Saddlery cafe Osprey Home St Albans in St Albans

A lovely place to come for a coffee or breakfast or brunch.There are other units to browse around as well

This is a regular haunt! Today I had a delicious gluten-free "pizza" with parma ham and figs and my husband had smashed avocado on toast. It was a lovely relaxing lunch outdoors - with our dog. The staff were very friendly and helpful.

Well, the Saddlery Cafe has undergone a change again and what a change! It was always lovely and quaint with its service, food and drink but has now been, I guess, modernised.Sadly it has lost its quintessential English tea room appeal and feels more anonymous and corporate with its labelled crockery, water glasses for coffee etc.Gone are the mismatched china teapots, cups and saucers and fabulous old cutlery. I loved those! Please bring them back.There is no feeling of an oasis of peace and tranquillity in the actual courtyard now. Instead, there is a monstrous plastic awning - albeit a clear one - that has replaced the umbrellas and open feel of sitting in an English garden.I was a frequent visitor before all the changes, now, even though the food is good, the lack of atmosphere and all the above mentioned means I will no longer feel the need to visit.Usually I would meet with a friend, have a leisurely lunch and then spend a bit of money in the shop areas. This won’t happen now sadly.The staff are lovely, though the young girls a bit gauche. The food is good too. Just the rest of it wonky.

I have just left this establishment, if you are looking for good customer service this is definitely not the place to go even if the setting is beautiful!Upon arrival and when asking what the process in terms of being seated and served were, we were greeted by a young lady who seemed annoyed that we were unaware of the usual protocol.We then sat and waited for over 15mins and had not been attended to, I had to go back in to make the young waiter (who by the way had impeccable customer care) that we were waiting to be served.We ordered a club sandwich and some cocktails only to be told that the kitchen close from 4 until 6 we arrived here at 3:40.Still giving this place the benefit of the doubt I said it would be fine and we would have drinks.The drinks never arrived and it was not very welcoming.Stay well clear not a great experience at all!

Went for the first time today. Dirty crockery, had to send back twice. Waitress clearly had an attitude about bringing fresh cups out. Then given a chipped cup. Given we are in covid times was not impressed with hygiene standards. Food overpriced and menu choices limited and not exciting. Won't recommend or go back.

On a cold, wet and miserable day, JJAM X Sadderly Café offered the ultimate cosy and delicious respite. After browsing the beautiful neighbouring Osprey Home and Osprey Outlet stores, we were welcomed in by the friendly staff, who gave recommendations from their tempting menu. There’s a great choice of food to choose from – I opted for the Keep Trufflin Flatbread (basically a pizza) – it was absolutely divine and a very generous size! Parking was free and there was plenty of it, although it was getting very busy once I left around 2pm. I will certainly be going back to try one of the grazing boards with a glass of wine. I’ve also heard that there’s live music whilst you dine on a Friday evening, which sounds like it would be a lovely thing to do!

Disappointing visit here today (22 September). No hot food on the menu, poor service and no apology about the missing drinks. No details taken for track and trace either. Such a shame as I had a lovely time here on my previous visit (Saturday 12th September), the young girls serving that day were brilliant, and the cooked food delicious. Was so looking forward to returning with a friend today.

First time there. In the current circumstances, the tables were well-spaced. We sat outside in the courtyard; comfortable seating with parasol at some tables. Staff were welcoming, friendly, polite and very efficient. The coffee and cake were delicious but eyes strayed to the various salad lunches other folk had ordered. Next time!

Cool posh feeling to this place. Not too far out of St Albans. On a quiet contrary. Good decor. Peaceful ambience.

Well, after reading the reviews, I thought it would be a lovely place to bring my 80yr old Mother for an afternoon tea. Please bear in mind now, that my review is from the start, coloured by the customer service rather than the coffee or the setting etc as that is more important to me as an experience than the quality of the food. I've just returned and am still bubbling with upset. I don't do reviews normally either but I'm vexed! Myself and my mother were basically ignored by the waiting and kitchen staff and when finally served, can definitely not be termed as friendly. I don't know why we were treated so badly and were left feeling awkward and upset, especially my Mother! I've worked successfully in the industry and I wouldn't employ staff like that, who were incapable of noticing customers who were right in their face, silently and respectfully, waiting for acknowledgement and service. I am disappointed as I read all the previous reviews stating how friendly the staff were. We definitely didn't get that! Because of that, we didn't want to order food and opted for the drinks to really, get out of there quickly! The two stars were for the setting and the coffee, both of which were excellent! It did however take a long time for our drinks to arrive even though it wasn't particularly that busy for the number of staff they had. We will give it one more go to see if it was just a bad day for them, then post an updated review based on that. The staff in the shop however, were super friendly.