Black Horse Cafe in Braintree

Good service, looked after our allergies and intolerances, tasty food 👍

Came for Christmas lunch with friends. Staff were welcoming and friendly and atmosphere was ok but do bear in mind that the acoustics are not great and it can get very noisy when busy so it can be difficult to conduct a conversation. On the whole the food was pretty poor. Turkey like leather, burnt parsnips and some got one or maybe two brussel sprouts whereas I got none. Kale was an odd choice and unpleasant. Might be our last Christmas lunch here.

Excellent food, excellent service. Recommend booking a table for lunch time period

Had an absolutely delightful afternoon tea here for my husbands birthday. Staff were wonderfully friendly and welcoming, cafe is lovely decorated, comfortable chairs and great atmosphere. The Afternoon tea was absolutely delicious, a savoury plate, scone plate and sweet plate. Some unique Creations and flavours which we thoroughly enjoyed. The savoury choux buns were yummy! We enjoyed the mini sausage rolls, smoked salmon, coronation chicken and egg mayonnaise sandwiches. We will definitely be back! Thank you for a lovely lunch.

On the way to visit an elderly relative we decided to stop here for a coffee and a bite to eat. Cafe is part of the Olive's plants garden centre , but is quite spacious and reasonably busy, food was v good and the service was excellent, special mention to Filamino who was very welcoming and full of knowledge of the locality and services etc Would recommend

This is one of my regular cafes to visit in the area and I am always impressed with the friendly welcome and delicious cakes. One Sunday we decided to go here for lunch and what a great decision. Even though we had not made a reservation, a table was found for us. The services was friendly and polite, helpful in explaining about some of the decisions. As a vegetarian it was nice to see some interesting and choice of meals - I opted for the Vegetarian Katsu Curry and it was superb, as were all the meals. The menu is varied and very good value for money. The cafe itself has a welcoming and positive atmosphere - and spotlessly clean too. For dog-owners there is a special outside seating area to the side. Look forward to returning soon!

Great atmosphere, friendly staff, amazing selection of cakes.

We came here today and what absolutely awful service we have received!! Me and my wife came here today to eat together, I got my food before my wife with no drinks we ordered, just the tea cake, waited for another 15min before we realised we are not going to get our drinks or my wife’s food she ordered, sent back mine because it went cold. When asked staff what is going on as it’s only me who has received a tea cake for the young lady to laugh!! 😡 we ended up just walking due to be laughed at and told to wait even longer for our food. This has to be the worse tea shop/cafe we have been to and will not be recommending anyone to go here. There was an another couple who was asked to wait to be seated for the staff and the young lady to keep walking past them, again they walked out aswell due to bad service. Unfortunately the kids who are running the floor and not experienced, rude, laugh in your face when a complaint is issued, and for Christ sake put a smile on your face!!! You are serving customers, if you don’t like your job find another one. You are charging £17 😯 for a roast dinner but you can’t serve the simplest of orders!! Absolutely awful!!

Veggie breakfast was lovely but it took over 30 minutes to arrive which feels like a long time when you are sat in the unheated dog area.

Not dog friendly, despite the dog outside. What they mean is dogs and their owners have to sit outside. They don’t want dogs in the cage. If you have dogs, go somewhere else. Plenty of nice cafe nearby welcome dogs, inside or out.

Not welcome for people with dogs. There is a sign saying ‘dog friendly’ - what this means is if you have a dog, you need to sit outside next to the car park. You are not welcome inside. They are not dog friendly. There are plenty of nice cafes nearby that are dog friendly.

The cafe was very busy and extremely noisy. Very hard to have a conversation, other guests were very loud. The food came quickly and the portion sizes were generous , but it tasted like it had been warmed up in the microwave. The staff were quite accommodating and helpful though

What a lovely place to have lunch. The menu is great, the staff lovely and today they went above and beyond to ensure all our requirements were met. Can’t thank the enough and will definitely be returning. Thank you.

