Carousel Broadstone, Poole

I am an ex employee, so am in a great position to review the place. 1. It is owned by a businessman with NO experience of customer care. 2. Food is of a poor quality, and no care is taken in the preparation. The aim of the establishment is to simply rip of customers, whilst offering as little quality as possible. Food is terrible, have never worked in a kitchen so inadequate, Bob, the owner, takes too much control of the menu (of which i doubt he has ever tasted) and has a ridiculous taste in decor. (I would describe the decor as a mixture of Gus Gorrilas and Brothel.) Dont go. Costa is round the corner.

I had heard good things about the Carousel, so I went down there to have a look for myself, with a friend for lunch. Beforehand, I had a look at their website to find the postcode, and was amused to see the website was still at design stage (with some placeholder text on the homepage, links not working, and pictures displaying images of animals and landscapes).

Arriving there we found the lady serving us friendly and attentive, but she left after 5 minutes and then things went downhill. Coffees arrived quickly but not as ordered, and the food wasn't as expected: the panini was basically a seeded breadroll, toasted and served with some salad garnish, and the jacket potato with chili con carne tasted like it had been soaked with vinaigrette. When we wanted to order a second coffee, we had to walk around the corner to get someone's attention and then again didn't get what we ordered. Also, looking at the menu, I was surprised to find them charging over £7 for a burger, and £4.50 for paninis and jacket potatoes. For that amount I expect the food and the service to be superior (restaurant-like) quality, to be honest.

The cafe's decor is brightly coloured, American diner style looking in the front, with booths, and old-lady cafe style in the back, with little tables and chairs. Do they have separate menus for the two styles? I don't know. Oh, and heating wouldn't go amiss. We actually had to put our jackets back on...

When we saw the owner, Bob, in there, I told him about the website. An hour later we came to the conclusion that he wasn't listening. Instead he raved on about how his approach is different and how the random website draws people in, and how he personally designed the restaurant and it's working really well, etc. etc.

In fact however, for most part of our visit the restaurant was empty, staff weren't availble when you needed them, food didn't live up to its price and the owner was - frankly speaking - delusional. Shame.

Bob the investor and owner of Carousel resturant who shut it down in late August this year closed without letting employees know, we were not told when it would next open so I was left in the dark of whether I still had my job or not. Because he paid cash in hand I was robbed of my £300 wages of 2 weeks work. I visited his house and the resturant when he was in, and excuse after excuse was made and I never got my money. From working there I would not reccomend eating there.

Over the past couple of months a new Head

Chef has been running the evening menu. He has

Changed the experience dramatically and the special

Menu. I would highly recommend a visit. The new Chef

Is both polite and has excellent attention to detail. I like

The way he comes out

From the kitchen to make sure all guests are happy, and to help

Explain the specials if required.

Carousel. The Restraunt looks great and has lots of interesting american memorabilia scattered around the walls.

After ordering an all day breakfast and smoked salmon with scrambled egg on toast we waited patiently with an expensive inadequate chocolate milkshake and an ok cup of coffee. Whilst we were waiting we watched one couple walk out after waiting 30 mins only to be served the wrong meals, and numerous other meals sent back to the kitchen for what reasons I'm not sure. After 25 mins our food was served, a microwaved scrambled egg with barely any salmon and a cold breakfast with no bacon. After complaining the breakfast reappeared with no toast or mushrooms? What a shambles!