11 Sussex Street
Cambridge
CB1 1PA
Cambridge
CB1 1PA
Tatties said "breakfast" on the window, we were hungry so we headed inside.
We considered sitting outside but changed our minds, the tables were a bit too small.
"A bit of a tourist cafe" was my first thought, but certainly a pleasent environment inside.
The essentials were found on each table along with a menu.
The menu offered a reasonable breakfast selection.
The full monty came with a glass of orange juice, not freshly squeezed but good for the hangover.
The breakfast that arrived was pretty much what I was expecting, a few things stood out though.
The ring cooked fried eggs sat on the plate looking quite sorry for themselves..
Over cooked sausages and mushrooms..
A fairly tasteless tomato..
The bacon was excellent though!
The veggie breakfast with really nice hash browns cost £5.95
So having walked away in disgust from Don Pasquale the search for a place to eat breakfast continued. As we turned a corner onto Sussex Street the word "breakfast" displayed on a window caught our eye at Tatties. We were very hungry and incredibly thirsty so we decided to head inside..
Upon entering - What looked like a reasonably small cafe on the outside turned out to be much bigger inside with the seating areas divided by a wall. One side was where the counter was located, we sat the other side though as it would be much easier to get photos. The typically British enamel signs (Brooke Bond, Rowntrees etc) suggested this cafe was aiming at attracting Cambridge's many tourists. The tables were spread out nicely and everything was clean so a nice enough place to sit and eat a breakfast. The tables contained a basic selection of sauces in squeezy bottles, salt, pepper, sugar and a menu. The menu offered a fairly varied selection of breakfasts including vegetarian options. So it was a case of ordering at the counter, paying and waiting until the food arrived. 7/10
Service - The staff here were certainly efficient and fairly polite but nobody seemed particularly happy. We placed our order, collected our drinks and payed at the counter before choosing where to sit. After a reasonable amount of time the food arrived along with some cutlery. As far as the service goes thats all I can tell you, nobody came to ask if the food was ok and nobody said goodbye as we left. I can best describe the service here as very flat. 5/10
Contents - 2 sausages, 2 slices of bacon, 2 fried eggs, mushrooms, beans, half a tomato, 1 slice of toast and a glass of orange juice. 7/10
Presentation - The sausages looked well over cooked but the bacon looked juicy and delicious. The fried eggs looked like a pair of strange cakes, the mushrooms looked overcooked and the tomato looked like it would have no flavour. The beans and toast looked ok and the orange juice looked fairly cheap. Everything was placed on the large white plate quite reasonably but those eggs... Why!? 5/10
The food - Although overcooked I was quite surprised to discover the sausage was half decent quality when I cut through it and tasted pretty good too. The bacon was excellent, very juicy and full of flavour. The toast was reasonable and was the base to eat my sorry looking eggs on top of, with solid yolks and rubbery texture they did little more than help cure my hangover. The mushrooms were slightly overcooked, the tomato had little flavour and the beans were hot but with little sauce reduction. I think the highlight for me was necking that glass of cheap orange juice at the beginning. 5/10
Value for money - The full monty came with a glass of juice and cost £7.85, it filled a gap but wasn't very special at all really. It was in the city centre though so.. 5/10
Veggie options - 2 vegetable sausages, 2 eggs, 2 hash browns, mushrooms, beans and tomato for £5.95
Overall - A nice enough environment to eat a breakfast in but with very flat service and an uneventful breakfast on offer here the search for fry up perfection in Cambridge continues.. 5.5/10
Service - The staff here were certainly efficient and fairly polite but nobody seemed particularly happy. We placed our order, collected our drinks and payed at the counter before choosing where to sit. After a reasonable amount of time the food arrived along with some cutlery. As far as the service goes thats all I can tell you, nobody came to ask if the food was ok and nobody said goodbye as we left. I can best describe the service here as very flat. 5/10
Contents - 2 sausages, 2 slices of bacon, 2 fried eggs, mushrooms, beans, half a tomato, 1 slice of toast and a glass of orange juice. 7/10
Presentation - The sausages looked well over cooked but the bacon looked juicy and delicious. The fried eggs looked like a pair of strange cakes, the mushrooms looked overcooked and the tomato looked like it would have no flavour. The beans and toast looked ok and the orange juice looked fairly cheap. Everything was placed on the large white plate quite reasonably but those eggs... Why!? 5/10
The food - Although overcooked I was quite surprised to discover the sausage was half decent quality when I cut through it and tasted pretty good too. The bacon was excellent, very juicy and full of flavour. The toast was reasonable and was the base to eat my sorry looking eggs on top of, with solid yolks and rubbery texture they did little more than help cure my hangover. The mushrooms were slightly overcooked, the tomato had little flavour and the beans were hot but with little sauce reduction. I think the highlight for me was necking that glass of cheap orange juice at the beginning. 5/10
Value for money - The full monty came with a glass of juice and cost £7.85, it filled a gap but wasn't very special at all really. It was in the city centre though so.. 5/10
Veggie options - 2 vegetable sausages, 2 eggs, 2 hash browns, mushrooms, beans and tomato for £5.95
Overall - A nice enough environment to eat a breakfast in but with very flat service and an uneventful breakfast on offer here the search for fry up perfection in Cambridge continues.. 5.5/10
Tatties is totally a counter-service place, so why would you expect them to come to your table and ask you how things are? There is no waitress service apart from them bringing you your food; that's why it's as cheap as it is. (And the jacket potato suppers, which are their speciality, are indeed cheap.)
ReplyDeleteThey come over to collect the plates, this is a perfect opportunity to say was everything ok! No, the problem here is that the staff all look miserable and like they are not having a nice time, therefore not really interested if anyone else is. Sometimes the simplest things in life don't cost a penny, try it, you will be pleasantly surprised!
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