Café Cilantro

Café Cilantro is not a place to go if you’re looking for a quick breakfast. Or a quick lunch. Or indeed, any meal if you’re a bit pressed for time. Whilst the food they serve is always fresh and mostly delicious, I’ve always found their service to be a bit lackadaisical at best. Indeed, it just feels like they don’t know how to run their kitchen so that people can get their food in a decent amount of time. There have been times when I’ve had to wait up to 20 minutes for a cup of tea, and 45 minutes for a simple quesadilla, both of which were presented with just a mere shrug of the shoulders by the waitress instead of a proper apology.
It’s a shame that the service here is so poor because it has all the key ingredients to become a great little vegetarian café. Their breakfasts are incredibly tasty (I highly recommend the pancakes with maple syrup), and they even do a half decent vegetarian black pudding — which is no mean feat when you remember that the key ingredient of black pudding is a fair amount of pigs blood.
Café Cilantro really just needs someone to come onboard and shake it up a bit so it becomes something really special. Even staff who knew how to get food out quickly and efficiently would help. At the moment, it’s just ‘meh’ — and when you consider how many great eateries there are on Beech Road, ‘meh’ really just isn’t good enough.

Went here looking forward to something innovative, ended up leaving slightly disappointed. It could be so much better, surrounded by Goat Bearded Chorlton Trustafarian types wearing mandatory North Face uniform body warmers. We had to ask for the lunch menu, chap behind the counter (who looked like he might start taking hostages at any moment) didn’t realise it was 1.10pm and breakfast menu should have finished. Service was slow, no personality, no one in control. Rarebit was ok but not substantial for main slot on lunch menu (1 slice with caramelized onions that were ok) Fresh Apple and Kiwi juice was the highlight. Fentimans drinks on the menu were ‘being fazed out’ (I really fancied a ginger beer — why were they still on the menu and other too? — A4 laminated via domestic printer?!)
We left feeling this could have been so much better and just passing the que to Barbakan on the way it should have been busier too — what about veggie sausage sandwiches on a weekend with nice crusty bread and GOOD coffee — KEEP IT SIMPLE! (and fast) — Also there was a really strong smell of fried veg oil which was off putting (sort the ventilation out or choose another oil that doesn’t smell like Groundnut!) — I was going to ask if we would be charged for having been fumigated with vegetable oil. I would go back, but only if Greggs or McDonalds was closed or I’d been sleeping in the park again;)

A wonderful veggie café that serves the most delicious breakfasts. I had a full english, mushrooms, beans, potato cakes, tomatoes. They serve a wide range of sandwiches and evening meals too.