Bedford Basin Farmers Market

Very good find for me here. I had purchased some breakfasts and enjoyed them in their bright and beautiful upstairs with coffee and desert. There are lots of baked goods to choose from as well.

Aside from the benefit of being located near the water, there is absolutely no other reason to visit this cafe.
My constructive feedback to the owner and the staff is that Please at least respond to the long thread of negative reviews and Try to improve your service!

The staff here are unbelievably sad and angry at customers for no obvious reason!

The food is of low quality

Which coffee place on earth Bans laptop! Well how about I use my Ipad! They are not banned!

The chair on the balcony are always wet after rain and no shade to sit under.

It is a shame that this local business does not care At all about their local supporters!

Consistently horrible, unfriendly customer service. One time, I asked to use my reusable mug for fresh orange juice. The barista complained about not being able to properly measure it so she took one of the plastic cups, measured the orange juice, and looked at me to make sure I saw her throw the plastic cup into the garbage, disregarding my effort to not waste a plastic cup. We used to frequent this market and cafe all the time, but the unpleasant atmosphere and inconsistent rules about laptop use have made it unbearable.

Coffee was ok but the woman that served me was absolutely miserable who clearly needs a new job. And just like that…. Won’t be back.

Ordered sandwiches fo lunch and was so disappointed. There was bearly any meat in them. Purchased bread and it was dry and had to be thrown out within a day.

If I could give this place a 0 I would. They have a one hour dine in policy which is so stupid. You’re not allowed to use ls your laptop. Once your hour is up, the staff comes and tells you to leave. It’s not very welcoming. The food is pricey but I wouldn’t mind paying if I could bring my laptop and get work done in the space. Will definitely not be spending my money here. If supporting local means supporting this place, I would rather spend my last penny at Starbucks.

I was going to this place for years since opening, brought lots of my clients to them, never had any issues till I met the owner of the Coffee shop. The worst experience ever!
This lady was extremely rude, discrimination speech for every aspect!
I wasn’t able to ask or say anything!
We were treated like baggers, and kicked out only because my child wanted to use iPad for his game!
It was unacceptable attitude, no desire to explain anything, screaming and talking rude in front of my child and other customers! Nightmare!
Never again….

Implemented a no laptop/ tablet sign with no clear indication whatsoever until you’re upstairs and got your drink. If they really care about this rule then put a clear big sign at the front of the building so that customers know not to enter and waste their money on a drink / food and going upstairs. This is not intuitive at all and a horrible way to boot people out of your store. Definitely not coming back again.

We loving making a stop at the Bedford Basin Farmers Market. We usually grab a Smoothie and shop for fresh fruits and veggies. The view from the lovely seating upstairs while you sip your latte or eat lunch is wonderful.

Was really glad to see other people upset about the no laptops as well. I work from home and really depend on getting out of the house to work here and there and this used to be one of my go to places, not anymore.

I love this cafe and have supported it for years! The view is beautiful and the drinks are great. Saying that I’m really disappointed by the no laptop policy! About 6 people were told to leave because we were all using laptops. Also unfortunately they let everyone buy their food and drinks and then tell them. Not great service: (I was told there were signs up but then when they looked around to show me, they couldn't find any. Also, the website clearly says that they offer a welcoming environment with free Wi-Fi so that you can work on your laptop: (Everyone should be getting a refund who walks in, purchases, and then is told to leave.

What a terrific market. They have all your basic needs, everything is fresh and lots to choose from. Lots of spices, herbs and teas. The cafe is nice. Everyone is super friendly.

Every single time I come to the cafe I am met with horrible customer service, the woman behind the counter is one step away from straight up spitting in my face. They’ve adopted a new rule targeted towards students where they do not allow the use of laptops, and limit cafe seating to 1 hour, regardless of how much you spend. This place used to be a popular spot and I would come here often and happily spend $15 on a desert and a drink but at this point I would rather drink out of the harbour than give my money to the establishment. They have a horrible business model and do not have any standards for customer service. If I could give this place zero stars I would. For great local coffee and eats, the Mellow Mug at the top of Larry Uteck is a million times better.

