Cartgate Lodge Cafe in South Somerset

Very nice services. So much better than the usual options uk drivers are offered on the road.

Great resting place on the A303. Great parking and ideal place to rest or pop in the cafe for a superb meal or snack. Love it.

Stopped into get a cake (for £3!) later to find that it is moldy. Very disappointed!! :(

What a great little place, stopped totally by accident, thinking it was a bathroom break. Hidden gem.

Just a few minutes to rest from a long journey, but 100% clean space and friendly staff.

The men’s toilet was absolutely disgusting. They smelt and looked disgusting not a pleasant experience at all.

Easy parking, clean. hot cuppa tea & coffee with a tasty pastie.

Good place to stop for us with the dog. Plenty of carparking spaces

Very busy great stop on a long journey with sensible food and drink, toilets as well

Lovely friendly staff. A clean welcoming place. Toilets were spotless. Plenty of seating both inside and outside. Set in nice surroundings. Good choice on the menu. I'll definitely be using it again when passing 😊

Good opening times. Easy parking, clean well maintained facilities. Great stop with the dog and can get a drink and bite to eat too! Much nicer than big services. Shame the tourist information has closed down. Dogs can’t go inside the cafe, but there is outdoor seating, although not undercover.

Convenient location to take a break and food was good too .However limited services

Such a lovely place to stop & break up a journey. So much better than services with cafe chains. Friendly, helpful staff & good range of food, reasonably priced 😁

Very friendly staff and helpful

Value for money, Extremely helpful staff. Wheelchair friendly. Great portions.

We stop here every time we travel to Cornwall from Cambridge. The breakfast baps are amazing! Nice little green area outside for the kids to run around. Toilets are clean. Plenty of parking.

THE CAFE IS PERFECTLY FINE BUT THE WOMEN'S TOILETS ARE AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE WHY HAVE THE PERFECTLY RESPECTABLE & WELL MAINTAINED TOILETS THAT HAVE BEEN THERE FOR YEARS BEEN REPLACED ????? THERE ARE NOW FEWER OF THEM - ONLY ONE WAS WORKING ON THE DAY OF OUR VISIT (NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE WITH THE PREVIOUS TOILETS) THE ENTIRE AREA HAS BEEN MADE 50% SMALLER (WHY ??????) IT'S NOW UGLY UNFRIENDLY UNWORKABLE AND WHOEVER THE BUILDER WAS ON THIS JOB OUGHT TO BE MADE TO REFUND ALL OF THE MONEY HE/THEY WERE PAID TO THE COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL WITH THE PERSON RESPONSOBLE FOR HIRING THE BUILDER SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. AS A SOMERSET TAX PAYER THIS IS AN OUTRAGE A DEPLORABLE DECISION BY THE COUNCIL (IS THIS HIGHWAYS ???? & DEPLORABLE TOILETS WHICH SHOULD BE REBUILT ASAP

Great place for a break along the A303.

Well, my favourite English breakfast! Lovely people and a nice environment! They just don't have coconut water! 😊

Nice rest area Everything clean and tidy Suitable for children and dogs

Great place to stop for a break and food.

Nice and clean. Lovely food, especially yummy barra brith cake. Got a friendly local feel to it.

Lovely food. Efficient service.

First stop on the way to Cornwall

Great place to break the journey.

Brilliant! We stopped here for a coffee and picnic. It was incredibly busy but the staff were smiley and friendly. Delicious coffee served quickly.

Great, good value hot food. Good for bikers. It's on the A303 (albeit set back from the road) so not picturesque, but has outside seating with trees so all good.

We stopped off here on the way to Cornwall. It is a lovely little cafe and services off the A303. Definitely worth a visit when travelling this way. Also a great place for the dogs (and the humans) to stretch their legs as well. The food was nice here and a quick service.

A good large breakfast for under £10 and really quick service . Nice coffee too

Amazing place to stop. Friendly staff and great service. Lots of space to sit down and eat or have a nice coffee. Clean toilets and homemade food. Lovely big outside area for picnics or to just to stretch ur legs

Great place for a picnic, walk your dog, and grab a coffee

Amazing cafe, we’ve been bringing our DofE group here en route from Andover to Exmoor for years. Amazing food, quick service and incredible staff. A brilliant stopping point if you’re heading up or down the A303

Great place for a stop and to break the journey

Fair play to the chef, breakfast menu was still being served but still cooked 2 cheese burgers and chips for us.

What's happened to Cartgate? Used to be a great place to stop, but now the information office has closed and the recently refurbished toilets are in a disgusting state.

I do feel as u drive in the place needs some sort of a way to slow the speed of the cars down. Twice today 2 different cars drove past us at great speed this is totally unacceptable as we are in a car park. U need to sort this out sooner rather than later

Good food, good prices, clean and tidy too

Stopped on A303 trip. Convenient for tea.

Breakfast was great and freshly cooked. I was as met with a warm and friendly welcome.

