Cafe Zest

Cafe Zest is a friendly place where you'll find lovely tea and delicious cakes at very reasonable prices. Not the fastest service though.

I like this place, visit it every tuesday

Went into Cafe Zest on 4th May 2013, the Cafe has always been popular & we have visited it many times in the past.

Was surprised to see the 'New look' & wondered why it was virtually empty at Midday on a Saturday.

Ordered x2 Prawn sandwiches & a pot of tea. Only 1 Prawn sandwich was available so we were given that on a tray with our tea & went to find a table whilst our other sandwich was made.

The place was virtually empty which seemed strange considering the time (midday). The table we chose had obviously been wiped down, but had a 'sticky' feel to it. On closer check the other tables around us were the same. It appeared that whoever had wiped the tables down was using the same cloth over & over again, without rinsing out.

The seats were also covered in what appeared to be 'cake crumbs'. Despite all this we put up with the table & brushed the seating off.

The Prawn sandwich was OK, but the accompanying salad was limp & beginning to turn brown on the edges. The pot of crisps that came with the order were also 'soggy', all of which would suggest that the whole ensemble, had had a very uneventful morning waiting in the chiller cabinet.

We decided to tuck into the sandwich, which was quite nice, and just as we were finishing the other one appeared, this time with 'crunchy' crisps & 'fresh' salad.

By this time I had also poured out the tea, before doing so I had to take one of the tea cups back for exchange because it was dirty. Although the young lady was very polite & apologetic, I had to wait whilst she finished her private conversation with what appeared to be an 'off duty' colleague.

On return with what can only be described as a 'cleaner' cup, my wife pointed out the general standard of cleanliness on the other crockery. I can only advise that perhaps in the future, they use the rinse facility on the dishwasher, before 'baking' on the general detritus, with the full wash & steam mode.

It would have been nice to have a 'hot' cup of tea, although looking around at the cafe's attempt to 'jazz' the theme & menu up a bit, I can only think that 'tepid' is the new hot.

In conclusion it was an experience I would rather forget than recommend, the staff were polite but the overall experience disappointing. In my opinion there are far better places to eat in Bath, so once you have finished shopping in Jollys, I would exit the store & go in search of another place to dine, giving this 'Grubby little Cafe, with a posh name' a miss.