Butler Henderson Cafe in Charnwood

I am happy to support the Great Central railway.

British style cafe, comfortable environment, reasonable prices, managed by young people.

Great place to include in your day out to the preserved Great Central Railway.

Nice cafe, full English, super ,

Good spot for lunch especially when trains are running. Food is good with good choice plus staff are helpful and friendly. Outside seating needs a bit of attention. Service was slow even on a fairly quiet midweek lunch. Wouldn't want to come on busy weekend. Looks like the place needs managing better.

Good place for lunch even if trains not running. Breakfast looked apetizing but stuck to baguette. Good choices on menu. Reasonably priced and helpful staff. Service can be slow at times even during fairly quiet times. Can't imagine what it's like on busy weekends. Outside seating needs a bit of TLC.

In Quorn station yard. Good food served on a China plate Live steam engines to be seen

I am very disappointed with the service on Saturday 17th August.. Arrived at 2.55pm to be told there was no food service available due to running out of food. We only wanted to order toasted teacakes for the Grandchildren. Took our drinks order and yet 15 mins later, customers were being served with food. When challenged, stated it had been busy but they were now continuing to serve. We had a lovely afternoon on The Great Central railway, and all the volunteers were really helpful. However, the Butler Henderson Cafe completely let the experience down. I very rarely complain but had to on this occasion.

10 out 10 best cafe. This is easily my favourite cafe in all of the UK. The coffee is nice and the sausage baps are excellent. Very reasonably priced and you can sit and watch the trains. Good parking and really friendly staff. I will definitely be coming back!

Great cafe, friendly staff, our second visit for breakfast, good food and good value

Great little cafe at the Great Central Railway at Quorn Station. Good food and great cakes. Would recommend and I will be calling in again.

We arrived at the Butler Henderson (BH) cafe at approx. midday on Saturday, July 6, 2024. BH had a sea of waiting customers and seemingly a large number of young staff members who appeared to be in need of managing as there was poor organisation, with staff standing around doing litte or nothing, while customers were told there were lengthy waits - even for a simple cup of takeaway tea. To our surprise, despite it being lunchtime on a Saturday there were no sandwiches in the chiller waiting for customers - only cold drinks. To her credit, the young lady on the till was polite and honest about the lengthy delays for food. Feeling peckish, we asked if there was anything at all we could buy to take with us for the train and she pointed out the pre-packed eccles cakes, so we pruchased two of them - fortunately we had brought a bottle of water with us. However, after getting our tickets, we discovered the NAAFI tea room on the platform, a hidden gem, located on the Loughborough-bound platform under the staircase. In the NAAFI, the lady behind the counter was friendly and promptly served us a delicious roll with a tea. If you want a snack and a brew, go to the NAAFI - it will now be our go-to place for refreshments at this GCR station!

Nice clean space good range of food

Great staff,plenty of parking, even for buses and coaches, it's not a cheap place, but it's very nice food

Good food. Super pleasant service

If I could rate this Cafe 0 I would. Service was poor, I must have asked about my food at least 4 times and the ladies in the kitchen didn’t give the poor young girls a proper answer. I felt bad as I know its not the two young girls fault but the kitchen staff didn’t communicate and it was seeming like they refused to. Other people we’re also unsure of when their food was coming out as it seemed it was being made in any order. They were clearly speaking their native language as one was shouting at the other. This clearly made communication between the staff non existent. A young girl with quite a few piercings was helpful and very apologetic but it was clear she didn’t know what was going on because she didn’t receive a proper answer from the kitchen. She gave us free drinks while we waited. When my food finally arrived (2 breakfasts and a bacon and egg bap) all of the dishes were missing an egg. Utterly disappointed.

Absolutely rubbish. Long wait to queue for food orders. I ordered a Panini, Tea and a Cake. Was told the Panini would take 20 minutes which seemed really long for something simple but I didn't mind initially as it was a nice sunny day. About 30 mins later and still no food, so I went to the counter and asked where my order was they still hadn't made it! It came after a nearly 45 minute wait and was not happy at all, and I was not the only one complaining as there were a few other customers who were also waiting for their orders! Tables aren't cleared promptly and are filthy, staff are inexperienced and fairly clueless at running the place, AVOID.

Much improved table layout since last visit when it was like a sardine packers outing. Cant fault food service and staff.

I was visiting a Diesel Gala at the Great Central Railway and took advantage of this on site cafe. My lunch was comprised of homemade roast pepper soup and bread. It was delicious! Service was a tad slow but, to be fair, it was busy. There was ample parking at Quorn railway station. You could see passing trains when you sat at the outside picnic tables.