Lovely stop to and from the West Country, a hidden gem.

We just got a coffee but the food menu made our tummies rumble. Kicking ourself for not visiting before (we are up and down the a303 regularly)

Absolutely spot on . Food , service and an oasis on the A303 .

Had the breakfast bap with hash brown, egg, and bacon. Love that you could choose what items you wanted to have in the breakfast bap. Good pricing at £5 for a bap with 3 items, and in a prime location too!

A really fab breakfast menu - catering beautifully for vegan and GF (we usually find one of us gets the short straw!). Really friendly and jovial staff and all very efficient and enjoyable. Good value too! Looking at the traditional lunch fare, my husband was all in favour of staying!!

Update 13.03.2025 We have now stopped here loads of times, food is lovely, had liver and bacon today, coffee is really good, nice cakes etc prices very reasonable. The road and parking have been resurfaced and the outside of the cafe now looks very spring like! Staff are always lovely and friendly too Have driven past dozens of times and missed this! Cafe and shop were closed, but we will be back when they are open. Lovely picnic area and toilets, including a disabled one.

Cracking place to stop. Reasonable prices and great grub. Staff brilliant 👏👏👏👏

Loverly independent place to stop for a bite to eat

Excellent food staff really polite and served quickly.

Stopped to empty the dog. He seemed happy with the grass. He didn't poop but did pee so objectives achieved. Didnt going the cafe but it smelt amazing and was fairly busy which is always a good sign

A convenient stop off, plenty of parking. Spacious cafe serving very good, reasonably priced food served extremely quickly. I can recommend the Small Breakfast 😋

Friendly atmosphere and good honest food at a very reasonable price.

This is such a welcoming place to stop for a break and some lovely food.

Great cafe when on the move, just off the A303, at the Yeovil turnoff

Great little cafe in a good location. An excellent rest stop.

Great place to stop and stretch also has a lovely cafe reasonably priced and public toilets

Disclaimer - this is not a review about the food, we have no issues with that. Have stopped here for many years as its a great place to walk the dogs and have a break. They've been updating the toilets for several months and finally got to see them recently. All I can say is they are horrible now. They are dirty, no paper, no soap in the washers. They were a little tired but were always spotless. I'm guessing they no longer employ someone to look after them during the day.

Beautiful place with real character. Highly recommend & it's certainly unique in every possible place. 10/10 SUPERB!

Always stop here on route to Devon, usually for picnic and to use facilities, clean well run and a choice of what to eat and drink in cafe

70p extra for non-dairy milk. Also, I ordered a flat white and got given large mug, half weak coffee, half milk. I asked for a new drink and was told that my understanding (and that of every other coffee shop I know and Wikipedia) of a flat-white was wrong.

Always a good stop off walk the dog and have a refreshing drink

This is just a review for the coffee to say do not waste your money. £4 for essentially frothy milk. Absolutely not anything resembling a cappuccino. The latte was equally bad/tasteless. Cannot comment on the food or other drink offerings, but wanted to give a word of warning to others passing by.

A halfway stop from home to Devon for a breakfast. The welcome was warm and friendly, the quality and quantity of food was just right and excellent coffee. They catered very well for the Gluten free needs of the family and left us all together very happy and ready for the rest of the journey.

Ok for a quick bite on your journey.

very happy staff only had coffee but it was good

Called in on way to dorset, the works that were going on, have now been completed, with the toilets re furbished, it is a lovely place to stop off.

Best breakfast I've had. Loved it. Staff were lovely too. Felt very welcome. Would definitely recommend

Great freshly cooked breakfast 😋

Always a lovely little spot to stop. Food always looks like really good quality. Quiet and safe

Stopped for teas, coffee, sausage rolls and pasties all delicious

Toilet's very clean 🫧 full time very nice lady work's there. Take's pride in her job. Cafe excellent. Nice picnic 🧺 area and a place to run the dog's. Car electric ⚡ charging etc. If on on long journey a place to break the boredom for the kids. Just been resurfaced.

Stopped at Cartgate for a break on my drive to Cornwall. The cafe itself cannot be faulted with good food and drink at reasonable prices and would definitely recommend However the 'temporary' toilet facilities leave a lot to be desired. Being disabled I used the single disabled unit - it was dirty, untidy and the toilet seat itself was covered in excrement which looked dried on. These facilities need checking regularly. Not sure who is responsible for them as there was no sign indicating who to report problems to.

Pulled in for a short rest and few refreshments before continuing on our way home from a trip to Cornwall the premises where clean fresh and the staff where cheerful and helpful tables where Absolutely spotless the carpark was busy but plenty of space and the hgv driver were friendly as well great little place to have a break great job keep it up

Always a welcome break on our travels from home in Cornwall to visit relations in Hampshire and Surrey have been stopping here since the 80s At the moment the outside toilets are being refurbished. So there temporary smaller toilets. The picnic area and cafe are still available.

Food is fine, service is good. Shower available, parking free.

