chocolate cake and hot choco. He has not stopped talking about it. I can’t recommend this place enough. The staff were friendly. A truly lovely quaint place.

We were very disappointed with this cafe, although nowhere else in Rothbury looked to be any better. The stale smell of greasy food hits you as soon as you enter, A couple of tables were occupied by locals, but despite not being busy, service from the gentleman was slow and sullen. Later, the lady appeared from the kitchen and was chattier. The coffee was weak and tasteless, despite not being the cheapest in the area, The cakes looked dry, so we weren't tempted. The table was sticky, The WC is outside, round the back of the cafe up an alleyway which has many trip hazards. The WC lino floor is ripped at the entrance and dangerous. Unfortunately it was by far the worst establishment we visited in our week in the area.

Service was slow despite it being relatively quiet. You’d be hard pushed to find worse scrambled egg.

Food not bad but certain members of staff are very rude and unfriendly. Seats are uncomfortable and difficult to get in and out of.

Lovely choice of cakes and coffee. Seated a family of 9. Not keen on outside toilet but needs must. Very friendly service xx

Not much cheese in scones and fairly sweet dough. Not particularly cheap for what they sell. Seems yo be liked by bikers for some reason.

Rather lacklustre visit unfortunately, with a little bit of time and investment this place could be so much more !It’s in a prime location, right on the main street but it’s tired and dated inside with an unadventurous menu. Our tuna melts were edible but disappointing and £15 for two along with teas, a bit overpriced for what we got.If you are desperate to get out of the rain for a cuppa, then go there but otherwise I wouldn’t bother sadly.

Had a quick snack on Friday afternoon. This is a basic, but very clean and well run cafe. Limited menu, but the food is good and the staff friendly. I can recommend the home made quiche

The Vale cafe doesn't look like much from outside but when you get inside it's frendly, warm and the coffee and cakes are terrific. Lots of people were eating lunch and the food all looked good. It's also in a very good central position in the village. There wasn't a lot of room to sit when we went in so we shared with another couple who made our visit a lot of fun! It's a good way to get to know people.

We decided to visit Rothbury after a few years and were lucky to stumble upon the Vale Café. No airs and graces just good , very good inexpensive food and drinks without compromising quality.

As above - friendly local cafe serving great value food to locals and visitors alike. A bit if a local institution!!

Called in for a light snack. Decent cup of tea and soup. Nothing special but nothing wrong with it. Good value.

We had breakfast here last week when visiting Rothbury for the weekend. Decent food and inexpensive. Staff are very friendly.

Visited on a Monday in February, so not High season. Yes, the place is a bit dated in layout, but the food we had: bacon roll, soup (home made) coffee and (orange) cake was good value, tasty and hot. Staff were friendly and efficient. The espresso I had was excellent.

This cafe provides tasty food and good hot drinks. I didn't have the breakfast but from the menu it looked substantial and good value for money. If you are passing through the lovely village of Rothbury this a great place to stop for a snack.

Popped in for late breakfast and the food was OK. Great rich yellow poached eggs but served on the thinnest cheapest sliced white toast. Service was prompt. So why/how does it let itself down?...….Well it is shabby and uninviting and unfortunately that makes it look dirty. The toilet is outside at the end of a next door lane. Radio One music coming from the kitchen did nothing to add to the ambience (all the clientele, including the 4 of us were beyond their mid sixties...not Radio One listeners I am sure)

Not very impressive surroundings with Formica covered tables but we decided to give it a go as we just wanted a coffee. We were disappointed, however, as the latte was cooler than lukewarm and the Americano nothing to write home about. We can’t comment on the food as we didn’t sample it although the cakes looked delicious.

Just one little mushroom on my full english breakfast ....phah ! Come on should at the very least have a couple if not 3. Boohoo.

Visited with my family. Staff are super friendly. This cafe is very rare these days, a bit of a dying breed. Fantastic homemade pies, cakes and brilliant cafe style fayre. Great cooked breakfasts too. Would definately recommend and we will certainly be back.

I can't believe this was the first time I've been in here after all the years of going to Rothbury.

We had cheese omelette and cheese burger, strawberry shmoo and coffee all nice and a relaxing atmosphere, on holiday, came in last year on holiday too. Love Rothbury and hope to return again

Good coffee with superb bacon roll everyone else in the group enjoyed their choices. Menu great and if you could manage the monster breakfast your doing well.

We popped in here in the early afternoon for cakes and a pot of tea. The staff are very friendly as were some local customers who were in there. The cakes were very fresh as was the pot of tea. Very reasonable prices

We used the café on a couple of occasions. The Sunday lunch was excellent - proper food at very reasonable prices - they deliver as well!

