We regularly visit Ullesthorpe Garden Centre and, every so often, we’ll stop for a bite to eat at Café 1911. It’s a lovely little spot, with plenty of seating both indoors and outside. On warmer days the outdoor space is especially nice, and even when it’s chilly they have heated enclosures that are surprisingly cosy and comfortable.
The food is consistently good. Over the years we’ve tried toasties, sandwiches and jacket potatoes, and they’ve always hit the mark. On this visit, our tuna and ham and cheese toasties looked the part and tasted just as good. It’s always a pleasant place to sit and eat.
As with most places these days, prices have edged up a little. That’s expected, but it does make you notice the overall experience more. My only real feedback would be around the ordering process. Like many similar setups, customers ordering food and drinks stay at the till while hot drinks are prepared. In an ideal world, you’d order and pay, then step aside and wait separately to collect drinks. On this occasion it took around 20 minutes to queue and place the order, and then another 20 minutes after ordering before everything was ready. Needs to be quicker.
One slightly puzzling aspect is that they stop serving the full menu at weekends from 3pm, even when the café is still pretty busy and customers arriving. For the final hour there’s a more limited menu selection. I’m sure there’s sound business logic behind it, but from a customer perspective it feels like an early cut-off as it was just past three o’clock and many menu choices were no longer available.
That said, the service is friendly, the setting is pleasant, and it remains a place we enjoy visiting. A small tweak to the ordering system and perhaps slightly extended service hours would make it even better.
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