We have been useing this cafe for over three years. It was a pleasant experience being based on an old English tea house, with very competitive prices. After visiting today we found that the cafe management had changed and not for the better. Prices have risen by 50% with drinks being served in paper cups and food presented in takeaway containers (not really acceptable). The cafe layout has been changed losing its ambiance. It's a shame another establishment set up to price high and offer a bad service

Gorgeous afternoon tea with cakes to die for. We had to take it home in boxes. Steam train ride after. Fantastic afternoon.

Myself , my wife and one of our grand children were enjoying a day on the excellent GCR and had just been to see the excellent Ruffle the rail dog show. After which we went into this Cafe for lunch. Our order was very simple , a child's snack box including a cheese sandwich , a cheese sandwich for my wife and a vegan sausage roll and sausage bap for me. After waiting about 20 minutes I asked one of the counter staff where our order was as we only wanted a quick lunch so as to get back on to the trains. After more than 40 minutes , I went back and asked again where our order was . The young man behind the counter then told we that they had run out of vegan sausage rolls and sausage baps . I asked him when he'd 'planned' to tell me that I get no food? He just gave an apologetic shrug. I then asked about the cheese sandwiches. (surely an easy meal to produce.) He was rather vague about when they would arrive. By the time I'd finished my conversation with him , several other customers were also asking about their orders (one said she'd been waiting nearly an hour.) In fairness to the young man , he apologised for the lack of food and gave me a full refund. It's a shame that this Cafe is clearly so badly managed. It requires not only an organised system of working , but also a knowledge of their stock levels . There is no point in 'selling' food products off the menu if you don't have them in stock. It is particularly frustrating and annoying to their customers who have come primarily to enjoy the trains and stations of the GCR. Not to sit hungerly in a Cafe with no food.

Layout absolutely terrible, far to many tables for the space available! Feel like prison conditions would be more spacious and welcoming. Use to be a great cafe and felt comfortable while there. Table next to use was complaining to us about the lack of space. We didn't dare having a full English incase we couldn't get back out our seats!!! Food was good quality and hot and served quick not issues with that! But come on!! Sort this shambles of a seating plan out before you loose us local community!!

What have they done with the seating in this cafe its like a sardine packers outing. Too cramped staff cant get round to serve. It looks like a load of junk been dumped. Sooo claustrophobic. They ruined it. Food fab well cooked hot. Staff young but really helpful please put the seating back to how it was. All the takeout knives n forks are now where they can be coughed all over and fiddled with by people at the tables. Please put them out the way.

Ordered a full breakfast and was told it would be a 20minute wait - fine. It took just 50 minutes before meal came and by then there were no eggs. So much for a full breakfast. They were busy and it was Friday gala day, but even so it should have been better planned. I would not bother again, I was very disappointed. Others had to wait 20 minutes for a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

Great location for lunch or just a coffee, excellent staff and good food, plenty of railway atmosphere mixed with a 1940's war time touch, watch the trains go by (dependant on operating day's), what's not to love!

Not a very big cafe, struggled to get a seat, but this was due to the cafe being nearly full, and too cold to sit outside, which I suppose is a good thing to have the cafe nearly full, but our group was 5 people, and struggled.

I high recommend this cafe and the tables outside looking at the railway station. One could do trainspotting there and take wonderful photos. There is so much to take on photos. The sense of the past is so strong that one has the feeling being taken back to the 60s.

We called in today, the 15th of October, for a coffee and a sandwich. Very pleasant young lady on the counter. Could I have two coffees and two sandwiches , I asked. The food has a thirty minute waiting time, I was told. We just had two coffees and observed the number of people walking out because of the wait. All that much needed money walking out of the door. I'm very disappointed.

Cafe at Quorn and Woodhouse train station, good selection of dishes and drink also sells ice cream and souvenirs, Toilets and helpful staff available.

Our food was served at different times, the bacon was too hard to eat.

Had a wonderful day the food was excellent, the staff were very helpful and friendly and steam trains to see

Nice food, good service, cafe itself has a lovely period look somewhat spoilt by the fairly heavy rock music in the background for a while. Something from a few decades earlier might fit better and be more relaxing but I'll definitely be back.

My friend and I regularly go for breakfast together, but this was our first time at Butler Henderson. This is a real find. Free parking right outside the door, nice atmosphere with tables far enough apart that you don't feel on top of other people. The service was excellent and the staff friendly and helpful. Just marked them down one star on food, because the bacon in our rolls was very well done, bordering on burnt. We will definitely be going again though.

