Patisserie Valerie - Norwich

12-14 Davey Place

Norwich

NR2 1PQ

Breakfast served all day

Everyday from 8am till 6pm

Website

The "all day breakfast" displayed on the sign outside was enough to lure me in.

I had been once before to try some of their delicious cakes.

It gets very busy but I arrived early so it was quite peaceful.

The breakfast menu is a huge disappointment.

 

The coffee is excellent.

I waited patiently wondering why their breakfast menu was so poor.

The butter arrived first, ketchup is available on request.

Bog standard toast and 2 lifeless poached eggs.

The beans and mushrooms arrived in separate bowls, I wasn't filled with excitement.

Boring, bland and I could made had this at home and saved £7.75! 

"All day breakfasts" is displayed on the board outside Patisserie Valerie conjuring up thoughts of sausages, bacon, eggs and all the other key breakfast items. I had visited a couple of weeks back with my wife and enjoyed a fantastic cappuccino and some delicious cakes and having studied the menu then didn't spot a decent breakfast on it. We decided that perhaps it was on a separate menu as many other Patisserie Valerie's in the chain were offering a full english breakfast for £7.95. Once seated inside we discovered the poor breakfast menu on offer so decided to order the standard breakfast items that were on the menu, the choice was very limited...

Upon entering - It was quite early when we arrived so plenty of empty tables were available, we chose one and sat down but at busier times you may have to wait to be shown to a table. It is quite nice inside with plenty of cakes on display and a good view out of the window enabling you to people watch over a coffee. Your order is taken at the table and everything will arrive when it is ready, either wait for your bill to arrive at the end or pay at the till on your way out. Salt, pepper and cutlery is on the tables and ketchup is available on request. 7/10

Service - On our first visit the waitress showing us to our table was blunt and unfriendly, I will base the score on this visit though to be fair. This time round the waiter was very professional and friendly. He explained that even he was disappointed that this was the only Patisserie Valerie in the chain not serving a full english breakfast.  Everything arrived at the table in good time and was neatly placed before us, the service was good throughout this visit. 7/10

Contents - 2 poached eggs, beans, mushrooms and buttered toast. 2/10

Presentation - The poached eggs and toast arrived with a sprig of parsley in an attempt to make it look slightly interesting and the beans and mushrooms arrived in separate dishes. I created the final arrangement but looked upon it feeling quite gutted that I hadn't gone elsewhere or just made the same thing at home. 5/10

The food - Ok, this won't take long.. Standard poached eggs, slightly underdone toast, standard beans and tiny mushrooms that tasted quite nice but left me wondering were they tinned? Not hugely enjoyable but fairly filling. 5/10

Value for money - £7.75 for a bland breakfast left me wishing I had made it at home myself. 3/10

Veggie option - You are reading about it! Uninspiring and bland..

Overall - The coffee and cakes here are fantastic but the breakfasts are bland and boring. I could have ordered the eggs florentine or royale which were probably much more exciting, but at nearly £8 each by the time I added beans, mushrooms and tomatoes that would have cost over £12! Meat lovers and veggies beware, there really is nothing exciting on offer here for breakfast unless you want to spend a small fortune and even then there is not a sausage or slice of bacon to be found anywhere. With so many places nearby serving excellent breakfasts at half the price this place is not worth a visit unless you fancy a coffee and some cake. 5/10