Pier 22 Cafe - Stockton-on-Tees

As we’d read good things about the place on here, and needed a bit of a pick-me-up due to having a few drinks the night before, we decided to head there for breakfast. View is lovely, and the cafe interior is really nice. The place was busy when we arrived and there were only two empty tables, so we cleared one for ourselves and sat down. We ordered cooked breakfasts and hot drinks. We had about a 30 minute wait before anything arrived at our table. Usually I’d expect the drinks to arrive first, especially if there’s a bit of a wait for the food, but the drinks arrived with/slightly after the food. This did mean we were sat with nothing for half an hour, with a bit of a thirst on. The breakfasts were ok. The bacon and black pudding were nice, beans and tomato just as you’d expect (although you get a slice of tomato, rather than a whole one, which seems a bit tight). The sausages, however, were the cheapest, nastiest sausages I have ever had the misfortune to eat, and I’m surprised they’ve not addressed this, as it’s been mentioned in reviews before. I wasn’t expecting locally produced or butcher’s sausages, but these were just horrid. The mushrooms had seen better days, and those and the hash brown and fried egg just tasted of old cooking oil. Kids had toasties and chunky chips which looked quite nice. Cheese in the toasties was also a bit cheap-tasting but the kids didn’t mind that! Service was fine, staff seemed polite enough. We spent just under £50 for two adults and two kids, which was a lot considering the cheapness of the ingredients. I wouldn’t personally return.

I visited this restaurant with my family on September 1st. We have three young children, two who are 2 years old and one who is 4. The staff behind the counter were amazing, very kind and friendly to all of us, even interacting with the kids. However, the woman working in the kitchen came out a few times to scold our kids for being too loud and excited about the ducks. The last time she came out, she told me that the kids were making too much noise because I was tickling them and they were laughing too loudly. I tried to address this with her after our meal, but she hung up on me when I told her to show some respect for her customers and their children. It's a shame because we used to come here at least once a month.

I can't believe I didn't know about this amazing cafe on the river Tees right in my neighborhood! Everything was perfect - the service was fantastic, the staff were so friendly and even gave treats to my dog. I will definitely be returning soon. 10 out of 10!

We had two delicious curries with chips while seated by the window overlooking the river. We definitely plan on visiting again in the near future.

Food was brilliant, chips were really nice and the food was just brilliant. A brilliant place to have lunch 5 stars