Waterside Cafe in Northampton

Dreadful! Cold plates, cold breakfasts, no butter, luke warm coffee, no spoon. Serving food on cold plates has only one result. COLD FOOD. Rectifying this by microwaving cold toast and fried eggs does nothing to enhance their flavour. Wasted £20 on rubber eggs and panini flattened toast. Which I couldn't chew. I have no idea who decided to award themselves the 'best café in Northampton' but they are sadly deluded. My advice, bring your own food and sit outside.

I walked here from the town centre, it was approximately 1.5 mile along the Nene Valley, which is a river and it's surrounding wetlands. The cafe is very nice, it's in the same building as Northampton Active, which hire kayaks and rafts, the toilets are also shared (Waterside Cafe & Northampton Active).

Nice little cafe had a corneto there. Great veiw of the river right next to it

Right on the river. It's the canoe centre and white water rafting.

Ordered 2 breakfast, cold bacon, cold beans, cold mushrooms. 25 minute wait. Not great, wobbly table uncomfortable chairs.

Really dissapointing unfortunately. For £13.20 you would expect a decent breakfast but it seems the chef needs to learn how to cook a full English! The food was served swimming in liquid, the eggs were very under cooked and half the bacon was that over cooked you could snap it in pieces. On a positive note the staff were very pleasant and the cappachino was very nice.

My first visit to this cafe. It overlooks the water, which is nice. A small cafe. Not very cosy but ok. The service was functional, and could have been more friendly.

Enjoyed breakfast and coffee here this morning, whilst having a catch up with my brother and sister. Clearly very popular with dog walkers. Food was good and service with a smile. Look forward to returning.

Four of us visited this morning. Waited at least 30 for a stone cold breakfasts. Eggs black underneath! Staff were polite and friendly but clearly struggling to cope. Went on a Saturday. Will not be coming here again. Shame because it was great a few years ago.

Excellent cappuccino. Much better than Neros and Costa!

This was merely the starting point of a club ride, but if you arrive early, then it's perfect for a pre ride coffee before you set off. All the usual drinks on the menu alongside food options. Seating inside and out when the weather permits. A handy coffee stop to fuel you before any ride.

I’ve been here on numerous occasions and loved it, been really pleased however this morning breakfast was awful after waiting half an hour for sourdough avocado mushroom and egg. It came without an egg took it back to the lady she apologised 20 minutes later came out with an undercooked egg , cold mushrooms, not great tried it left it ,

Went last Saturday lunchtime. Windows blacked out, doors closed and no signs outside. Looked totally closed and unwelcoming. Tried the door and they were actually open! Coffeee was average. Must have lost a lot of custom by going for the 'we're closed, go away' look!

Didn't get what we wanted due to timing but what we got was ok

Really nice place and lovely friendly staff. Very dog friendly - my dog can be nervous and agitated in cafes but the atmosphere was just right here. Food was delicious and coffee was outstanding

A hidden gem. and best of all they welcome dogs.

Great dog friendly cafe near the canoe slalom course

Good location, always worth a stop here

Fabulous food and great coffee, reasonably priced.Excellent service Excellent service with a friendly atmosphere, Parking and toilets. Highly recommended!

As a family of 5 (plus a dog), we were looking forward to eating here this morning. We arrived at 11.55am and were told by one of the staff that a breakfast order could be placed without issue (breakfast was being offered until 12pm). After going back to our table to take everyone’s orders, I returned to the till to be told that they had “run out” of literally every single ingredient from the full english breakfast menu (suddenly there were no sausages, bacon, eggs, hash browns…) Of course, this message came from the guy in the kitchen who obviously couldn’t be bothered to cook more breakfast options for us. Instead we were offered toast or sandwiches as alternatives. We immediately left, and took our business elsewhere in Northampton. I expect the food might have been good, but the customer service was extremely poor, and there were no apologies for the mixed messages from the staff. Do not recommend.

Nice little cafe with a good selection of food and drinks, including a full British breakfast. Paninis and sandwiches are also offered. We recommend!

