November 2023 by Joyce
Waited patiently in the queue this afternoon around midday and when it was my turn to be served, the man serving completely ignored me and instead served the woman behind me. On my way out I asked him about this and he blatantly lied to my face. I then confronted him and he started stuttering and stammering, trying to defend himself. He was rude and belligerent and I promptly left. As the only black person in a long queue of whites, I was not hard to miss. It would appear the many accusations of racism in previous comments show this intolerance still persists at this branch. It is disappointing, disgusting and very demeaning. It is also clear to me that people of colour are not welcome here.
November 2023 by Natalie Allen
Sorry guys but not into the revamp at all. Why have you lost lots of your indoor seating?? Also if ordering to eat in, you now have to stand and wait whilst holding your food tray (and any children you may have)for your drink, and then try and find a seat - which there aren?t any of? Massively inconvenient for families and will mean we can?t visit anymore as it?s too tricky to juggle all the elements. Rather than them bringing your food/drink when it?s ready whilst you get seated. Not sure why they?ve changed something that worked perfectly well?
October 2023 by Ali P
Abysmal service, contemptuous of customers. I have lived in the village for 20 years and have visited Gail?s regularly prepared to put the prices to one side because of the quality of the produce. The service, attitude and contempt of customers today was so bad I will never go back. This branch is doing it?s bit to ruin the brand name.
October 2023 by Paul Casey
This branch has gone downhill of late. Popped in on 1/10/23 to buy cinnamon rolls and bread. Staff seemed put out that their chit chat had been interrupted by me and were anything but helpful. Despite being told back in July that my old skool loyalty card would be honoured until redeemed, this was dismissed with a "you need to get our app - the card is no longer in use". I'll be taking my custom elsewhere from now.
October 2023 by A T
Why do companies decide to renovate places without consulting with local users or the staff who actually work there? Was such a nice cosy and comfortable place to go, now the beautiful leather seats at Gail's Dulwich Village have been replaced by a hard wooden bench barely wide enough for my average sized bottom (seriously, try it) and headache inducing lighting. Staff clearly clambering over each other because they have less space behind the counter than before. A renovation but with less display space for bread and food than before? Makes no sense. A beautiful cafe ruined.
October 2023 by neal assing
Just been into the newly refurbished branch of Gail?s in Dulwich Village and I have to say I?m very disappointed with the outcome. The seating capacity has been reduced enormously and it?s now basically turned into a grab a coffee and go joint. Such a shame and I for one will be taking my custom elsewhere.
September 2023 by danielbyrne03
This branch of Gails is currently under renovation so has a restricted offer. They are running the operation from the first 2 or 3 metres of the cafe with a false wall behind them! But the team behind the counter are doing a sterling job of keeping things going! (in very confined space!) Great coffee and although stock is limited the usual choices of pastries and bread available.
September 2023 by Ruel Pagoto
Very good cinnamon bun, good latté.There were two important things that I think can be improved, though. They had happened twice to me already so I think I need to express it here now.1. Staff were always in a hurry to clear the tables up and it happened to me twice - my take-away coffee were collected while I was away getting a glass of water! The first one happened approximately 4 months ago and the second one today at around 3:25pm. The staff in both ocassions did not acknowledge or even apologised. The staff today actually murmured when I turned away that he was only doing his job; he should have told me face to face.2. On two separate ocassions, I came in in the evening or late afternoon to get a cinnamon bun and coffee. I saw the staff (first incident a staff with a head gear) picked up the cinnamon bun with his bare fingers; he couldn't be bothered to use the tongs! I asked for a replacement bun picked up by a pair of tongs.One late afternoon or summer evening, a barista (when I requested for drinking water) held the jug right on the spout!!!These things are very critical, these practices have to be seriously re-evaluated.By the way, I found it odd to be served with cold scones (in Dulwich Village, London), Gail's cannot heat the scones up for some food safety reasons. When scones are less than a day old - hence not leftovers and are kept or handled properly by staff (with tongs not bare fingers) i wonder if it is really a big issue to heat them up especially if these are eaten up by customers straight away.
September 2023 by Dj Dobad Heaven Blessings
Great quiet eats! Dulwich village opened its arms to a business that is NOT a Boutique...love it. Love Gail's treats
August 2023 by Bromleypeople
Popped in after an afternoon visit to Dulwich Art Gallery. Interior shabby and definitely not chic. Worn banquette seating, tired tables none to clean. Under the tables food debris on a floor that looked as if not washed or polished in a very long time. Good array of snacks and bakery items on counter under cover. We had a quiche and a smoked salmon baguet and a tea and coffee. The teapot had a chipped spout ( yuk) and tea cup was a stoneware mug with no saucer or teaspoon. Had to request a teaspoon at the counter. Quiche very tepid but tasty. A stack of folded crates by the counter and an assistant using an ancient looking grubby long handled dustpan and brush to sweep the centre of the floor. Needs to go to the tip! Are these poor standards really acceptable to people?. This is NOT a cheap caff and I expect a great deal better. Take the management and staff to Caffe Ori at John Lewis Bluewater to see how a cafe should look and be run. Won't be back.
August 2023 by KeithHumph
Stopped for a double espresso when I bought a San Francisco Sourdough loaf and was pleasantly surprised that the taste had improved hugely - not burnt and bitter as previously. Success
July 2023 by Citizen Review
I would venture to say its probably the best Gails in London, as the customer care surpasses all other bakeries. Also the female manager was really nice, she resolved the issue and gave me a free brown sourdough loaf, it genuinely made my day. Not least, its such a rarity to find decent customer service in todays modern world, and in this respect Gails get top marks from me. Plus they can slice the bread for the customer, which makes life much easier, definitely gonna try the seasonal salad range on my next visit.
July 2023 by Amanda A
Terrible experience. Visited on Friday and was excited to have brunch with a friend there. Was served by small older Latin lady (I would disclose band instead if badges were worn) who straightway wasn't very welcoming and rude when answering our questions about the sandwiches. Ordered for myself and friend and soon realized I left my phone in the car parked nearby so couldn't pay. Went to get it, ordered again only to find that my order was sold out and no more coming. The lady was also going to charge me for it if I didn't point it out. No apology, no acknowledgement of her wrong doing. I'm no longer local to London so don't get to visit Gails as much, it's such a shame to have such disappointing service. I'll be staying away from that location in future and hopefully this doesn't reflect the other branches.
July 2023 by Keith Mansfield
I use Gail's on a very regular basis ,although the prices are pretty much on the upper scale the quality of the products makes up for it my only grips are sometimes the coffee is not as hot as I would like and the app can be problematic apart from that I can highly recommend them .
June 2023 by Jela W
Typical Gail?s in terms of food, drink and service. Good quality and always enjoy a visit HOWEVER this time the very loud music spoilt the ambience for me. It was so loud that staff had to ask customers to repeat their orders, it was difficult to have a conversation inside. Please turn the music down or better still, turn it off altogether. Most of us pop in for a cuppa with others so that we can chat comfortably too.