Very friendly place, love coming here,the food is always good,new menu is a must to try everything

I arrived a bit late in the day so only had a coffee and a piece of lemon drizzle cake. The staff we very pleasant and the cake moist and delicious. All that I required.

Had breakfast here and was a nice breakfast and good price. They didn't have any milk alternatives unfortunately which is a shame. Staff where friendly and I'd definitely go back.

Nice pleasant place to relax with a tea or snack.

I had the traditional breakfast. The egg was over cooked, and the hash brown was soft and greasy. Certainly not worth £7.00

We waited ages for two cold sandwiches; my husband got worried about missing the train. When they eventually came I was underwhelmed - sliced supermarket bread, ok filling (you can’t really mess up grated cheese or tuna mayo), about 5 crisps and a tablespoon of salad. It didn’t seem good value for £6 each. On the upside the waitress who took my order was very pleasant and I commend that they employ at least one member of staff with hidden disabilities. The garden is very well kept being part of the GCR yard.

Butler Henderson is in Quorn, next to the Great Central Railway. Indoor & outdoor seating. Ideal place to have something to eat & watch heritage steam & diesel engines go by. Very relaxy.

Took family members here for tea - utterly miserable experience. Dry scones served in burger cartons. Tea served in paper cups. Teenage staff clueless. Never again.

Good place for a meeting and coffee.

Had a lovely afternoon tea at this cafe. The staff are very friendly and attentive. The food was delicious and I would strongly recommend this place.

Simply nostalgic, next to the Great Central Railway in Quorn. We arrived late afternoon, only sandwiches & drinks were being served but nice, fresh & filling

Had a trip on the train and when we came back we went to have afternoon tea at cafe. Lovely young girl served us and was very helpful Large sandwiches and scones were so tasty with lashings of cream and jam. Followed with more cake. We were stuffed!!!!!

A good breakfast at an interesting location

Brilliant place... 6 of us rode down on motorbike's from north Nottingham.. lovely full english.. staff were friendly and food was perfect...

As a 40th anniversary gift my husband and were given a virgin steam train & afternoon tea experience for 2. I highly recommend the afternoon tea the staff were very friendly and helpful. The bread was so fresh the fillings egg mayonnaise, ham, cheese and tuna mayo and crisps and salad garnish were excellent we were so full we had to take the scones and cakes as a take away. Will be coming back to do the whole experience again with friends next time.

Good breakfast, but dumped on the plate, beans and tomatoes mixed up together and hash brown dumped in the mix, so soggy. Eggs omg murderd, brown eghed burnt, looked like airo hard. Toast bought 5mins befor breakfast so cold, butter runny....little thaught and it could be so much better, wont risk it again...

Bacon / Breakfast was “smelling good” as we walked in. Sad really as we only wanted Lattes. The Bacon Cob looked nice with well cooked as someone had one when we were there. Has an old English feel to it as it’s part of the Steam Rail concept.

Pleasant enough place. Food ok, staff very friendly. The only thing that lets the place down is the state of the toilets. The seats are hanging off, or broken. It's not what youd expect from the Great central railway. Please please get them fixed...ladies this is. Cant speak for the gents but prob as bad

We come to this wonderful tea room 3 or 4 times a week. The food is excellent. The staff are friendly, polite and helpful. Rob the manager always makes time to chat to customers and to make everyone feel welcome. When the beautiful steam trains are running you can make a day of it and also sit outside the tea room which over looks the tracks and Quorn Station. It's quite magical. The best bit ... A fantastic Breakfast is served all day so it doesn't matter what time we get there! Highly recommend this wonderful little Gem In the price range bit of this review it asks is the food cheap eats, mid range of fine dining ... The prices are very affordable ... So I'd say cheap eats but with great quality food

Just visited Quorn station with my wife, sister & brother in law. We often meet there for breakfast & want to say a big thankyou to Rob & his staff for always making us so welcome & serving us with a smile. The food is good & a very reasonable price. We never feel we have to rush & vacate the table. Hopefully we don’t overstay our welcome 🤞 .Thanks again and see you soon, Steve

We are regular visitors to this lovely cafe in a great location to see the steam trains and with free parking when special events are not being staged. Really friendly staff who take the time to chat and nice selection of food at good prices. We had Sausage and Egg cobs which were perfect. Great meeting place to catch up with friends and relatives.