Brunch. Breakfast’s were tremendous and it was Sunday packed out with customers. Make sure you book. The food was really fresh and served piping hot by great waiting staff. It’s not overpriced. The big farmers breakfast is £11.50. We were not at all rushed off our table and enjoyed a nice cafe atmosphere. Worth a visit. Regularly.

Located inside a garden centre. Good food and pleasant service

Lovely cafe with nice selection of food and drinks.

Absolutely fantastic!! The food was delicious and pretty to look at. The service was really friendly and prompt. I even had lots of questions about allergies and the staff could answer the questions very easily. I felt so welcome. I can't wait to go back!

Having read other reviews we were excited to visit for lunch a couple of days ago as we were in the area. The food was great however one of our party discovered a live woodlouse crawling in her salad. This of course put us off our food. It's great that the salad is fresh but it is clearly important to prepare it properly. We mentioned it to our server who said he would talk to the chef and we heard nothing more, and when I paid I mentioned it to the cashier who pulled an awkward face and then hoped we would go away. An apology at least from someone would have been appropriate.

Been a few times now. Took my grandson who loves fish goujons which were on kids menu perfect I thought. However when it came it was a long fish finger trades description I think. Perhaps say fish finger not goujon.

The food at Black Horse Café is great. I’ll definitely be coming back for more. However, there's one glaring issue: the wall in the kids' section featuring a world map with animals for each country. Let me tell you, this map is an absolute mess. Firstly, where did Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico go? Did they swim away? And apparently, Japan and Indonesia are known for their invisible animals because there's nothing representing them. It’s as if the person who made this map thought, “Eh, who needs accuracy when you’ve got cute drawings?” Seriously, Black Horse, this is basic stuff. If you’re going to educate kids, at least get the basics right. So, food: 10/10. World map: 0/10. Fix this map catastrophe, and I’ll consider revising my review. Until then, it’s great food with a side of geographical inaccuracy.

Popped in for an impromptu Lunch with my daughter and ordered a sandwich for her and I had a burger with cheese. The sandwich was lovely but unfortunately the burger came out very dry and with no visible cheese. When I mentioned this to the staff I was told that cheese was in there and no comment made about the dry burger. When I asked about a discount I was told no. This used to be a nice place to pop into but it seems the prices have gone up and the quality down with no consideration given to the customer's complaint. Great shame !

Set in a garden nursery with seating inside and undercover outside. Friendly staff and good food.

We have visited a few times mainly at weekends and the service and food has been great, I've recently visited twice midweek and the atmosphere and service is completely different, the gentleman that works on a Wednesday is quite abrupt and unwelcoming, both times he made us feel like we was a nuisance being there. At a weekend I can exchange the bacon on tbe farmers wife brekky for toast as I don't eat bacon but if you ask to do this on a Wednesday you get snapped at that there is no exchanges. I'm not asking to swap the bacon for a diamond ring! Juat for toast. I am autistic and can't stand the sight of bacon. Yet love all the other items , in the grand scheme of things I'm sure the 2 rashers of bacon cost more then the 1 slice of white toast I'm asking it to be changed for.? In the past 8 weeks on 4 visits we have spent around £150 in this cafe. It's convenient location as we like visiting olivers but now considering going to poplars as the service is more friendly and we don't feel like a problem there.

Very good food, great service, gluten free options, see you again soon

Found mud in my salad, didn’t see it so ended up eating some of it. Food is mediocre at best and clearly not cleaned.

The photo speaks for itself. An elevated cafe experience, contemporary. Light/ bright inside, modern vibe. Welcomed by a host. Staff are really well turned out and clean. Prices as expected. Coffee fresh ground. Bathrooms were spotless (even with mood music). It's busy on the weekend, if you're planning a visit make a reservation. If not they are OK for walk ups, that's what we did for today.

Always hit and miss not been here for a while and as I think the actual garden centre is great we'd try again. Once again poor serving staff that just have an attitude towards being at work and the kitchen always being closed. Yet the sheer amount of footfall never reflects a dip after 3pm to close the kitchen? Just a shame could be so much better if the staff generally had a better attitude.