Rude server when asked if we could bring dog in, suggested update of website, to which she tried to argue against rather than agree, when showed her evidence. Problem was her attitude not the face we couldn't take our dog. She said dogs haven't been allowed in cafe for 4 years. Mediocre breakfast, overcooked eggs. Pass through few miles if heading to Cornwall and go to farm shop, or pub that serves all you an eat breakfasts.... Disappointing visit.

We've been here a few times before. My partner ordered some chips and was shouted at by a very rude lady we don't serve chips until 11.30. It was 11.25 my partner apologised and said he was willing to wait. To which the chef brought them out and particularly throw them at my partner. We thought ok maybe just having a bad day really not an excuse but we all have them. On wayhome we popped in as I need to use toilet.I ordered 2 cheese and onion pasties to which we we've both given steak pasties both of us are vegetarian so waist of money Lady was aggressive in her manner.im unsure if she's a little hard of hearing or just naturally loud but if she wants to go to the kitchen and talk about customers really she should lower her voice . Very bad service will not be returning.

Just popped in for a coffee extra shot as like it strong, shock horror 2 coffees £9.50. Coffee was so disgusting tasted like muck couldn't even drink it so left untouched absolutely appalling.

Disappointed, this has been a favourite stop between Cornwall and Sussex for years. Currently have temporary toilets, not enough of them, no water so no flushing toilets or washing hands and no hand towel. Went into the cafe to change my 5 month old baby to be told they don't have a baby change even though I know they do as I've used it before! Food usually good but pre packed cakes used to be lovely now not so good. Shame.

Good place to stop and fascinating decor. Quite a surprise, that.

Can I just put on this page The Toilets have Nothing what so ever to do with cartgate Cafe ,Highways agency is Totally in control of them ,so if you have any negative comments please direct them on there google site

The cafe was closed yesterday, it was boxing day. Temp toilet block, needs looking after better.

Great pit stop for your journey.

Stopped here through necessity and boy am I glad I did. The size of a services with a huge picnic area and that friendly personal service you just don’t get anymore with chains. Food was hot, quick of such a good quality if left me gobsmacked. With the many issues on the A303, knowing this gem amongst the trees is here is a welcome relief.

Avoid at all costs. Staff would not allow my wife and 6 month baby use the baby changing facilities as it was for 'staff only'. One member of staff was then very rude when questioned about it and raised her voice in front of our child.

Great place for a decent fry up whilst traveling! Good food, clean dining area and nice staff.

Great stop on journey for coffee and comfort break

Absolutely fantastic place. Staff friendly and helpful. Drinks were hot and able to take away.

Nice stop free parking and lovely food

Bit of a building site and work in progress at the moment outside the café. Portable loos still available but all ok.

Much better than the usual mainstream services. Good food at reasonable prices

They are carrying out works on the toilets, but still maintaining their standards. It is ideally situated, and the cafe is good.

Always a great place to stop. Alot easier than normal services and cheaper and friendlier.

Convenient place to stop, stretch ya legs, have a wee, and maybe even a picnic 😉😊 Quite pleasant location, but the only thing that 'Lets it down' are the toilets which are often quite smelly! BUT (as at 171124) seems like they are 'modernising' them! Temporary ones in place.

Don’t bother…worst coffee and expensive greasy food…stop at South Petherton Greggs…save yourself the embarrassment…

Yummy sandwich, wanted to sit in but no dogs allowed thought tbh it's not exactly nice inside. Good staff though and good food.

Great. Nice, clean cafe. Very friendly and obliging staff and great food. Plenty of choice for both meat eaters and vegetarian/vegans. Able to sit inside and outside. Perfect for a lunch stop.

Was meant to be a 10 min stop only but ended up buying 2 delicious pasties

Always stop here when I can, whilst using the A303. Reasonable prices for roadside services and the toilets are usually clean, with some nice extra touches! Staff work hard to please and there are vegan options which have been good quality and decent size portions. Details below are regarding my latest visit but have often dined in for brunch, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner!

The best breakfast by far.....great service, fantastic food. Plenty of space and plenty of parking spaces. 👍👍

Such a Shame ! I have been coming to this cafe for over 30 years going back and forth to West Country, seen this cafe go from a 24hr stop with great honest food at a realistic price, over the years it has reduced it’s opening hour ( which I do understand due to cost ) but the food had gone down a little and prices have now risen which I think is now over priced, there are now more pre packed sandwiches and cakes which are pricey, I went in last week and asked for scrambled egg on brown toast to which I was told that they cannot do scrambled egg on Saturdays as they are to busy and only fried eggs were on offer, I went with the fried eggs and another plate of baked beans on toast, food arrived quickly on white toast, beans not really hot and fried eggs hard, two cups of tea and £15:00 later. Not great value. I think that in future if I want poor food with no real option I will go to the fast food chains that are increasingly available on the A303…please do not advertise that you can cater for individuals when you might be able to do that when it is not busy or is convenient for the business.