Strawberry Grove - Marlow

This café is amazing. The decor is beautiful with colorful seating outside. The vegan cakes were fantastic. We tried the salted caramel cake, which was delicious, and also got two slices of pistachio and carrot cake, which were just as tasty. The coffee was perfect too! The staff were friendly and helpful. We just wish we hadn't already had lunch before discovering Strawberry Grove!

The vegan breakfast option at this restaurant was disappointing. Instead of creating a true vegan dish, they simply removed the halloumi and egg from their regular breakfast. When the breakfast finally arrived, it still contained egg and halloumi, showing a lack of understanding by the kitchen staff. It's clear that the cook did not grasp the concept of veganism despite being informed by the server. If the restaurant cannot accurately cater to vegan requirements, they should not offer vegan options. This review was last updated on August 26, 2021.

The Marlow is a quaint and traditional area filled with numerous restaurants, many of which offer limited vegan options. I was pleased to discover this cafe with a small menu that had nearly as many vegetarian and vegan choices as non-vegetarian options. The cafe is charming and the staff are friendly. While some places offer mediocre vegan burgers, this cafe's was homemade and delicious, complete with all the fixings and a vegan brioche bun. They also had a variety of vegan milk options and a delicious vegan cake.

The staff at this restaurant seemed to be unaware of what items were suitable for vegans. We had a frustrating experience when we were given chocolate on our Cappuccino and the staff took half an hour to determine if it was vegan. It took almost forty minutes for them to confirm that their chips were indeed vegan. Surprisingly, they served dairy butter with their 'vegan' breakfast, which also contained egg. Despite spotting a tempting vegan pistachio carrot cake, we opted to leave without trying it due to these issues. The staff clearly need better training and awareness when it comes to catering to vegans. The automatic service charge added to the bill was also uncomfortable and should be reconsidered, especially given the level of service we received. This restaurant should update its menu to include more vegan options, as there were no dedicated choices available during our visit (such as Buddha bowls or vegan burgers).

The vegan breakfast option was disappointing as the only modification offered was to remove the haloumi and egg, and add more mushrooms. However, my breakfast still arrived with egg and haloumi, despite raising this issue with the staff. It seems that the kitchen staff did not understand vegan requirements, even though the servers were informed. I would not recommend this restaurant for vegan options if they cannot properly accommodate them.