This place was recommended, but we were very disappointed , our minute steaks were in edible, the leather on my shoes would be more tender. Told the waiter we couldn't eat it, no comment. Won't be back.

Really good place. Accommodated 12 of us for a surprise birthday breakfast with no fuss and really good customer care. Recommended.

Oliver’s is always a good place to visit along with the option to visit the Black Horse Cafe. Today.. our visit included the cafe with our choice of an all day breakfast. The standard was okay but the beans were over dry along with service that was indifferent do not great. No one came to the table to see if we wanted anything else and it was evident that no one was really bothered. It’s a real pity when this happens … it’s a let down!

The restaurant was very busy: a positive sign. Most reviews are very good, so we anticipated an enjoyable lunch. We hadn't booked in advance so booked a table when we arrived to give us half an hour to browse the nursery. Ham, egg and chips was absolutely fine but the vegetable moussaka contained barely cooked potatoes and the 'slow braised pork' was a tough chop, accompanied by barely cooked vegetables. We are very sorry to buck the trend, but need to speak as we find.

Usually go here when walking or cycling in the area, for coffee and cake, or sometimes breakfast. It's attached to a garden centre but at the front, not tucked away at the back which makes it difficult if you're cycling and want to leave a bike. The place is always busy but they are accommodating if they can be, if you arrive on spec, and the food is excellent.

We have always enjoyed lunch here until yesterday. We had pre booked our table and on arrival, a member of staff placed a reserved board on our table for 30 minutes later for someone else! We were not impressed and we noticed there was quite a price hike from our previous visit. In addition I was charged the full price for a toasted sandwich, despite not requiring meat in it. We will not be returning.

Just wanted to give a heads up, I was at the black horse café near earls colne on Thursday with a few friends. My friend ordered a cup of tea with normal milk, and I ordered one with soya milk. Lady taking the order was 10/10 fab… then the waitor came with the teas and put them down and I asked “sorry which one is the soya milk” and he had an unsolicited rant at me about how everyone should just drink cows milk, soya is unhealthy and full of sugar and if I really want to be healthy then I should just drink cows milk and that there no need for anyone to be not drinking cows milk. (He also made comments about the sugar content in our drinks which was just uncalled for) I didn’t have a go at him but I did say “I will get explosive diarrhoea if I drink cows milk”

We enjoyed our visit here. Lovely ambiance & atmosphere. A nice choice of food & a great specials board. Its so lovely to see traditional home cooked food with good portions. I had trouble choosing between bubble n squeak egg & bacon, the pork & cider pie & beef stew with a fat dumpling. I chose the beef stew & it didnt disappoint, it was delicious & filling. Looking forward to come back again soon.

Awful service. Management and Owners so rude. Won't be returning. It is a nice place visually, but certainly not in terms of much else.

Always great breakfast here. The service is excellent, the food is freshly prepared and tastes delicious. We will be back.

Love this cafe and certain food is ok but on our last visit my husband had veg lasagne . Not impressed ,small portion,hardly any veg and way too much strong tomato sauce . Really didn't enjoy it . For my part I had a jacket potato . Please ,please stop doing that awful salad ,it's so stringy and gets stuck.in your throat . We both left most of it as did others we saw . It's just slung out of a bag with no thought . I shall avoid anything with salad there in future . Unfortunately you aren't allowed to substitute either if you don't like something

A great cafe for coffee and brunch. Loads of seating (both indoors and outside under cover) and a delicious menu.

First visit here and was really impressed. Quick to be served, food out quickly and fresh. Staff polite and helpful and very reasonably priced

We found this place by accident this morning when looking for somewhere to have breakfast nearby. We were a group of 8 and the cafe was busy but they found space to accommodate us. The breakfast was delicious, everything was cooked to perfection, and it arrived very speedily. The staff were very welcoming and nothing was too much trouble. We will definitely visit again!