Only popped in for a coffee and cake, but would return. Its not very modern, but serves lovely coffee and cakes.

Having done a bit of shopping we called for a light lunch , service was mixed some of the staff friendly others looked as though we were a bit of a nuisance being there . The food was ok , but nothing special . Might come back not sure though.

Called in for lunch when out on two wheels. Waited ages to be served, tea was shocking, food was absolutely shocking - everything microwaved to death awful. Plus it was very expensive. Suggest anyone else gives this Place a wide berth! Service food & value very poor. Definatley not recommended avoid at all costs.

Only called in for a coffee. Weak, flavourless Americano. Otherwise the cafe looked nice and cakes looked good.

Wet cold Saturday afternoon after visit to nearby Cragside. Just coffee but warm welcome and quick service.

Best Sunday dinner in Rothbury. Staff very attentive, great food and sweets to die for. Best book as this venue is very popular.

Sunday lunch today it was spot on as usually , we had the beef dinner & steak pie dinner both were lovely & really large portions followed by the fruit meringue all made in the cafe ! It’s the place locals use you can’t go wrong

I always stop at the Vale when visiting Rothbury, Coffee is always hot and frothy, food usually a full English is well cooked and hot and the cakes are to die for. Service is friendly.

The Vale Cafe is very traditional and unassuming but the food and service was great. We stopped for coffee and...

My father and me visited the vale cafe last week and I'm glad to say it back to its usual...

Nos gusta lugares locales como este. Normalmente. Las bebidas que teníamos eran buenas. El servicio era el único inconveniente, por desgracia. Poca o ninguna interacción o exquisiteces del miembro del personal, que parecía que estaba teniendo un mal día. Quizás lo pillamos en un mal...

El exterior no era prepossessing, e incluso después de entrar me preguntaba si había tomado la decisión correcta. El personal era amable, pero cuando la comida llegó estaba seguro que era justo. La comida era abundante y no era caro, pero la comida era deliciosa....

Llamado en este pequeño café me decepcionó un poco la última vez que me llamaron, pero decidimos intentarlo. Bien, yo me quedé muy impresionado con las dos comidas que tuvimos todo estaba caliente y pipping bien presentado. Era comida casera, nada de lujos, pero sabía...

Se detuvo aquí por un helado era muy agradable y un montón de diferentes flavers. Y leche batidos agradable. Buenos precios y helado.

Muy básica, sin embargo, buen café y pasteles. Un buen menú de desayuno. Siempre usamos este café cuando estamos en Rothbury.

Metimos en aquí para viajar y esperar a que la nieve hasta la parada en finales de abril! ! Teníamos una de las bebidas calientes, té y chocolate caliente especial. Chocolate caliente estaba lleno y corriendo por cristal pero sabroso pero no completamente mezclados. 2 tostado un poco tanto a rancio, pero lo suficientemente grande. Una agradable cafetería, pero no excepcional.

Visitar Rothbury temprano por la mañana, después de dejar sin desayuno, nos detuvimos en la cafetería vale. Cálida bienvenida y agradable bienvenida con bacon eran lo mismo: taza de té y un excelente café. bien frecuentado por clientela local, siempre es una buena señal. Buena selección de comida y de lo que pude, una muy buena variedad de desayunos. Las tartas no medio mal! ! Bien vale la pena un viaje de regreso.

Its been there as long as I can remember. Food and drink is basic and not expensive. My husband often pops in for an ice cream, I can't say the service lights up your life but the ice cream is good. If they could clean the air extractor so the place doesn't stink of stale chip fat we might go in more often.

Called for lunch, the curry,rice,and chips was very nice, although the rice was a bit sticky. The steak and ale pie was ok but would of been better if you could find the steak in it !!

The Vale Cafe is a down to earth cafe. It does good jacket potatoes and all the usual cafe food at reasonable prices. Also sells original paintings and gives a friendly welcome.

If no one is behind the counter you ring the bell ... I just love that! the seating is high backed benches and we did wish that there was a tiny bit more space to fit our large tummies into. Basic food cooked well and served with a welcoming smile. Our Welsh accents were commented on but in a good way. We went back several times during our stay and each time we were well fed and looked after and our visit didn't break the bank

this place is very un clean.i ordered tea stained cup with a chip in it and my cake was dry my partner had omelette which was burnt an also found a hair in it never again stay well clear.

