Earlier this week bod Stone opened its doors at the centre of Stone High Street – ALBOS popped in for a working lunch and to take a look around!
At the start of March, we reported that the brewery behind the popular Royal Exchange, Titanic, was opening one of their “bod” branded cafe bars in the town.
After a quick but quality refit of the former “The Lounge”, the venue opened to the public on Monday 25th April. Inside you’ll find a modern industrial look, set out with a selection of booths, tables and chairs, and some taller tables for those who like to stand.
The venue is easily accessible for those with mobility needs, especially as everything is on one floor. An accessible toilet (with baby change) sits alongside separate gents’ and ladies loos.
Dogs are welcome inside, and there are also several tables available outside which allow patrons to enjoy alfresco drinks and dining – with or without a pooch.
Open from 8:30 am, seven days a week, the cafe bar offers a menu that evolves throughout the day, married to a selection of hot and cold drinks. Being a brewery owned establishment, there’s also a well-stocked bar for when alcoholic beverages are available to buy.
Looking over both sides of the menu, we decided on a bod Breakfast and a bod Club Sandwich – both available with either white bloomer or granary bread. For drinks, we went for the Deluxe Hot Chocolate and Coke Zero. Food and drink needs to be ordered from the bar, but the team were slick and effective, meaning we didn’t wait long for our order to be taken or our food to be prepared and served.
Both meals were good sizes, well presented and featured what tasted like quality ingredients. If there was any criticism, the toast could have seen some more colour, and I’d like to have had fried eggs instead of the scrambled eggs – poached was the only alternative egg option. For £20.85, we’d say for us, that felt like good value for money for our two meals and two drinks.
Despite being open for only two full days, it’s evident that the team have been recruited from people who know their way around the hospitality industry. All the staff seemed confident, competent and worked like a team who’d been doing it for years – a real credit to the recruitment and onboarding processes.
If you’re shopping in Stone, then either before, after or during – pop into bod Stone, you won’t be disappointed!