Such a shame as I love this place however can be really hit and miss sometimes. Wanted a salad but was advised no salad ( despite seeing it offered with other dishes on the side). Instead had a bagette pre made only to discover that it hadn't been buttered so very dry and left half. Had to clear own table before sitting down. Waited 10 minutes for our coffee..alas no biscuit on the side. Usual manager not on site so a below average experience today.

The location is nice and the food OKish for simple pre-prepared panini. However we had to leave our drinks as the cups and crockery were dirty. Might have just been a bad day as we have only been once. Perhaps a bit expensive for what it was…

Decided to go for a long walk and stumbled upon this cafe that I never even knew existed. Friendly staff and one of the nicest coffees I’ve ever had 👌

We hired the upstairs function room for a party and we have been so impressed from the point of booking to the night of the event . Catering for 80 Guests for a sit down two course meal was not an easy task but the team at Waterside nailed it ! Staff were friendly and helpful and the food and service were top notch. Nothing was too much trouble. A great night had by all . Thank you Glenn & team.

Lovely friendly staff and it was a truly dog friendly place.

Convenient. I ordered the toast and there was pieces of meat stuck to the back of it (i’m also veggie)🤢 No offer of a refund. They didn’t even clean up the last customers cups/plates from my table the whole time I was seated.

Lovely job here, if you fancy a walk out along the river this is the ideal spot to recharge. Hot baps and well made coffee.

Fabulous Café. We had a lovely brunch this past weekend. Coffee was great, food delicious and service amazing. Our 2yr old was well looked after too and very much enjoyed his food, his babyccino and watching the canoes :) We will definitely return!

Really nice cafe, with a really good variety of food and drink and staff were fantastic .I'm looking forward to coming again on a nice summers day.

Popped in for a cappuccino whilst out on a work. Never knew the cafe existed but will definitely go there again. The staff were so friendly.

Lovely setting, delicious food and the coffee is excellent. Super dog friendly to!

Great place to stop on a cycle ride

Staff are friendly and helpful. Food is good.

First visit to Waterside cafe. Very busy being a Sunday morning but the staff were managing very well. We will definitely return.

Great place, did visit on a wet day

Beautiful location, DOG friendly, loads of seating inside and outside, great choice on menu , the Fry up was delicious. Very friendly staff , will definitely return. 😊

Sat outside in the sunshine, lovely coffee, very pleasant and friendly staff. Clean tables and no debris in the area.

Friendly staff. Good food and drinks.

Don't bother...gone downhill recently...rude staff, slow service and less than clean plates shall we say.....

Over half hour wait for a bacon butty. Took them 15 minutes to realise they didn’t any rolls. Quality wasn’t terrible but you can see they had no system in place. Could not understand what they were possibly doing to be so slow

I pass this place every day on my way to and from work and the sign says you have just missed the best cafe in Northampton, bold statement. Just wish this was true . Who ever does the ordering for supplies needs sacking , you should take into account how busy it's going to be and make sure you have enough stock . I wanted a breakfast panini, no sausage. I orders a Homemade sausage roll £3.00 had to ask for a plate . It was greasy , the pastry was undercooked and soggy the sausage was dry . Not the quality I was expecting. I was going to tell my colleagues about this place as its close to our office but considering how slow service is and the quality of the food I won't bother . Leason learnt we won't bother again shame you don't live up to your statement.

Just when I needed you most. Great place for coffee and a snack. The staff were polite and effecient. Highly recommended.

Nice little drop in café with pleasant helpful staff.

Very slow service, 25 mins for cup coffee

Great sandwiches and coffee with a lovely view over the river and water activity centre.

Great service wonderful bacon bap's

Very nice little cafe, off the beaten track ... somewhat.

Excellent food and coffee, with friendly and helpful service. The cafe is tucked away and takes a little dedication to find, if you don't know it. But definitely worth seeking out. They have a good selection of coffees, alternative milks and delicious food, prepared to order. A (well hidden) gem worth discovering.

Sausage baps are amazing, very tasty sausage,top quality service. Very reasonable price. Decent coffee as well.

It is great to see more Cafes like this establishment, offering range of products, especially on nice days, when on our hikes and walks along the Northampton, will come more often