The staff were very unhelpful could not wait for us to go we booked a table for 8 15pm couldn't get a taxi until 10 15 pm told us they were going at 10 pm they only got paid for the hour and we had to wait outside food was lovely need to sort your staff will never be
David Kennedy
Great food, what else do you need. And its z
Gman
Four of us went there this week. The decor is more like a cafe than a restaurant and its BYO with a £1.50 charge per person. Its £27.50 for two courses but beware because it soon mounts up as some starters and main courses courses have a £6 add on plus even more if you want extra side dishes. The food,which includes seafod, was good but I thought the bill at £150 for four people excluding drinks was very expensive for what we had
Julie Morrison
An amazing meal as always and finished by a chorus of happy birthday to me, which made our daughters night, cannot thank you all enough.
Graeme Lowe
When we visit from England this is our go to place for dinner where we dine with my brother and sister in law. The food is outstanding and the service is top notch. An absolute gem of a restaurant and would highly recommend ?
carol bell
Wonderful food and service and bring your own drink is brilliant
Glen Hassard
Great food, especially the seafood and BYO is a plus!
Stephen Webb
Amazing food and peaceful ambience for a small group. Not much atmosphere and service not as much craic as it used to be
Liz186470
The restaurant is really the upstairs front of a converted terrace house. It is relatively small as a result, and has a limited number of tables set out for twos and larger groups up to six or so. The menu is set at £27.50 for two courses and is bring your own bottle as the restaurant is not licensed. There is a £1.50 per person glass charge. We were a party of six and two ordered the 12 oz steaks and one the rack of lamb both of which had a £6 supplement charge. One ordered one of the specials which was silver hake served with tomato and chorizo and baby boiled potatoes. Before that two of us had a starter of seafood salad - smoked salmon, prawns and mackeral pate. The starter was very basic, a few lettuce cuttings, a small piece of smoked salmon, half a dozen very small prawns glazed in marie rose sauce and a spoonful size quinell of pate on an equally small sized piece of bruschetta. There was no dressing to pull the salad together. It was very unprofessional, very basic and non chef like. The steaks came on a plate with nothing else, no garnish, nothing. The chips came separately. This was literally steak and chips; once again very basic. The silver hake with tomato and chorizo looked very good but that's were it ended. The hake was nicely cooked but completely tasteless. Even adding salt it did not improve, there was just no flavour whatsoever. The tomato and chorizo was separate on the plate, it was not a sauce and so didn't add anything to improve the fish. As for the baby boiled potatoes they were very watery and once again tasteless. The rack of lamb came with one slab of dauphinoise pototo and no other vegetables whatsover. We had to order a side of cauliflower cheese which was another £3.50 on top of the £6 supplement for the lamb. The meal itself was very good and the rack of lamb a good size. One of our party had the stuffed breast of chicken but again it came with no vegetables other than the side of chips that was ordered, and again we had to order a vegetable side at another £3.50. The chicken however was nicely cooked and moist. When we asked about there being no vegetables with the lamb and other mains, we were told they stopped doing this as people were leaving a lot and it was costly. Not the answer we expected nor wanted to hear! In other words pay extra if you want them. Two of our party had creme brulee desserts instead of starters and these were very good. The food quality therefore was very mixed and the presentation and what was sent out on the plate should have been much better. The final cost of £67 per couple for two courses and with no drinks at all was way over what it was worth, having considered all of the above. On a positive note the staff were very friendly and helpful.
Linda
We went to Cafe Essence for my son's birthday. I was a bit put off by the steps as I have an issue with the muscles in my left leg but I managed. We were a party of 6 and were seated around the corner. The service was perfect with friendly, helpful staff. The food was excellent - clean plates all round. The menu is not extensive but there was enough variety for all of us to have a choice. This includes my son who is vegetarian. I would highly recommend Cafe Essence to anyone and will definitely go again.
Not been here for a while and food is good, Great prices too. What I like about cafe essence is the no nonsense, they dont try to be fine dining like so many other places (and fail) and add a hefty price tag. They serve great food at decent prices. I had the cod main and the flavours were sublime
John Turnbull
Food was cold, staff kept insisting they would "warm it over" .... I kept saying that I didn't want it! The restaurant has about as much atmosphere as a railway platform. It will be a long time before I'll be back.
Johanna DeVere
Bit disappointed with my "King" prawn started. Very small prawns. Cod main course was nice. Not suitable for a person with mobility issues as the stairs up to the restaurant is steep and narrow, plastic chairs not very comfortable and the room is very small so it gets too noisy. Won't be back again, sorry.
211PamelaJ
Great food enjoyed by my husband and me on my birthday. Lobster, scallops for starters, delicious lamb and amazing peanut butter ice cream dessert. We will definitely be back !
D V
We had dinner here and the food and service was so good we decided to return again for Sunday lunch. My friend had the surf and turf and I had the rack of lamb. Absolutely delicious and as you are allowed to bring your own wine we came prepared!.
