Beech Cafe in East Hampshire

Alternative cafe in amazing surroundings of undulating woodlands. Vegetarian vibes.

The Beech Cafe is a total delight and well worth the 1 hour drive we do to get there! As a vegetarian I was so grateful to find a cafe that serves really delicious veggie food; but I was more thrilled that my meat-loving wider family love this cafe as much as i do! We have been for many years and have only ever enjoyed top quality, fresh and super tasty food. Today we had vegetarian Mexican burritos, mozzarella and cheese panini, sausage(ve)and sweet potato casserole, avocado, olive and sundried tomato salad and soups; all followed by a selection of awesome cakes and coffees. I forgot to take pictures as we ate everything so quickly, but I’m gutted as my words may not do as much justice as the pictures would! The value is almost too great, I think the lovely team deserve to up their prices, as they deliver more than most for their prices. A gem of a find, surrounded by beautiful forests and fantastic walks available. The staff are all super hard working and, in my opinion, exemplars of their industry!

Friendly and attentive service with some absolutely delicious food: definitely fresh, arrived quickly.

Genuinely angered and perplexed. Called this place once to book in and ask a question - I’ve never experienced such a rude obnoxious member of staff who could not give a single ounce of effort, huffing and puffing and being lazy. Will not be coming here and will be informing others of the lack of professionalism from your staff. Please talk to your member of staff who answers the phone

Fabulous place, ideally situated. Delish vegetarian food and friendly service 😊

A modest vegan cafe with homely feels. Professional chefs with quality ingredients. The meals are really good and worth travelling for.

Amazing place absolutely love the veggi lasagna

What an absolute gem of a cafe, the food was absolutely delicious and so much choice. Thank you, we will be back!

The Beech Cafe is a wonderful little eatery in the beautiful scenic South Downs near East Meon. A perfect place for refreshment if you are out enjoying the Downs. The food is excellent. Real home made tasty quality food. Lovely welcome staff. I highly recommend.

Lovely vegan menu, good choices and lots of it. Plus lovely walk afterwards. Staff helpful and friendly. Have visited only twice as live out of the area. My brothers visit a lot.

Wonderful vegetarian food, full of flavour (I'm not veggie). We both had the Quiche and Salad. The quiche was warm, flaky, cheesy and delicious, and the salad was full of interesting bits and pieces, drizzled with a flavoursome dressing, and a portion of potato salad. It was a good size, filling plateful for £9. The inside of the cafe is basic but spacious, functional, and friendly, plenty of outside tables too, with views of the woodland. Definitely going to be one of our regulars.

Great service and sandwich, couldn't ask for much more.

We arrived mid morning to visit a grave at the Natural Burial Site and went to the cafe for coffee and cakes first. This was so good we decided to visit again for lunch later on which was also excellent. The location is a bit out of the way, but worth seeking out if you're anywhere nearby.

Lovely cafe with great food at surprisingly reasonable prices. We both had a sandwich which was made with very wholesome wholemeal bread and came with a good amount of interesting salad with a tasty dressing and a handful of crisps. A sandwich together with a mug of tea (including oat milk) was less than £7! The service was very friendly and the outdoor surroundings were beautiful. Easy parking too. What's not to like.

Have passed many times but first time I’ve stopped and eaten in the cafe, food was really tasty and plenty of places to sit inside and out, will definitely go again

Had a lovely meal out in a tranquil setting as part of a bike ride with friends. Arrrived at 12.15 for lunch and had a good menu selection of daily specials as well as some sandwich/panini options. We both had the bean burrito, it was delicious, well balanced and cheesy. The salad on the side had so many colours to it it was fabulous looking and equally tasty. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because this is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant that you won’t like the food, it has a small selection of well thought out dishes and some great gluten free options too.

Stopped for tea, it was rammed (Fathers day, so beggars can't be choosers I guess), food looked good but sadly we had a long wait to get served. Nice garden outside, but couldn't find a bin for rubbish, ironic as it's in the Sustainability Centre.

Fantastic location on top of the South Downs. Cakes and Flapjacks are great, coffee isn't as nice though.

Fabulous cafe for The Sustainability Centre Vegetarian food. Very cocoa-ey hot chocolate. Fabulous salad with lunches. Menu, falafel, quiche, vegetable lasagne, cakes, cookies. All made on premises. They serve local apple juices. Beautiful location Friendly helpful staff Good prices

Please see my review of the sustainability centre for details 👍

Brilliant vegan/vegetarian cafe. Amazing food, lovely coffee and cake and beautiful scenery! Great fun for kids as lots of outside space but also can find a quiet bench in the sun to relax ♡ the owners are passionate, professional and welcoming x

Great little oasis of vegie food and made by hand. Gem!