Unwelcoming - the first time I took time in a very long time, to enjoy a leisurely coffee on lunch quickly became soured by the service staff's attitude. I bought a coffee and sat at a free table. Within 3 minutes, a server spoke across the room to me, "that's the bosses table. Wasn't there a reserved sign on the table? " Of course my response was "no” otherwise I would not have sat there. The experience was disappointing and distasteful as the server talked across others in the room and made me feel unwelcome, unappreciated and embarrassed. Quite a humiliating experience for what I thought would be an enjoyable lunch. My experience is most owners would never do this and infact, would take any available table versus a cozy window table. The server could learn to act with more grace and discretion. The experience left me feeling very upset & disappointed, as I have been here numerous times before, hence the time to post this review.

The recent ban of using laptops is incredibly disappointing. I used to love coming here to study and seeing all of my fellow peers study as well. I have never heard of a cafe banning laptops, it’s ridiculous. This cafe has been such a safe space for me during the first two years of my undergrad and now I will unfortunately never be back as I cannot study without the use of my laptop. Horrible new rule. Really disappointed with the staff for going along with this rule.

Yeah… having the same thoughts about the ban on laptops. I like this place, but I’m a student so I usually go to study on my laptop, and drink coffee, have lunch. Guess I won’t be going now. Too bad this ban will likely affect their profits in a big way. They should take back this decision before the financial issues begin

No laptops allowed in a cafe that is almost never at full capacity regardless? Who comes up with such a rule? ! What a shame, as this was once the perfect environment to catch up on some unfinished work. Good luck with the lack of business going forward.

Checked website ahead of time and read the following: "In an atmosphere that conveys a sense of warmth and comfort, we invite you to relax over a cup of coffee, a warm bowl of soup, read a book, work on your laptop as free wifi is available, meet with friends and enjoy the beautiful view of the Basin. "

I proceeded to call Basin Cafe to confirm that I could use my laptop. A man confirmed "Yes, of course, and we have WiFi available".

I arrived and was informed that no laptops could be used at this establishment.as of 5 months ago. Thank you for wasting my time.

Prices at the market seem a bit high but you can find special foods that may be harder to find. Coffee venue is very nice and the view is wonderfull.
Kitchen orders should be optimized some how so you don't need to order and pay for you breakfast food in a different place from where you'd take your coffee (while these are practically three meters apart

Used to really like coming here to study or get coffee with friends. Since the banning of laptops I won’t be coming back, students brought a ton of revenue to this cafe. Really disappointed

Very unwelcoming environment for university students and professionals. No laptops allow in the cafe!

The no laptop policy is disgusting. This place is HUGE. I went to MSVU for 5+ years and always enjoyed coming by, grabbing some food and studying for a bit.

Shame on you for not supporting students.

I use to really like this place, great food and views. Randomly they decided to not allow laptops. I would spend a good amount of money here each visit but sadly I won’t be back.

It’s a fun and cute spot but at the end of the day, what matters is the quality of the food. I purchased two loafs of bread and they were easily the worst breads I’ve ever tasted. I got the regular banana bread and chocolate chip banana bread. Both were extremely dry and inedible and I think you can even see that in the picture. Really disappointed because I had high hopes.

I used to come to this place regularly for lunch or to enjoy their coffee. Last time I brought a friend and we both ordered lunch, drinks and a dessert. We pulled a laptop from the backpack to look for our next plan and we were immediately told off because "no laptops are allowed" – despite being almost alone in the room. I understand some people may have abused of the place staying for hours with just a coffee, but banning laptops is not the solution. They’ve already lost me as a client for such stubborn and restrictive policy.

So much desserts and food to choose from, the cafe was amazing. One of the best iced mochas I’ve had. Delicious grape leaves and a Greek chicken wrap for lunch. Only complaint is it was cold in the middle after being on the grill, but not a big deal. Tiramisu cake for dessert, so light and creamy with great flavor. Cannot wait to come back and try more items.

Concerns the café: Friendliness is a hit or miss here. Depending on the day you get grumpy staff at the coffee counter. It was a great place once. I was also quite disappointed with the desserts the last two times. Being European, I would not call it a tiramisu and why are cakes and other things wrapped in plastic. Such a waste plus it makes the pastries soft and unnecessary moist. If I'd like to have chewing gum, I buy chewing gum.