Visited last Saturday on an afternoon out. Staff were not friendly or welcoming. We ordered food and I heard one of the staff shout at the top of her voice ' Oh you are joking' whilst the other fished the so called ' homemade' item out of the freezer....at this point I should have asked for a refund and left.....Unforunately I didn't ....another customer complained that their scone was frozen in the middle. The reply was ' Well I don't know how that's happened ' no apology was given...they simply put the scone in the microwave and gave it back to him. My husband then got his food and I had an extended wait whilst they nuked my pie from the freezer ......food was mediocre to say the least....

we stopped with no booking at the Vale in Rothbury and when we saw the Sunday lunch we opted for two Roast Beef lunches-- we were delighted that everything was really home made fresh veg not frozen and home made Yorkshire puds amazingly great value for money

This looks quite ordinary from the outside. The internal decor is quite dated and whilst it cannot be described as quaint, it certainly has both charm and character. The service is very quick and the staff are hard working. I had a bacon sarnie, which was most tasty and filling. The coffee was good as well. The rest of the menu and food also looked good. There are a limited number of tables outside, so if you can grab one on a nice day and sit there watching Rothbury roll on by, all the better.

Called in on afternoon out. Not friendly or welcoming. No one greeted us despite there being three members of staff behind counter. Sat down looked at menu. Husband went to counter and asked if they took cards she replied "no". So he asked where the nearest cash point was she replied "it's comes to £x.xx. Do u not have that much" I said no we didn't so again we asked where the nearest cash point was "go buy something in tesco and ask for cash back or you'll have to walk all the way to down the street" we decided to walk all the way down the street and keep walking. Didn't go back. Miserable staff. No atmosphere.

There are now many cafes and restaurants in Rothbury but the Vale Cafe must be one of the longest serving.The interior is little changed from more than 50 years ago with bench seats and oil cloth covered tables.All it needs is a juke box to complete the retro feel.No wonder bikers come from the rest of the county to meet and chat at the Vale Cafe.It is also popular with local people and no wonder.The prices are very reasonable and we southerners realise how expensive our snacks are.A big plus is that the coffee is much improved and as good as anywhere else.The building and its interior should be listed for their cultural value.

Good coffees are served at this café and the paintings on sale here are definitely worth a second look.

I have been visiting this cafe for many years (40ish) and I have to say that my visit yesterday was the worst. The foor was what you'd expect from a cafe but the whole visit was poor. There was a young boy taking the orders who was pleasant enough but there was not atmospher in the cafe. There was no noise in the cafe apart from hearing the kitchen staff talking really loudly and laughing extremely loudly. I think it may be under new management but they need to improve as the cafe was nearly empty. Not an enjoyable visit.

We visited here today and all had the roast dinners. After a shortish wait (they were quite busy) the meals came out and all were nice. The Yorkshire Pudding was slightly burnt, but this wasn't a huge issue. We're not from the area but it seemed good quality!

Had a quick bite to eat for lunch here.Decor is aged but has some charm. Free wifi is available.Menu offers the usual cafe/greasy spoon grub. We had fried egg sandwich, bacon sandwich, corned beef and onion toastie and some cheesey chips. The food is never going to set the heart pumping, but it was nice.Prices weren't too bad and staff were friendly. Service was ok too.

Neither of us had been to Rothbury before and there was plenty of parking near this cafe, which is in a prominent position in the main street. It's not a cafe i would have chosen to visit but hubby had looked at it and thought it would be fine. The food is freshly prepared, my food was scadding hot when it arrived and tasty though the pie could have had more corned beef in it but the gravy was lush. It provides good straightforward food not fancy rubbish and you can see a lot of the locals are using it which is always a good sign. Inside is a bit run down tbh. I didn't need to use the loo but i could see there was one available out the back - aren't inside eating establishments supposed to provide one by law? I think i would go back as the food was enjoyable and the staff canny.

Have been here on a number of occasions nice family friendly atmosphere seats are a bit hard but then you are only having a drink or food so not sitting all day

Called here late in the afternoon and was pleased to see the full menu was still available. Food was simple and satisfying, nice and hot and served within a very reasonable time. Service was friendly and costs were very reasonable.

Eat your heart out Mary Berry! Best carrot cake east of the Pennines! Such a moist cake full of flavour. Apparently it's the owners grandmother's recipe so the old ones are the best! Well worth trying it out!

A cafe that serves tea after 4 pm. Thank you so much . Very friendly , pleasant sit in the sunshine with a cuppa.

Popped in for a coffee and sat a a table outside. Good spot to watch the world go by in Rothbury. The lattes were good and hot and tasty. Can't comment on food or facilities and didn't experience them but for us it was good for what we wanted

Nice place, quick service, clean but awful meal. Corned beef pie, peas an chips with gravy. Was starving at time but meal was so bad I couldn't eat it. No corned beef in pie! All potato! Big pile on plate that was too small. Hubby ate his as he was starving also but wouldn't let me complain. Left as soon as he finished. Let's hope seeing my plate with hardly anything eaten ( I ate some chips as I was so hungry) made them wonder, but really should have said something to them. Will not be going back.