Just wonderful. Quiet, friendly staff. Food is really good. Excellent paninis in particular and I especially love their house salad dressing. Outdoors seating is great, sunny and leafy. Warmly recommended.

We arrived on a quiet wet Friday morning and revived a warm welcome and delicious food served very quickly. We tried teas, hot chocolates (frothy and dusted with cocoa), sauteed mushroom on sourdough with fried eggs, and scrambled egg and avocado (also on sourdough - pictured) - all were excellent.

Love this place, have visited many times now and it is consistently excellent. Fresh tasty vegetarian and vegan food, dog friendly and great hardworking staff.

Friendly staff with very reasonable price for coffee and breakfast.

Great breakfast. Not cheap but great quality and good Vegan options.

Really lovely little cafe that’s situated in The Sustainability Centre. Staff were friendly and very accommodating. All the food is vegan and vegetarian and tasted really fresh. I had the vegan lasagne, which was really delicious. I also had a few glasses of their cloudy apple juice. It’s also dog friendly.

Wonderful #Dog friendly place to go if you want a menu that is largely vegan or vegetarian. From the (regularly changing) specials board we chose Burger with Wedges, Macaroni Cheese and Burritos with Sour Cream and Corn Chips. OMG all the food was completely delicious and completely surpassed my expectations. We also had a large pot of tea which was MASSIVE and vegan chocolate cake. The specials board changes every 2 weeks so looking forward to future visits. There's parking nearby, and a flat path to the entrance.

Nice cake and a good place to stop for a break, right on the Southdowns way

Great place for vegetarian food Alway good food and service🙂 Love the selection of background music 🤘 And dog friendly 👍

The food is absolutely delicious and excellently presented! Thank you!

Nice place to stop off when cycling. Selection of cakes, coffees, and a menu. Friendly staff. Toilets. Plenty of safe space for bikes. Sustainability in mind, so goodness.

Gorgeous food, veggie and vegan. I'm neither but had no trouble picking a dish. Seating inside and outside. Great service. They do sandwiches and paninis. Lovely cakes. Selection of teas and coffees. Free parking too.

The dish my wife and I both ordered we agreed was ok but a tad strange re taste and texture. Toast with mushy avocado on top, topped with quite runny scrambled eggs. However coffee’s excellent and lunch menu looked good.

Vegan food delicious and very reasonably priced. Very friendly staff and relaxed atmosphere

My wife had wanted to visit the Sustainability Centre for years but it is a bit out of the way for us. However we eventually made the journey and we are so glad we did. It is a lovely place but the icing on the cake was the cafe. The food was delicious and modestly priced. We will definitely be returning a couple of times a year from now on. The only reason we haven’t given a 5 is because the floor looked as though it needed a good scrub.

The food here is nice but the service can be pain stakingly slow. I can't work out why, but be prepared.

Amazing cafe in the perfect location if you're riding the King Alfred's way. Food was excellent, outdoor seating was very welcome on a hot day. Staff were friendly and prices were quite reasonable.

Always well looked after by the Beech Cafe team. Bakewell ice-cream was a winner 🍰☕️👍

Great for cyclists, walkers and families. the food is wholesome and tasty, the cakes and ice-cream are home made with vegan options in abundance.

Delicious food, good prices and great staff. Vegan, Vegetarian and Gluten free options. Nut allergens stated clearly.

We're still visiting this eatery at least 2-3 times a month & Nathan & Jade & staff are still dishing up great vegetarian food at very reasonable prices. The regulars are all on the menu along with the odd surprise too. All are recommended. Now that the good weather is here (sometimes) we're taking on a cheeky cider with lunches now too.

Great little cafe and lovely food.

A regular stop for us on our bike rides

A beautiful stop off or place to take a walk and then enjoy some food or just a cuppa and yummy cake. Good prices too.

We had a tasty and nourishing lunch today before walking part of the South Downs Way. Well filled sandwiches and wraps.

The Beech Cafe catered my husband's funeral wake earlier in December this year. With yet another Covid variant doing the rounds and the event being so close to Christmas, we had few choices when it came to catering for our guests and we had never visited the cafe before so we just hoped that all would be well. The cafe was warm and welcoming - Jade & Nathan had put up our fairy lights and placed the family photographs that we had brought with us and heated the mulled wine. The food was absolutely lovely - homemade and fresh. The lower priced buffet included delicious homemade soup and was more than ample for our attendees. Everyone who attended was highly impressed. I hope it will be some time before we need to hold another funeral wake at the Sustainability Centre but, in the event, we wouldn't hesitate to ask Nathan and Jade to cater for us again. And we'll be stopping by for coffee, cake and/or lunch on our visits. Thanks so much for relieving us of so much of the stress and anxiety that accompanies a funeral.