Terrible, I ordered a takeaway jacket potato with Chilli and cheese at £6.95, No cheese as this is not on the menu and chef does not allow substitutions, Very little chill which was 5 bean veggie and a bit tasteless; no butter so very dry. I used to like this cafe especially when it was in the log cabin and have been going for many years to eat in and takeaway as my office is close, but now the standard of the food is dropping, you cant do substitutions of any kind !!. (I have never come across before anywhere !). The front of house staff try hard but the food is not as nice as it used to be, it is over priced for what you get and it is not so appealing anymore with a dictatorial approach to food choices, so sadly I wont be going back !

Gobsmacked to how rudely we was spoken to! Asked for a table to be rudely told No we haven’t got any , didn’t offer the seating outside , you could tell she just didn’t want us there ! I come here regularly… well not anymore

Manager or person in charge was extremely rude. Group of 6 cyclists got there at 9:30am in a Sunday. Just one table was taken and the first he asked was if we got a reservation. We mentioned that it would be a quick coffee and they gave us a table like a favour. Finish coffees and the same guy come straight to us. His words were: all finish? Thank you, you can go. For real? Don’t get why even having a bike rack outside cyclists aren’t welcome. Never again

Lovely place. Its already in my favourite place to go place. Food is good portion size and lovely atmosphere. They have kids corner. My little one was super busy playing and I had my breakfast in peace.

Our cycling club (6) stopped here for a quick coffee and a bite, well we arrived at 9.15 to an empty cafe, and the the manager clearly had an issue with us turning up. Reluctantly Put us on a table and almost couldn’t wait for us to leave! Unwelcoming/ Rude and unfriendly, even the staff felt uncomfortable with the situation and rudeness of the manager. This is the second bad experience here and won’t be returning, I will also mention this to other cyclists and tell them to avoid. I think the guy running it thinks he is the manager of the Ritz and not a Garden centre cafe!

Rude / unwelcoming from management. Our cycling club (6) stopped here for a quick coffee and a bite, well we arrived at 9.15 to an empty cafe, and the the manager clearly had an issue with us turning up. Reluctantly Put us on a table and almost couldn’t wait for us to leave! Unwelcoming/ Rude and unfriendly, even the staff felt uncomfortable with the situation and rudeness of the manager. This is the second bad experience here and won’t be returning, I will also mention this to other cyclists and tell them to avoid. I think the guy running it thinks he is the manager of the Ritz and not a Garden centre cafe

Good food and atmosphere but it's populararity means it's busy and the service can be slow.

Usually take my mother for lunch here on a regular basis. Normally food and service is very good. On our recent visits, waiting staff appeared very miserable and not overly willing to help. The food arrived lukewarm. Not much flavour/taste to the chilli. Had to ask someone if we could order a dessert, which in fairness was much better than the main. Overall, not a great experience and unsure whether or not to return. Such a shame as it use to be a great little place to enjoy food. Maybe it might be just coffee and cake from now on.

We arrived a few minutes early and were told by the waiter that they didn’t have our booking, despite us having a booking confirmation. We were eventually sat down and shared a menu. I wanted fish and chips, as well as a side order of bread and butter. I was told that bread and butter was not available (despite there being sandwiches on the menu), then was informed that I could have bread and butter and asked if I would like white or granary bread, so I asked for white bread. The bread and butter didn’t arrive. The fish and chips were very nice, my wife had the ham, egg and chips which looked really good. However, I had to get up to get my own vinegar and wasn’t offered any other condiments. When we finished our meals, we sat in front of empty plates while staff walked past us. We would have had dessert, but the long wait for anyone to clear our table persuaded us not to bother and just settle our bill. Food-wise, this place is great. Service-wise, the place is very disappointing. I will not be back.

I thought I would try this place again and I saw that they had a new menu. My friend and I had a delicious vegetarian curry which was presented lovely on a rectangular plate and another friend had the pie and mash which again was presented beautifully. The good like last time is bringing me back. Not sure whether the guy in question in my last review still works there but service seem to be slightly better than when he was there. But the blonde woman who took my order was under a lot of pressure and seemed to struggle at times.

Homemade, semi-rustic food that exceeded our expectations. It makes sense, seeing as the garden centre that envelopes the cafe is a very nice one. The bubble and squeak gets a special mention, as does the cheese scone. The pancakes were lacking in more ways than just the portion size, but there was still some charm in its sloppy presentation. It's run by a kind, accommodating team.

