My daughter and I had afternoon tea on Tuesday at the Bottle Kiln (to celebrate my birthday), it was absolutely delicious, and there was so much food!! The service was amazing, particular shout out to lovely Zara and Alice who served our table and made our experience extra special.
This was one of mine and my Mums favourite places to have lunch and unfortunately today it was a real disappointment. We have been so many times when its been so busy and never had any issues. Today I took my mum for a birthday treat, it seemed a steady turn over of customers however the service from the staff was lacking and the staff were rude and unhelpful. We ordered and the food arrived quickly, however our drinks arrive 15 minutes later and there was no water glasses available. I asked the staff for some glasses and she just said they were all in the wash, no apology or offer to bring me one asap, clearly no time for me. Unfortunately the quiche we had didn't taste very nice. And when we enquired about it to make sure we had the correct one she said they ran out of the one on the board but hadn't told us. We said we didn't like it but she didn't offer to refund or exchange. Unfortunately the salt grinder was rusty and dirty and I had used it on my food before I noticed. When I pointed this out to the server she didn't make any apologies and just asked me to put it on my plate. We waited 35 minutes for our cakes to arrive and we had to asked the server to take our dirty plates and cups away as she wasn't going to, she said she could only take our plates. The couple sat next to use had been sat there with dirty plates for over an hour. All in all the service was terrible which was really disappointing and I am saddened by the lack of customer service and response to my issues.
On a busy Friday lunchtime the Bottle Kiln was crowded, mainly with 'ladies who lunch'. They clearly know a good thing when they see it. The cafe is deceptively large and offers a very nice garden outside so finding a table did not take long. I could not resist the home made cheese scone as a starter. Combined with a pot of loose leaf tea it filled the gap waiting for the club sandwich to be put together. It arrived in a few minutes, which I'm happy with for something made to order. There was an additional slice of bread (4) compared with the traditional club recipe (3), which was not an improvement, but the bread was of good quality, properly toasted. The bacon was thick and salty, and the lettuce and tomatoes acted as a great bed for the bacon, chicken and The chicken could have been a little more generous for the price, but was not dry. The coleslaw was excellent as was the house salad. At around £20 for the tea, scone and sandwich it was not a cheap lunch, but it was a good one.
Before grabbing some food, I had a look around the gift shop. I didn’t buy anything, but there were so many lovely things to pick up. Now, let’s talk about the cafe itself. There was plenty of seating to choose from, so I didn’t have to worry about finding a spot. The food and drink menu had a great selection of classic dishes. When I ordered at the counter, I didn’t have to wait long before it arrived. Everything tasted absolutely delicious! I didn’t have a single comment about anything needing improvement.
Lovely place. Blink when driving past and you'll miss it. Food was great, really enjoy eating somewhere where quality is the watchword. Started to snow just to finish things off. Stuff in the shop is a bit pricey but that's because it's good quality.
Very good, quality tasting, hot coffee; really excellent choice of nice cakes. Pleasant room to sit in too.
Wow what a lovely place to visit! Smashing little shop that’s full of interesting and delightful items. Christmas decorations are splendid as you walk through to the huge cafe where there are cakes galore. We had the coconut and vanilla cream scones, which were delicious, washed down with a wonderful latte. Staff are very pleasant and polite and it was very busy, being half term. Good car parking, with extra parking available at the church next door. Altogether a really lovely experience and will definitely be back to try a different cake! Highly recommended.
Researching places in the area, this came up a lot. On Saturdays they are trying new events in the evenings. On our visit , from 4-7 they were serving platters and pizzas with 2 for £10 cocktails. Food portions were enormous which is recommend they cut down, or share food for sure! But the food was lovely and very good value for money. On this site there are also a couple of shops selling things from homewares to jewellery. The tranquil garden was unexpected and beautiful, with detail down to the raked stones.
First time visit to this coffee venue. It's well set out, extremely popular, and the snacks look amazing (although resisted trying one!). Coffee tasted great and was presented well. Would have liked a choice of cup sizes however. They also have shops for you to browse around (including a card section). Shop appears pricey, but can see why it's a popular choice for many people overall.
The Bottle Kiln is located at 203 High Ln W, West Hallam, Ilkeston DE7 6HP, UK
You can contact The Bottle Kiln at +44 115 932 9442
You can find directions to The Bottle Kiln by following this map link