Food not always available. Lunch times 1130-1430

Lovely cafe and delicious food. Highly recommended it.

Fantastic food, lovely staff...great location. This is one of my favourite places to eat 🤩

It’s always a pleasure to visit this cafe. The food is always delicious, well-presented and good value. Such a treat to be able to order anything on the menu without having to ask questions about it being suitable for vegetarians! Daily specials are always tempting, and it’s difficult to choose between them. It’s a shame that the opening hours are a bit restricted, although they have recently started opening early for breakfasts on some days. Staff are always polite, helpful and very hard-working. A really nice cafe in lovely surroundings.

Been going there years and years and every time have had an amazing meal after our walks. Down to earth, small and great service! Also dog friendly which is equally awesome :))

Nice coffee and a really delicious sweet potatoe curry! Nice menu. Tucked away in the South Downs

Delicious lunch of a sweet potato and sweetcorn burger, with wedges and a big salad! Finished with a slice of carrot cake which was very more-ish! A lovely spot for lunch.

Stopped for a Curried Cauliflower 🍛soup and Cappuccino, which were excellent both on taste and value. Highly Recommend 👍😃 Bumped into many people on and off the SDW who said that the accommodation at The Sustainability Centre next door is also excellent and recommended.

Unassuming spot which delivers good food and coffee at a reasonable price. All vegetarian too which was great 👌

Lovely little place to stop while on a hike. Slightly limited menu, but lovely nonetheless!

I loved the chilled out atmosphere here and the food was amazingly tasty and wholesome. Definitely going back another time.

The food is lovely , having the Quiche and soup. Nicely presented and well cooked. Nice outdoor area with table sthat can be reserved. The cafe takes a bit of finding , there are signs but not always obvious, It is situated at the back of a building. Have a look at the info boards, go through the arch to the right and at the back of the building facing you.

We've eaten at the Beech Café many times and had an excellent meal each time. I'm not a vegan, but I still enjoy the healthy food as much as non-vegan food. Staff are friendly and the prices are very reasonable.

Great breakfast this morning. Really lovely would highly recommend. Thank you.

Great place to stop for walkers and cyclists on the South Downs way

Absolutely amazing service and delicious meals. A small menu, but what can you expect from a small cafe? Beautiful scenery outside, and the trees look lovely this time of year.

Lovely lunch in great surrounding.

We had lunch here. An excellent hummus, avocado, tomato and olive wrap, which came with crisps and a salad, and a delicious vegan burger which came with wedges and a salad. Also had some vegan ice cream, pina colada and Bakewell tart flavours! Home made and delicious. Will definitely be back.

Fantastic cake, coffee could be improved

Fantastic place - absolutely delicious vegan macaroni cheese 😁 Great location too and full of dogs which is always a bonus

This is becoming our favourite place to get lunch, especially on a quiet weekday. Recommend the Mac & Cheese, & the Vegetarian Lasagne, or any of the Spicy Curries they serve regularly, most come with a substantial salad with a delicious dressing. They serve proper coffees, & you can even get a bottle of local beer if you're in the mood. Efficient, friendly, & Excellent value for money.

Good value for money, with a great variety

Lovely coffee. Real good down to earth cafe. Haven't eaten here but the menu and food looks amazing

The beech cafe is tucked away in the Hampshire countryside and is part of the Sustainability centre beyond Old Winchester hill near Canfield. The food here is always excellent and always healthy. Today we tried the goats cheese quiche with dressed salad with a potatoe salad. Yum!!

Whilst walking the South Downs Way we came across this cafe and it was a welcome respite. The Beech Cafe is part of the Sustainability Centre which has various facilities including parking and a toilet. The site also includes a natural burial ground. The Beech cafe has indoor and outdoor seating. It was a cold, clear and sunny January day so sitting outside was possible. Dogs are allowed inside. They offer hot and cold food, hot drinks, soft drinks and alcoholic drinks. The cafe stocks organic and sustainable produce and there is a list of suppliers on the wall. Food served is all vegetarian or vegan and is prepared to order. You find a table and then order and pay at the counter. Drinks are made while you wait and food is brought to your table by the staff. Everything is reasonably priced and the service good. The cafe is fairly basic but clean and tidy with one unisex toilet. Great find and would definitely go back.

