Although I am a frequenter of The Bookworm, this is my first time leaving a review. I love this place. It's so down to earth, I think the staff is wonderful, helpful, and kind (especially in the lead up to the lit. festival), and although the food is a little pricey and may leave a bit to be desired, the drinks (alcoholic or not) are fairly reasonable. I've never had a problem here with mixed up orders, wrong receipts, watered down drinks, or the myriad of other problems and scams common at Western restaurants. In fact, whenever I HAVE had a problem or question here, the staff and management have bent over backwards to help me. Maybe if some of you dropped your senses of entitlement you could actually enjoy yourselves when you go out. Believe it or not, the Chinese were not born to lay at your feet.

I go to the Bookworm quite often. Sometimes to get stuff done on my computer and sometimes just to have a quick meeting with friends. If I spend the morning/afternoon there, I would always order something to eat and drink. I find the waiters annoying when I'm there only for 10 mins to meet with a friend. They dump the menu on your table and stand and watch and pester you until you feel sorry for not ordering anything. Sometimes I just don't feel like ordering anything and I don't think that for 10 mins it's a big deal. It's not like I'm holding the table for hours and other patrons have to wait. One time I was waiting for a colleague to arrive. We were supposed to meet there so that she could pass some work documents to me. She, however, planned on spending the rest of the afternoon at the Bookworm. When I got there, the waiter came and gave me the menu and asked if I was ready to order. I said no I would wait for my colleague to get there first. Waiter was annoyed. Colleague came and waiter gave her the menu and asked me again if I was ready to order. When I said no but my friend would, I was thrown this look like I was some kind of cheap skate who was there only to take advantage of the free wifi and of course occupy a seat too. I mean what the heck is wrong with these people? It's not like our table didn't order anything. My colleague got herself a coffee and a juice. I left shortly after that. I just think that the Bookworm management should get their act together and do some serious training for the waitstaff.

The selection of the books is varied.

The staff quiet friendly.

You could also buy some recent popular books.

Or just sip some nice coffee and meet some interesting like minded people who love to read.

I have been twice here and would like to go back again .

I've always enjoyed going to the Bookworm to sip on a cup of coffee or chat with friends. It's a nice quiet place with a good selection of beverages, and is open late so that you can come here instead of going out to a loud and noisy bar.

I've met a number of interesting people here, forged relationships with gregarious strangers, and otherwise just enjoyed the people watching. The big bar table is great for laptops, the sofas and comfy chairs are indeed quite comfy, and the dining area is intimate but not too crowded.

The biggest complaint I have is that something changed in the kitchen in the last year: once upon a time I would order anything on the menu and would be thrilled with what I received for pretty standard expat prices (the pasta and sandwiches were always good). Unfortunately, almost everything I've ordered there recently has not been flavourless, poorly put together, and otherwise dull. I now avoid eating here, which is a bit sad.