Absolutely fantastic breakfast! And a gorgeous atmosphere, me and my partner went for the farmers wife breakfast each, and thoroughly enjoyed it, the sausages were unreal along with the poached eggs however the bacon was a little on the dry side Not much could be improved on other than I felt it was a little understaffed

Usually a good experience but came today with our two young grandchildren and had an awful experience with dried up cake and no cookies for the children. Only had takeaway cups as too busy to offer usual cups. If they can’t cope with the volumes they should have so many tables. Very disappointing.

We had an afternoon tea. Staff were lovely and the food was delicious! Very reasonably priced too. We had a lovely time, would go again and would recommend!

Couldn’t believe at 3.45pm I was greeted with”just to let you know we are closing in 10 minutes “ As far as I and many others I know “tea time” is about 4 to 5pm and closing this early simply isn’t providing the right service, especially as the “senior generation “ are this most likely to be visiting garden centres with cafes, and an afternoon tea is something to look forward to. Sadly this is typical of UK businesses and would not be tolerated in many countries, who believe in providing the sensible level of service. A shame, because the cup of tea and scone which we hurriedly finished were nice!

Such a lovely garden centre, lovely food in the cafe - ruined by the incredibly rude service in the cafe. The person on the til who served us (no name tag, high blonde ponytail) was so rude we nearly abandoned our order and walked out. Such a shame.

Lovely sausage sandwich, hot chocolate & a coffee on Saturday morning. The staff were fantastic and all very friendly. The children's indoor play area is handy and it's great it has a baby gate on!

We have used this cafe since it opened and have always enjoyed its customer service and meals. Today we called in for two drinks and I was appalled by the lack of customer service and attitude of some waiter (manager) who had an ipad attached to his wrist. Very poor and certainly needs some lessons from the other staff who are always at their best.

First of all, I want to say thank you to the chefs in the kitchen for a wonderful breakfast. It was hot, sausages were lovely, poached eggs were cooked with perfection and my other half smashed avocado was delicious. BUT what I can presume is the manager needs to improve his customer service skills as our table felt he was very rude and smelt like cigarettes. The waitress who gave is our coffees was polite and the waiter who gave us our food was polite and very attentive.

Disappointed. Peas with the scampi were hard, like bullets, jacket potato was so old the skin was inedible and there was no mention on the menu that the salad had a dressing on it! Plus, when the milk machine was heating you couldn't hear yourself...

Lovely location, unfortunately maybe it was the menu choice we chose but the vegetarian sharing meze was awful. Vegetarians don't all want to eat raw veg, the houmous was not houmous and the portion size was not for two people. Such a shame...

Service bad. Food bland. Staff don’t seem to know what they’re doing. Massive queues at till and this was mid week. Need more staff or retraining. Gone downhill.

Nice location and good food but some of the staff are unfriendly in particular there is a red faced man in a pink shirt who is quite rude. A real shame as otherwise it’s a lovely place

Today we visited the Blackhorse cafe such a lovely experience very busy but a table was found for us We had two coffees and one cheesecake simply the best one I’ve tasted and my husband had bread pudding Prompt service very friendly staff and plenty...

Visited here a number of times after staying nearby. Food is amazing!! Fresh, well cooked and tasty. The lasagne is probably the best we have had anywhere! The full Black Horse breakfast was superb as well. Great coffee and tasty cakes complete the picture. All...

I visited with 3 adults and 2 very small babies after Pumpkin Picking! There are great baby change facilities, high chairs and there are play areas for children. Staff were all very friendly and attentive. We had 3 roasts which were cooked perfectly and a...

Enjoyed a delicious Sunday roast here today. A nice selection of other meals were also available. Very reasonably priced. The cafe was well presented and clean. The staff were extremely friendly . Added bonus is that this is located within a very nice garden centre.

