The Downs Café

I discovered this pleasant atmosphere and exceptional members of staff during the summer Pride event. Exceptional throughout 'Gert Lush ' (as Bristolians would say) coffee refreshments. Toilet facility clean tidy, a reasonable size bathroom if you have disabilities. The only reason I gave 4 stars for the overall experience is the main room at peak times is busy therefore can be difficult to navigate around the tightly placed tables seating. On the most recent visit woof Arthur got spooked by another dog the tables flew, as did my coffee . . ! The staff were brilliant at putting back order refreshing my cup.

I live 5 minutes from the cafe and it 's in a lovely location for when I 'm walking the dog. Today my wife and I went to the cafe, it was not particularly busy, we ordered a coffee and waited 30 minutes with no sign of it. When my wife went in to find out what had happened to it she was told that they had tried to bring it out to us but couldn 't find us, that it was our fault for not being there, and that they had thrown away our drinks. We were sitting right outside the whole time, admittedly around the corner from the door, but it 's a very small outdoor area, and no one had come to our table with drinks. In fact there were only 5 other occupied tables outside apart from ours. We then waited another 15 minutes for the waitress who had told us off to slam the coffees down without a word (literally spilling one of them, despite being in a takeaway cup), and then after a short pause sarcastically say 'you 're welcome ' and storm off. Some of the staff are very nice, but I can honestly say I have never had such poor service anywhere in Bristol. It ended up being a 45 minute wait for a spilled drink. In general, service is patchy and depending on who serves you it can either be a lovely experience or an expensive and frustrating one. The drinks and snacks are very nice, but I am sorry to say that we were treated so poorly, my wife in particular, that I will be giving this place a miss for the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately, the visit was not hugely successful. The cafe seems to be run inefficiently and without any systems compared to other cafes. Food that is easy to make, takes too long and everyone gets offered the food and drinks of other customers. This is because you are not given a number or equivalent when you order. Staff are friendly and nice but maybe they might want to visit other cafes and see how well they run.

Greated with a lovely smile, very efficient service and great products. Customer toilet was clean and welcoming with a modern design. Great quality hand soap too.

Very popular and busy at noon on a Sunday. Great range of coffees and teas and some tempting cakes/cookies. Spiced pumpkin latte is seasonal and tasty.