Went here a few Saturdays ago to meet a friend for breakfast and a cuppa. When we arrived it was busy but there was one or two tables available. My friend ordered a breakfast and I ordered a bacon butty. When her breakfast came it was just mush. Must beans, chopped toms, eggs and hash browns. It just was not appealing. Used to come here pre covid and used to have nice food. Definitely gone downhill. Staff just stand in kitchen. Don't clear tables. Back door open with a rather shoddy fly screen. Definitely not what it used to be and it's such a shame!

Just went in for a coffee very pleasant surroundings and would go again

I really rate this cafe, it sells good quality food, especially the breakfast menu & the bonus is that it is located at the Quorn & Woodhouse Railway Station where you can watch steam trains pass by whilst enjoying your breakfast 👍

Lovely place, friendly helpful staff, great food, pop in and have a cuppa or a bite to eat. 👍

I regularly have a full English breakfast here. Lovely food, plenty of tea and very friendly, pleasant staff. Prices are reasonable. Plenty of parking.

Excellent little cafe overlooking Quorn Station on the Great Central Railway. Hot or cold food and snacks and plenty of seating indoors & outside. Licenced for alcoholic drinks.

We visited the café and were deeply disappointed in all of it. You walk into disorganised chaos, four young people trying their best but sadly not getting it done. The queue was snaking around the tables, which made a bad situation worse, as the poor people sitting down had no space to wait let alone eat. When you finally got to the order point it became obvious why a gold mine like this was run so badly. Nobody seemed to be in charge, food was cooked to order, and they had no food ready to go. Which was troubling as the place was chocker blocker, on a Saturday lunchtime on a gala day at the G.C.R. You get given a ticket stub with a number, and then you sit or stand in the way of everybody, we waited for 25mins plus for a bacon bap. As we sat waiting on our number, we realised the orders come out on a how hard is it to make the order and not on the number. You have to watch the door to see if it was your food coming out as the person cooking it brought it out saying the number. Tables were not cleared, as people finally left.

Service was very slow waited an hour.

We arrived just after 10am to meet friend, they had been waiting for 10 minutes for their drinks. We all ordered breakfasts which finally arrived 90 minutes later. We were chatting but realised other people had been served. We asked a number of times and were told it was on the way. We were going to leave but as we had met there as a central point, decided to wait. The breakfast orders were wrong when they did arrive and we never got our hash browns. We requested complimentary coffees as we had drank 2 drinks each whilst waiting. This was agreed to but they never arrived. If we hadn't been meeting friends we wouldn't have stayed. The customer service wasn't great either.

Great little place tucked away. Would highly recommend

The young waitress is very polite and hard working they would be in trouble with out

Sausages are awesome, the tomatoes were cold/lukewarm, I wouldn't say it was the best breakfast I've ever had, and they were getting busy as time went on, tbh I would go back, the place was spotlessly clean

very friendly staff, lovely food, prices are reasonable

We had an afternoon tea here as part of a virgin experience and it was such a lovely day. Food was incredible, staff were so helpful and the atmosphere inside was also incredible. Our first afternoon tea experience was wonderful even if it did end in a debate on Jam or Cream first on a Scone. Would definitely visit again if we were in the area!

Treated by my kids to a day runaround trip on the Great Central Railway Steam experience vouched with a Cream tea at The Butler Henderson Cafe at Quorn station. Greeted by ROB the cafe supervisor and shown to a reserved table ro be served with a two teir sandwich/salad platter and and a pot of tea ( 6 cups of) all on china plates/cups and finishing with a large plate of cakes and the scones for cream tea. Service was excellent by both Rob and his staff. All in all a great meal in pleasant surroundings. We'll worthy of 5 stars.

We visited after a trip on the nearby Great Central Railway which was really good, unfortunately they were badly let down by their catering outlet. On arrival the café was a little more than half full. We ordered Prawn Marie Rose sandwiches. These took over 30' to arrive. On arrival, the sauce was so runny it poured off the sandwiches, and looked as if the prawns had been defrosted in it and consequently was pretty tasteless and the sandwiches soggy. The kitchen staff who we could see through the serving hatch did not appear to regard service as having any urgency, which did not reflect well. I would however say the exception was the young blonde haired girl server who was very industrious the whole time we were there.

Called by at the Butler Henderson Cafe on a ride out on my motorcycle. Very welcoming and friendly staff. I ordered a cappuccino and sat outside looking over at the Great Central Railway Station platform. Super little Cafe with good facilities that were spotless. Stayed a while and took a few photographs to remember the visit. Will definitely return. I rated my visit 5 star.

