Willow Tea Rooms

I have just read a short review of the Willow Tea Rooms here on Google reviews. It just says "rude staff, made to feel unwelcome". I never thought I'd see a review like that for this place! It is probably the best tea room in the country, with the friendliest and hardest working staff. Looking from the outside you'd think it's a modest little "cafe" - but you'd be wrong. The food served here is amongst the best you'll get anywhere. Talk to the ever smiling chef and you'll find out why... He has been working in the city for decades, at the finest companies. He really knows his stuff. Nothing is too much trouble. My son is coeliac - an auto-immune disease that means he can't eat anything with gluten. Usually, it makes eating out a little bit more complicated and less fun for him. But many of the items here are made gluten free as a default - their attitude is "if we can do it gluten-free then why not". I don't live in Barnham - but I travel here at least once/twice a week to enjoy a lunch. This week my wife enjoyed the best smashed avacado on toast she has ever had (with back bacon as an extra) and I had the highest quality full english breakfast I've ever had. Back bacon, plus streaky bacon, a pile of lovely fried mushrooms, some potato puffs (as light as a feather - sort of like a potato croquette but nicer), toast, beans, perfectly fired eggs, two lovely sausages. Then for desert we couldn't make out minds up, so we had three sweets. Strawberry cheesecake, a strawberry cupcake, and the best of all... a strawberry tart that would beat most Parisian patisseries. No soggy bottoms here! We're on our way to do Sunday lunch on the 28th - having booked in advance :)

Lovely cosy place with outdoor seating. Friendly staff with great knowledge of gluten free and coeliac. Nice gf sandwiches, presented with some salad and crisps.