Terracotta Leigh On Sea

After ordering our chosen meal we sat back and waited for it to arrive. We ordered drinks which came immediately and they were soon gone. We sat and waited and waited and waited. Finally my husband asked the waitress what the problem was and she said it would be there in 10 mins at this point we had been waiting 40 mins for a flatbread and a jacket potato. Again nothing so again asked where it was and we were told there had been a mix up with the orders and his lunch had been given to somebody else ! Tehn the owner came out not to apologise but to say that they no longer had any flatbreads left and did my husband want to choose something else !! I know it was busy but there was no organisation whatsoever and the owner preceeded to blame the young girl waitress whos fault it was definetly not !! My advise is only go in if you can see a couple of people in there as it seems they cannot cope with more than 2 people at a time !!

My grand-​daughter had her first birthday party at the Terracotta Tea Rooms. Everything was perfect. They had laid the two rooms out as requested. Provided a buffet for the children and for the adults — of which there was over fifty! Nothing was too much trouble. They provided alcholic drinks, soft drinks, punch and tea and coffee at each individual’s request.
Everybody had a good time and would definitely have no hesitation in ‘booking’ the tea rooms another time.
We visit these tea rooms fequently and it is lovely to have a café who welcomes children.

The tea rooms are fab. The food is fab and the owners are great. Yet again today I saw a parent ignoring their child who was screaming and really upsetting other customers. I realise as a parent it is so hard to keep an eye on children all the time. However I find it very sad that once again this café is being used as a crèche not a place where people can go to to enjoy themselves. I would never allow my children to treat a public place like that. As a young mother myself I am appalled that this café is being abused when thyere are so few other places that are so tolerant.

This place is a joke. They call themselves child friendly yet they complain if your child plays in their play room, and perhaps most absurdly they will not allow you to feed your baby any food you have brought from home (so purees etc). They only allow you to feed your baby if it is food bought from themselves which is completely useless if your child is not eating solids yet!
The service is hit and miss depending on who serves you, with orders ignored or forgotten about, but to be fair when the food does arrive it is tasty.
I think they should do themselves a favour and just remove the kids room (which is only filled with 3 or 4 broken toys) and just admit that they only want older people who won’t make them work for their money.
Overall I would recommend if you want to have a nice enjoyable coffee or lunch with your child to go elsewhere.
**Update
I feel I need to comment further, as whilst I appreciate the other reviews weren’t necessarily aimed at me I just feel I need to address certain points.
From my own point of view I am talking about babies who have just learnt to toddle so I can hardly think they can be blamed for terrorising the other customers or running around being a ‘health and safety’ issue. I firmly believe staff should intervene when a child is behaving inappropriately and the parent fails to act responsibly. I am a teacher and so would like to think I am a responsible parent — we supervise our children and quite frankly aren’t demanding as customers
I would also like to point out that speaking for myself and my friends, we always order food and drinks for ourselves and pay the averagely high prices without quibble so it is not like we just go there bringing our own food for a picnic. We might feed our baby a baby yoghurt as a mid-​morning snack which is the offending food, which seems to be acceptable depending on which member of staff you speak to. Should I not bring in water from home in their beakers either if we are using the ‘I would not take my own alcohol into a pub’ argument. I frequently eat out and have never encountered a child friendly establishment not allow you to bring in snack food for a baby providing you order food for yourselves. So when a child is still eating pureed or mushy food, or are a fussy eater they aren’t allowed to go eat in a ‘child-​friendly’ café because it is not appropriate to bring snack food in from home? Ludicrous!
I have been there many times and have been served by a couple of lovely waitresses, and thought this place was lovely especially when I had a small baby who slept in his pram. However I feel good service should be a given every time and even having a couple of bad times is unacceptable.
And my comment towards the staff having to work for their money was after I witnessed the waitress demand a heavily pregnant lady sitting on another table to pick up raisins the lady’s child had dropped. The lady sat there apologetic until who I assume is her friend got on her hands and knees and picked them up whilst the waitress stood and watched. Somewhere claiming to be child friendly should expect crumbs on the floor.
Finally I can only stress this is my own experience and of course people will have a different opinion and review what they have seen for themselves.

This is an old fashioned coffee shop/​tea room opposite the library in leigh on sea. It is good for what it is, fairly cheap and they also sell gifts which are actually ok. The food is nothing to write home about. Typical café stuff and the coffee is average at best. What is really nice is that they have a little playroom full of toys for children which is a godsend sometimes. Also, there is a lovely outdoor area out the back with little tables and chairs for little people!