It’s not long now until we’re due to open our doors at all three of our cafés! But it’s been so long since any of you have been allowed to visit, that we thought we’d give you a rundown on what you can expect from your Kitty Café experience. This blog post is a great opportunity to refresh our regulars on what it’s like to visit Kitty Café (especially post-lockdown) as well as giving some of our newer followers a proper insight so they can be prepared for their first visit!
Book Your Table in Advance
In normal circumstances, we do take walk-in tables and in theory this hasn’t changed. However, if you’ve been keeping up to date you’ll know that our cafés are getting booked up very quickly! So to avoid disappointment we’d highly recommend that you make a booking prior to turning up- we’d hate to have to turn anyone away! This will also give our staff time to clean up thoroughly between seatings so that you can feel comfortable and safe throughout your visit.
Be prepared
Upon your arrival, you will be shown a set of rules and asked to sign an agreement. This is for the safety of our cats, so please don’t be offended! It may be best to read through the rules before you make your way to the café, which will give you more time to process them and talk to your children about how to behave around the cats. Anyone found not to be following the rules will be asked to leave, as our cats always come first! Before being seated you will need to pay a welfare charge of £6 per adult (or £4 per child), which contributes to the costs involved in looking after the cats. Our bookings are in slots of 1 hour, so you will be asked to leave 1 hour after the time stated on the booking. For this reason, we'd advise you to take a look at our menu beforehand (let's be honest- we all do that anyway 😹) so that you don't spend too long choosing what to order and you can make the most out of your visit. We serve a huge range of pizzas, paninis, jacket potatoes, cakes and drinks to name a few, so you really will need a while to choose!
Relax... we're COVID safe
In terms of COVID guidelines, we’ll be adhering to the government's rule of six, which means we will be taking bookings of up to six people. We’re still awaiting confirmation on what the rest of the guidelines will be, but by booking with us we’ll have your contact details which means we’ll be able to trace you in the event of an outbreak. Due to the nature of our premises, we can assure you that we stick to a very strict cleaning regime in order to meet government health and safety standards, and this hasn’t changed at all. All surfaces, cutlery and crockery will be cleaned and sanitised thoroughly between uses and we encourage customers to wash their hands and use hand sanitiser throughout their visit. However, we are mindful that some of you may still feel nervous about returning to busy spaces so please feel free to ask us any questions you may have, and don't feel pressured to visit us until you feel the time is right. We'll be right here waiting to welcome you back whenever you're ready!
Now for the exciting part… the cats!
Since we closed our doors in November we’ve had several departures and a few new arrivals across our three locations, which means you'll be sure to see a few new faces even if you've visited us before! Although they seem to have grown a lot since they came to us, these new babies are guaranteed to melt your hearts. Say hello to Alvin, Simon and Theodore in Nottingham or Bellatrix and Sirius in Birmingham. Their cuteness makes up for the fact that we've had to say goodbye to some of our fluffy residents as they left for their forever homes. Who are you looking forward to meeting the most?
Speaking of saying goodbye, the main difference over in our Nottingham café is of course that Heathcliffe, our beloved gentle giant, is no longer with us. His presence will be greatly missed by all of our staff and customers and, believe us when we say that he will not be forgotten! We've been working hard, with the help of some of you, to put together a feature wall that truly honours his memory. If you're visiting our Notts café, we'd love you to take a moment to look at his wall and try and spot your own contributions! And if you haven't already seen some of our Heathcliffe merchandise on our online shop, take a look and see what you can take home to remember the mini lion.
Enjoy your visit!
Above all, we'd like you to enjoy your time with us and our lovely cats. After a tough six months, we're sure you'll be as relieved as we are to return to some state of normality, and what better way to let your hair down than to eat some delicious food and play with the moggies you've been watching on our livestreams! This will be your time to catch up with friends you haven't seen in a while, celebrate belated birthdays and simply to relax. Our customers and followers have been so loyal and supportive while we've been closed, and in return we hope to make their experience as special and memorable as possible. Keep updated on our social media pages for daily cat pictures as well as our weekly newsletter and giveaway!
PS- If you're reading this, which Kitty Café are you visiting first? Let us know in the comments when you're booked in and which kitty you're most excited to see!