Last time I was in Northampton I ate breakfast at Jenny's Cafe, a decision which was not a particularly wise one! This time my wife and I were meeting our friends Mike and Michelle for breakfast and it looked like Buddies in the town centre was going to be a good option. I had previously visited Buddies USA in Rushden and enjoyed it (Read the review here) With Buddies in Northampton opening at 11.30 we would be eating breakfast a bit later today..
Upon entering - The amount of American memorabilia found inside is quite impressive with the walls and ceiling covered with flags, photos and signage. The seating is in the form of booths giving you a nice little space of your own whilst dining, each table has condiments nestled together and our table even had a stack of trivial pursuit cards. Cutlery and menus are brought over to the table, the menus are massive though and when everyone picks them up to look through the space in the booth suddenly feels quite compact, this is also the case when everything arrives at the table. Your order is taken at the table and everything is brought over when it is ready, drinks first and then the food. If you have ordered hot drink refills you will need to call the waitress over when you want a top up. At the end of the meal the bill arrives accompanied by some mint humbugs. It was certainly a nice environment to dine in and it had an impressive interior, I loved looking at some of the vintage New York photos displayed on the walls too. 8/10
Service - We were shown to a table when we arrived and menus were brought over to us. First our drinks order was taken, we all ordered coffee and tea refills, at no point did anyone come over to offer a refill but they were happy to do so when we asked. The toast arrived next and shortly after that the cooked breakfasts. Bread and butter comes with the breakfasts but they were happy to swap this for toast when we asked. The service was friendly enough and we were made to feel welcome. 7/10
Contents - 2 sausages, 2 bacon, 4 hash browns, 2 fried eggs, mushrooms, beans and two slices of toast and butter. 7/10
Presentation - The sausages were looking a bit overdone and the bacon a bit patchy in places, everything had its place on the plate though and the eggs looked nicely cooked. The polystyrene pot used for the beans kept them nice and hot but cheapened the look of the breakfast slightly. 6/10
The food - The sausages may have appeared overcooked but they tasted great with a nice meaty texture and good flavour, certainly a decent enough breakfast sausage. The bacon was fairly standard and the eggs really nice with good runny yolks. The hash browns were cooked nicely with crisp edges and fluffy centre. The mushrooms were delicious but very oily, the beans were hot but the juice hadn't really thickened enough for my liking. The toast was evenly toasted and served with real butter. A breakfast that was enjoyable enough to eat but nothing on the plate really stood out as being particularly special. 7/10
Value for money - The New York breakfast cost £9 and came with toast, quite expensive but plenty of food for the money. A coffee with refills cost £2, the more you drink the better value you get. 6/10
Veggie option - 2 veggie sausages, 4 hash browns, 2 fried eggs, mushrooms, beans, tomatoes and toast & butter. £9
Overall - A great little American Diner that is worth visiting, more so for the decor and vibe than the breakfast though. The breakfast is certainly nice but for the price not really that speciall. Also with it opening at 11.30am you will be fairly hungry when the doors finally open. The lunch menu looked like a good option though, 2 courses for £10, bargain! 7/10
Service - We were shown to a table when we arrived and menus were brought over to us. First our drinks order was taken, we all ordered coffee and tea refills, at no point did anyone come over to offer a refill but they were happy to do so when we asked. The toast arrived next and shortly after that the cooked breakfasts. Bread and butter comes with the breakfasts but they were happy to swap this for toast when we asked. The service was friendly enough and we were made to feel welcome. 7/10
Contents - 2 sausages, 2 bacon, 4 hash browns, 2 fried eggs, mushrooms, beans and two slices of toast and butter. 7/10
Presentation - The sausages were looking a bit overdone and the bacon a bit patchy in places, everything had its place on the plate though and the eggs looked nicely cooked. The polystyrene pot used for the beans kept them nice and hot but cheapened the look of the breakfast slightly. 6/10
The food - The sausages may have appeared overcooked but they tasted great with a nice meaty texture and good flavour, certainly a decent enough breakfast sausage. The bacon was fairly standard and the eggs really nice with good runny yolks. The hash browns were cooked nicely with crisp edges and fluffy centre. The mushrooms were delicious but very oily, the beans were hot but the juice hadn't really thickened enough for my liking. The toast was evenly toasted and served with real butter. A breakfast that was enjoyable enough to eat but nothing on the plate really stood out as being particularly special. 7/10
Value for money - The New York breakfast cost £9 and came with toast, quite expensive but plenty of food for the money. A coffee with refills cost £2, the more you drink the better value you get. 6/10
Veggie option - 2 veggie sausages, 4 hash browns, 2 fried eggs, mushrooms, beans, tomatoes and toast & butter. £9
Overall - A great little American Diner that is worth visiting, more so for the decor and vibe than the breakfast though. The breakfast is certainly nice but for the price not really that speciall. Also with it opening at 11.30am you will be fairly hungry when the doors finally open. The lunch menu looked like a good option though, 2 courses for £10, bargain! 7/10
Hi inspector, big fan of your work, very informative and enjoyable, was looking to do few guest reviews if ok? How do I go about doing/ sending it to you, cheers
ReplyDeleteHi, I am not currently looking for guest reviews but will let you know if this changes. Thanks for following the blog.
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