Lovely cakes and coffee beautiful surroundings

Dropped in on way back from a meeting in Portsmouth, though usually walk or cycle to get there. Great cafe, and hidden gem in a pretty area. Food is superb, cafe large and spacious, comfortable and with a unique character.

Just, wow. The food here is superb. We try to eat here at least once every couple of weeks when visiting mum in the natural burial ground. Never disappointed. Not 100% vegan/vegetarian ourselves but trying to reduce our meat-intake, so this café works for us. The specials, the cake, the coffees, all top notch.

Nice to have a vegetarian / vegan cafe. Nice quiet surroundings. Food was very good. I had the hummus, red pepper sandwich with a local ginger beer, and a packet of crisps for £8.30. sat outside on one of the benches. Recommended. There's a small covered cycle shed at the back of the centre.

This place was amazing! Well priced, huge meals - very tasty - will return here alot!

Visited for the first time yesterday, didn’t know it even existed and I only live twenty minutes away! A great selection of vegan and vegetarian foods (though I am neither, my vegan friend was very happy!). We each had a slice of cake and she had some ice cream too. A classic cafe but excellent quality. The lunch menu looked good but we didn’t eat lunch. Loved its location even more as we were able to go for a walk and catch up following our break, a perfect start/end/break to a walk in the natural countryside in my opinion.

Great place to eat, lovely food, vegan meals and excellent staff. Clean, tidy and well priced. Would heartily recommend to anyone in the area whether you are staying at the Sustainability Centre or not.

The sustainability centre is in a lovely location. Very quiet, the cafe is full of natural products with lots of vegan options. The coffee is grand, right down on the South Downs, a perfect get away!! The cakes look fantastic too, think I’ll have one of those! Payment is by card machine or cash.. latte starts at £2.50

Been here a few times now since they got new kitchen staff. The menu is interesting, the ingredients really fresh and the tastes are satisfying and filling - great if you’ve just been out on the hills. Yesterday I had the blackened halloumi and quinoa salad, which was excellent. The halloumi was rubbed in some delicious spices...wish I could have worked it out as I’d like to steal the recipe!

Abit rough and ready and full of cyclists on over engineered bike's.

Very nice cafe. Good Range of beers... bit too hoppy but okay. Ice Cream superb as is the coffee

Enjoyed another visit to this café last week where we enjoyed lunch alfresco. The macaroni cheese was superb. Staff friendly & efficient as always, back again soon!

Fab vegan and Vege options. Family friendly. Interior is tired but food totally makes up for it. Can't wait to go back and do a dog walk too!

...but we hear there is some major investment from an anonymous donor to upgrade the place. The initial look at the design looks fab. The food in the Café is excellent, (vegan/vegetarian) last time we went I couldn't decide whether the swarms of ladybirds on the inside of the windows tho was in keeping with the laidback feel of the place (which we love) or a health hazard! Café needs a little TLC which i'm sure it will be getting soon, and the kitchen is clean & well organised.

Good coffee, cake and lunches. Very welcoming to cyclists. 18 today!!!

Fantastic food, lovely staff & a beautiful setting.

Always great service and the food and drink are exceptional.

Great food and good value. Awesome cakes. Cyclists refuel here.

Best café for vegans I have ever been too.

Very tasty, wholesome veggie food, good choice and in the summer home made ice creams. Unpretentious and dog friendly. Nice outside area when weather permits.

Nice venue. Great food at very reasonable prices.

Always good coffee and great to sit out on a nice day

Brilliant setting, food and service. Friendly staff and very high quality locally sourced food & drinks all at reasonable prices. Very impressed, will be returning.

Food really great, service welcoming and efficient. Location wonderful. Lots to see at the sustainability centre and the energy there is lively and healing.

This is a vegan/vegetarian cafe situated on the Southdowns way. Great for a cool down and refuel before continuing on your walk. I'm far from vegan/vegetarian but still found the food very tasty and enjoyable. Give it a try.

I have been here twice now. They serve a lot of local and homemade food, vegetarian and vegan options. They also have local beers available as well as soft drinks and a lot of coffee and tea options. Yesterday we enjoyed the Mediterranean lasagne, salad and garlic bread. A hearty portion and very tasty. There is 'salad' and there is 'SALAD' definitely the latter here . . . by this I mean not just a piece of lettuce and a slice of tomato, it was a good portion size with a good variety of things in it and again very tasty including the oil dressing they used. As a meat eater I did not miss meat one bit. The staff are polite and deliver a very good service and great food. Definitely will return again. It's at the Sustainability Centre so things you can view there and the South Downs Way.

Great food. Best place on the South Downs and probably the world. Vegan food is amazing. Best salad dressing as well