The staff were very unhelpful could not wait for us to go we booked a table for 8 15pm couldn't get a taxi until 10 15 pm told us they were going at 10 pm they only got paid for the hour and we had to wait outside food was lovely need to sort your staff will never be
Great food, what else do you need. And its z
Four of us went there this week. The decor is more like a cafe than a restaurant and its BYO with a £1.50 charge per person. Its £27.50 for two courses but beware because it soon mounts up as some starters and main courses courses have a £6 add on plus even more if you want extra side dishes. The food,which includes seafod, was good but I thought the bill at £150 for four people excluding drinks was very expensive for what we had
An amazing meal as always and finished by a chorus of happy birthday to me, which made our daughters night, cannot thank you all enough.
When we visit from England this is our go to place for dinner where we dine with my brother and sister in law. The food is outstanding and the service is top notch. An absolute gem of a restaurant and would highly recommend ?
Wonderful food and service and bring your own drink is brilliant
Great food, especially the seafood and BYO is a plus!
Amazing food and peaceful ambience for a small group. Not much atmosphere and service not as much craic as it used to be
The restaurant is really the upstairs front of a converted terrace house. It is relatively small as a result, and has a limited number of tables set out for twos and larger groups up to six or so. The menu is set at £27.50 for two courses and is bring your own bottle as the restaurant is not licensed. There is a £1.50 per person glass charge. We were a party of six and two ordered the 12 oz steaks and one the rack of lamb both of which had a £6 supplement charge. One ordered one of the specials which was silver hake served with tomato and chorizo and baby boiled potatoes. Before that two of us had a starter of seafood salad - smoked salmon, prawns and mackeral pate. The starter was very basic, a few lettuce cuttings, a small piece of smoked salmon, half a dozen very small prawns glazed in marie rose sauce and a spoonful size quinell of pate on an equally small sized piece of bruschetta. There was no dressing to pull the salad together. It was very unprofessional, very basic and non chef like. The steaks came on a plate with nothing else, no garnish, nothing. The chips came separately. This was literally steak and chips; once again very basic. The silver hake with tomato and chorizo looked very good but that's were it ended. The hake was nicely cooked but completely tasteless. Even adding salt it did not improve, there was just no flavour whatsoever. The tomato and chorizo was separate on the plate, it was not a sauce and so didn't add anything to improve the fish. As for the baby boiled potatoes they were very watery and once again tasteless. The rack of lamb came with one slab of dauphinoise pototo and no other vegetables whatsover. We had to order a side of cauliflower cheese which was another £3.50 on top of the £6 supplement for the lamb. The meal itself was very good and the rack of lamb a good size. One of our party had the stuffed breast of chicken but again it came with no vegetables other than the side of chips that was ordered, and again we had to order a vegetable side at another £3.50. The chicken however was nicely cooked and moist. When we asked about there being no vegetables with the lamb and other mains, we were told they stopped doing this as people were leaving a lot and it was costly. Not the answer we expected nor wanted to hear! In other words pay extra if you want them. Two of our party had creme brulee desserts instead of starters and these were very good. The food quality therefore was very mixed and the presentation and what was sent out on the plate should have been much better. The final cost of £67 per couple for two courses and with no drinks at all was way over what it was worth, having considered all of the above. On a positive note the staff were very friendly and helpful.
We went to Cafe Essence for my son's birthday. I was a bit put off by the steps as I have an issue with the muscles in my left leg but I managed. We were a party of 6 and were seated around the corner. The service was perfect with friendly, helpful staff. The food was excellent - clean plates all round. The menu is not extensive but there was enough variety for all of us to have a choice. This includes my son who is vegetarian. I would highly recommend Cafe Essence to anyone and will definitely go again.
Restaurantji Recommends
Not been here for a while and food is good, Great prices too. What I like about cafe essence is the no nonsense, they dont try to be fine dining like so many other places (and fail) and add a hefty price tag. They serve great food at decent prices. I had the cod main and the flavours were sublime
Food was cold, staff kept insisting they would "warm it over" .... I kept saying that I didn't want it! The restaurant has about as much atmosphere as a railway platform. It will be a long time before I'll be back.
Bit disappointed with my "King" prawn started. Very small prawns. Cod main course was nice. Not suitable for a person with mobility issues as the stairs up to the restaurant is steep and narrow, plastic chairs not very comfortable and the room is very small so it gets too noisy. Won't be back again, sorry.
Great food enjoyed by my husband and me on my birthday. Lobster, scallops for starters, delicious lamb and amazing peanut butter ice cream dessert. We will definitely be back !
We had dinner here and the food and service was so good we decided to return again for Sunday lunch. My friend had the surf and turf and I had the rack of lamb. Absolutely delicious and as you are allowed to bring your own wine we came prepared!.