Wild Bean Cafe in Winchester

We have been staying at the Solent for years and in the past have always loved it. We have not been since lockdown, what a disappointment. It's gone really down hill, everything from the rooms , the staff and especially the food and drinks, awful. Won't be staying again.

After months of giving it a go, we have finally given up on this place. The attraction was the spacious stylish venue, imaginative lunch/brunch menu, (some) pleasant if rather harassed staff, dog friendly and a pleasant location on a favourite Winchester riverside walk. Plus we could generally get a table, unlike lovely Greens that gets so busy on a weekend. During the week it’s reserved for tenants of the co-working space and in the early phase there was a lot of confusion about when/if it was open to the public, with inadequate signage and staff unable to communicate the arrangements clearly. After a bit, that got sorted out and it entered a golden age that lasted for a chunk of last year. Some great food (like the warm pear salad, bubble and squeak and wedges of pear cake) and better organisation. The place seemed better organised and the staff seemed less stressed. Alas it has now taken a real dive. Food quality dipped, items served soggy or burnt, shrinkflation apparent in the bakery items, the nice fresh cakes replaced with mass-produced tasting flapjacks. ‘Large’ coffees that would be considered a regular size in most places. Overseen by a supervisor with patronising and officious manner who I saw shouting at a small child who dared venture onto an (unsigned) staircase leading to a private area.. At our last visit, the lunch menu was inexplicably unavailable at 1.30pm - only breakfast items. But we could see lunch dishes being served to a party on a nearby table. An allergy request was completely ignored and when we complained I was first offered a grudging ‘sorry-not-sorry’ by the sour-faced supervisor (sorry but not her fault that the server hadn’t passed on the message). When I said that wasn’t good enough, when you’re dealing with customers’ safety, I was then told off for being rude. So that’s it for us, not going back. Feel sorry for the better servers, it must be a tough place to work.

This place is my favourite because all the staff are lovely and helpful, i go through the drive through at least once a day to get my one shot latte and sometimes with a friend i sit in and the latte is amazing

We always like this pub for food and that the costs are kept at a decent price. Always give you good size portions too. We have found staff always busy, the thing is you can’t tell if it’s a pub or a restaurant. Which is quite confusing, trying to do both and when you’re queuing you don’t know if it’s for food or just drinks. There is one lady there that is quite rude to people but we didn’t see her this time. But this lady will ruin this pub if she isn’t careful. But we do like the food here!

Ordered a takeaway for 4 for delivery. Arrived 10 minutes early. Delicious Chinese takeaway consisting of chow mein, fried rice, kung po and ribs. Complimentary prawn crackers. Catered for a peanut allergy. Would recommend and we will order again.