Second visit and both for breakfast. Lovely setting within “Oliver’s” Garden Centre. Sit inside or out (in the sun or “undercover”). Polite friendly service and wonderful food each time. Reasonable price. Will be a returning visitor for those days you just need a treat. Plus...

In getting away from the Essex Golf & Country Club, the breakfast here was fantastic, and a proper cooked meal was much appreciated. Great staff, very pleasant and good service.

We went to the cafe for breakfast while staying nearby. What a fabulous treat. Every member of staff was friendly, and knew what they were doing. The breakfast was delicious - my husband had the full on breakfast and I had the vegetarian option. We...

Big Breakfast Price Increase - We love this place. It’s always great. Additionally the price has always been pitched fairly. Inflation is obviously taking its toll but unfortunately will result in us visiting as a treat as opposed to weekly as a family. Will need...

Food was great staff were pleasant and hot food delivered quickly well presented.

Stunning Venue. Lots of parking. Free parking. Great customer service. Young friendly team. Highly recommended.

Brilliant food. Always a welcoming atmosphere. The blonde young lady is an absolute total credit to you, didn’t get her name.

Outside seating area nice, overhead heating. Unfortunately people walk through the seating area, instead of walking around.

Rang up yesterday to book a table for lunch at 12.30 today 28/1, arrived at the Cafe with my wife and daughter and no table and what was worse no spare tables apart from outside, how hard is it to get it right, it turns...

Excellent as usual,2sandwichesand 2 bowls of chips,1would have been enough as the bowl was large,plenty of salad and crisps,

We visited this afternoon, 5 adults and a child had a lovely meal and the staff bent over backwards to help us. Absolutely brilliant service

Lovely quality food at very reasonable prices. Great polite service.

Lovely and clean. Friendly staff

Food was very good, service excellent, surrounding bright and clean could not fault it

Lovely warm and welcoming atmosphere. Great cakes too!

Food arrived hot and fast very clean great value for money

Lovely food, service nice and clean, friendly staff

Excellent food friendly staff good service really good garden centre Well worth a visit .🌞🌞

Amazing Breakfast Hot 🔥 staff Brilliant with a smile 💨💨💨💨💨

Visited today for Sunday lunch with friends. Food was excellent, we had the roast beef, generous portions and a good selection of veg too. Finished off with chefs cheesecake. Thoroughly recommended, friendly welcoming staff, we were served by Bethan. We will be back.

Staff are very kind and accommodating I asked for a birthday cake if it could be made and they went above an beyond to surprise my sister and brother in law who’s birthdays are a day apart they even piped happy birthday on the cake...

I took two friends out for lunch at the White Horse today. The food was exceptionally good, nicely presented, quickly served, and very friendly staff. The lovely ambiance in the Balck Horse made it a very happy occasion. Thank you all.

Served today by Sophie, it has been a real treat to find a dog friendly cafe. They only allow dogs outside but the area is completely under cover and very comfortable. We had such a warm welcome by staff, and throughly enjoyed a cream tea in the autumn sunshine. Will definitely be visiting again with Bluebell

Went for Sunday Lunch yesterday. Food was excellent, service great and overall this is the best value for money around!

Friendly service and amazing food.

We decided to visit today to try the newly added menu item of a Roast dinner. What a fantastic addition to the already brilliant menu. Both myself and my husband ordered the roast beef and my daughter had the lasagna. The food was hot, with...

This site is a hidden treasure. It has a very well priced cafe with good tasty food. It has a shop for equine equipment and a garden centre, which has a wide variety of plants and foilage. It's not as corporate as the more chain like garden centers at poplar or Freeport, but had better food (less mass prepared) and feels like you are supporting a local business, which is exactly what you are doing. Definitely worth a trip.

Good place for cycling to very good cake

Spacious, light and delicious food, staff are very helpful and friendly, excellent service, looking forward to going back.

Food excellent , spotlessly clean, well worth eating there

Updated now taken over by new management food is excellent service is fast and friendly. Gets very busy, you can book a head to reserve a table. You can use the qr code to order from table or go to the counter.

Thought that the move from the old wooden cafe would lose something, but it was a light open space with good service.