Patisserie Valerie- not surprising?

[MyOtherProfile]

Just heard on the news that Patisserie Valerie is in trouble. Frankly I'm not surprised. For me it has always missed its target. It sells nice patisserie like a posh cafe but looks like a cheap diner. As much as I'd like to go for the coffee and cake they're not pretty or comfy places. Anyone feel the same?

I hate it when places over expand due to greed. Happened with Bills, Jamie’s, now the Ivy. It cheapens the brand and dilutes what makes it special and unique.

The caked looked good but tasted horrible. Once we ordered a brownie and got this hard piece of chocolate cake. When we complained the waitress actually said, “Well what do you want me to do about it?” And that was the last time we went into one.

Only been in one once and that was enough . Gungy tasteless cake .

Well it seems I'm not the only one

And when I said it sells really nice patisserie I was just going by the window display as I've only been once and only had coffee then so haven't actually tried amy of the cakes. They looked too rich for me.

Give me a pretty tea shop or cafe any day.

I took my mum for afternoon tea and got it for half price.
It was nice but a bit canteeny , nowhere near as nice as the independent tea room we had previously visited. However it was on offer so ok. The independent tea room is pricey but very private and much better ambiance.
I agree with the op.

I was surprised by how few of the cakes are vegetarian. That’s what made us not bother going there.

Well, I'm glad I've never gone in then. I walk past a newish one regularly, the cakes in the window look amazing but somehow I've always felt they wouldn't be as nice as they looked. The interior is rammed with tables and brightly lit. I agree, restaurants lose their specialness when they over-expand.

@Flyaway78 Not to mention Thornton’s chocolate - once a huge treat and now something you pick up in Poundland.

Never looked nice enough to warrant the cost. I eat in pret, Eat, costa, Starbucks a lot.

Once went in for coffee when Eat's decaf not available. I tasted like push button not barista coffee and service was slooooooow.

Thats the only timr Ive been.

Ahh Pat Vals, Old Compton St back in the day was devine. The brand was trashed by greedy over development. A shame.

A family member bought a Pat Val cake for a celebration, a few years back. It looked good but tasted awful - soggy and bland. Never bothered with the cafés after that experience.

I had some cake in a branch of Konditor and Cook in London earlier this year. That was pretty disappointing too, although not as bad as the Pat Val one.

PV outlasted Maison Blanc in our town. Maybe ours is the exception to the rule!

All very weird. Fraud on a large scale - so is suggested anyway - and then HMRC shutting them down because of an unpaid tax bill that they only found out about a month after it was filled? How?!

I've recently had afternoon tea in Druckers

Afternoon tea in patisserie Valerie

Exactly the same food

So not potentially closing because of quality but because of shenanigans. I wouldn’t want all those staff to lose their jobs; the better outcome would be a rescue and turnaround to address the quality issues. Sadly, if it’s more venture capital investment, the latter is not likely.

Pars Vals and Druckers are the same company.

Well I'm the biggest cake and coffee fan going and I've never been in. Agree with what others have said that the window display looks great, the interiors not so much.

If you have good food & service you don’t need to give Groupon vouchers to entice customers.

@ThisIsTheFirstStep when KK came to Scotland it was pretty nuts. Queues for hours just so folk could get a doughnut. I agree they are horrible and bright inside and they have started popping ones up in the middle of shopping centres so you feel a bit on display when you are sat it one 🤣

TBH with something like cake it's prob better to go to an independent. Betty's is meant to be good in Yorkshire. There's also I nice place in Edinburgh called mimis.

Betty’s are great, but busy. Completely different to PV, they are a small chain. Their Fat Rascals are yummy. They are only in the north so rarely get to eat them, only when visiting family.

But nowhere else does those scrummy almond macaroons that look like giant rusks. They're bloody gorgeous. My weekly treat. I shall be gutted if they go.

The news reports give the indication that the finance manager may have been up to irregularities.

Yeah, one in Exeter is shit. Almost a fiver for a slice of defrosted Black Forest that you could easily get from Iceland. Poor service. And they actually have the nerve to claim all their cakes are freshly prepared on the premises when it is obvious they are not. Can't even get the waiter service right, so I doubt they have a dedicated team of pastry chefs out the back...

I received the worst service I have ever had anywhere in one of their branches. I'm not surprised.

They used to be fabulous, amazing pastries and a pleasant and comfortable place to enjoy them. I have been to two in recent years which were as other posters have described. Scruffy, noisy and not too clean. Even the pastries are not as good as they used to be.

@Sarcelle Betty's have an on line delivery service. My DF gets his fat rascals delivered down sarf.