Absolutely lovely cafe in a quaint location and easy parking and access for those with disabilities and the elderly. Very friendly staff who take the time to chat and great selection of food at good prices. I had chilli on jacket potatoe which was perfect. Thanks for a great couple of hours with you and look forward to my next visit.

I visited today with my little boy and was very well looked after by Rob and his team. They were all so kind, explaining to him when the next trains would be and where to look, there were train magazines and lots of things for...

Great service. Nice breakfast. Will be returning.

Not the best place for dinner as it really a snack place. Not much choice on menu

Went today with my wife,had coffees and sausage roll,veg sausage baps,food arrived quickly,was more than acceptable,staff very nice too,and price was very reasonable.been before,will be back soon.nice to look around station too,great job made.wife loves this place too,very atmospheric.

Amazing place to visit, food and drink and service all spot on…….. would highly recommend this cute place, can not wait to go back!!! 10/10

Lovely cafe with a simple and crowd-pleasing menu. Brill service. Reasonably priced. Easy parking. Nice outside seating area with views of the steam trains coming in and out of the station. Can thoroughly recommend the jackets and paninis. A pot of tea for 2 was massive!

Went today 25th June with my mum and my son. The staff serving behind the counter looked as if they couldn't be bothered to be there the lad there kept on huffing and puffing like he didn't want to be there either and was slow...

Good selection of snacks and lite lunches, nice surroundings. Could do with happy staff.

Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Why does such an establishment have such disgusting ladies toilets. The cubicles either had the doors hanging off, blocked by bins, no toilet paper and seats that were barely on the basis. I'm surprised during such a popular event for the Great...

Would not recommend worst sandwich I have ever had.

Stopped off here to visit the railway and decided to have breakfast at the cafe. What a really great place and the breakfast was delicious. Sat outside and the food was brought out to me. Definitely a cafe to visit again.

Great place. Although no trains were running it was still busy. Seems to be alot of regulars which is always a good sign.Decent choice of menu, I had a fry up and Mrs had sausage and bacon bap. Both were excellent, washed down with a large pot of tea for 2. Staff were excellent, the place was very clean and will definitely visit again when it's warm so we can sit outside.

At one point I was expecting Jeremy beadle to jump out . 3 staff which neither knew what the other was doing . Overcharged by 6 pounds Order came out totally wrong Bacon that hard you needed a chainsaw to cut through it . They...

I had the misfortune to visit this “Cafe” earlier today. There were only 3 members of staff on duty and the queue, just to order, was a minimum half hour wait. The food was being made by just one person, took another half an hour to reach the table. The finished food was stacked to the right of the kitchen sink waiting to be taken to the tables. The left side of the sink was being used to stack dirty plates waiting to be washed. That obviously didn’t happen as they ran out of saucers for hot drinks. Possibly the worst café I’ve ever been to. Slow, incompetent and just totally disorganised. What a disappointment, never again.

Sit inside or outside, watch the trains go by. Had a coffee and a tea cake lovely, it was a Sunday I visited so please note they stop doing hot food (meals) at 3.00pm.

Can be busy when special event is ongoing at GCR. Very nice and cosy caffe. Selection of caces and good coffee.

Called in for breakfast before going on the Santa Express on the Great Central Railway. I loved it! The menu was perfect with a great choice of items. I had the sausage bap and hubby had the full English. Both were perfect as was the service. If I lived closer I would definitely be a regular.

Friendly service, good prices, Covid safe, worth a visit. If you like trains chose a day when GCR are running.

First time I've been. Good service , will go again .

Pleasent staff meal was nice, sit and watch the trains go by

But dogs not permitted, boo hoo. Hot and cold drinks and snacks at this GCR café right by the railway lines.

We love going there good food friendly staff watch the steam trains or have a ride on them also model railway plenty of parking

Excellent food, excellent service, excellent prices, just excellent!!

Nice friendly little cafe, great food. Been here a few times.

Good cake, but coffee was wishy washy/tasteless, and took 15 mins to come. It wasn’t that busy - but person taking orders was making teas /coffees etc. If you were sitting it, they were doing it between taking orders, and did all the takeaway orders instantly- moral of the story, order it as if it’s takeaway here!

Lovely staff, food delicious, and steam trains too, what could be better!

Tried to go today and was asked for £7 to park! No idea why, must have had something on but didn't see any signs, turned round and went somewhere else. Checked before going on Google maps and says you were open today, might be worth trying to post something if people can't visit without paying for parking.