Cliff Top Cafe in North Devon

Called here on a weekday afternoon for a break while out and about on holiday. Good range on food and drinks. The sausage rolls are particularly tasty. The coffee and cakes are also very enjoyable. Staff are all very friendly and welcoming. Seating onside is a little limited, but that adds to the overall charm. Good views out to sea. Highly recommend.

We got there after a ride down and up from Lynmouth and a wander around Lynton. It was late afternoon and so we had a table inside with a beautiful view over the sea. The scones were great even though we had plenty of others during our stay in Devon. Nice staff too.

Placed my order for me and my family etc which came to around £30. I was visibly 30 weeks pregnant and asked if they had a toilet I could quickly use, man in the shop said no, and I would have to carry on waking to top of the cliff and next to the town hall was the nearest toilets. I then found a hair mixed into the scone dough after my first bite; then went back inside the shop to notify them but to my disbelief I saw customers using a toilet inside the cafe. I asked the lady on the counter why did they tell me to walk to the town hall when they had a customer toilet- to which she rudely replied “customers only”- I said I was a customer and had asked about this prior, whilst paying for my order then her reply changed to “it must have been busy”. I don’t like to bring up the race card, but definitely did feel alienated as they couldn’t give me a valid reason why i was refused. Shame as definitely ruined the start off the half term break in Devon. I would not recommend! Shame about the attitude of the cafe staff as the cliff railway staff were all lovely.

Nice cafe for a quick refreshment break, cakes look good, and had a nice cup of tea. Dog friendly inside also, but it’s pretty small inside.

Excellent place , well worth a visit Great to ride on the cliff railway as well, and a walk around lynton and lynmouth.

Nice little cafe with coffee, cake, pasties, and sausage rolls. Also, some souvenirs for purchase. We bought a steak pasty and sausage roll; both were good but pricey. #travelwithtentbox

Great cafe on top of the iconic cliff railway, nice food, however the environmentally friendly cardboard packaging is 'a bit over the top'. Would prefer an old fashioned cup and saucer. Hey ho shouldn't really complain.

Great scones, very fresh, amazing views, sat outside even in the drizzle! Reasonably priced for the portion size. Got the monopoly as right by the exit of the cliff railway.

All food home made and uses locally sourced produce taste great very friendly staff

Delicious gluten free cheese & onion pasty and gluten free cream tea. Lovely staff and fantastic views too!

Good choice of food not a big menu but good for a snack. Amazingly large cream tea. Lovely scenic spot to sit inside or out. Lovely staff

Nice friendly cafe. Can get busy but the food was prompt and service was good. Thay also had a jar of free dog biscuits 🍪 for you to take one for your dog. Would recommend 👍

Had a scone with jam and cream and a coffee. Scone was huge and exceptionally tasty. Used this little cafe several times for pasties and drinks as well.view from outside seats great

Great location, huge tasty scones and cream tea. Sadly served in takeaway containers, despite eating in, which detracted from the experience and not very environmentally friendly.

Huge, delicious scones as part of a cream tea. They were freshly baked and came with generous portions of jam and clotted cream. Highly recommended but a bit dangerous for your waistline.

The service was very slow as there was only 2 ladies working. The lady serving did not seem happy in her work! Decided to eat outside and my scone was served in a polystyrene takeaway box and my sausage roll in a paper bag. Sausage roll gave me terrible heartburn. As for the scone, it had hardly any taste and it was very doughy and I could only eat the half that was less doughy!! Not a pleasant experience and will never eat there again. The box may not have been polystyrene but it was a takeaway box (we were not talking our food away but eating at one of your tables. A plate would have been nice!!! The owners reply that I should know what gives me heartburn, I do and sausage rolls do not normally affect me. One of my friends also had a sausage roll and it repeated on her all afternoon and some of the pastry was not cooked properly!

I must have visited the same day as the previous customer..very similar experience..shame after being enticed by the temptation of a large scone by the bill boards..Scone was very doughy and not at all scone like in texture..maybe cook had a bad day? Maybe would have looked a bit more appetising on a plate rather than in box?. Had a sausage roll also which was tasty but pastry slightly undercooked..overall very underwhelming taste experience. View however is amazing if your are fortunate enough to find a seat on the terrace overlooking the sea..if not then tad cramped in tea room surrounded by queue of eagerly anticipating customers.

Nice pink lemonade Magnum ice-cream. Service a bit slow

As locals, we come here from time to time as the views are amazing. Shame about the miserable lady behind the counter. Never seen her crack a smile yet and verges on the rude. Now thinking we will go elsewhere because of the amount of disposable packaging. We made a point of taking a table inside so we would qualify for china cups but we're told they were too busy for washing up. Don't care that the packaging is theoretically recyclable; that still uses unnecessary processes and energy, plus it's so much nicer to drink from a real cup! Love that the funicular is fully water-powered and environmentally responsible. Perhaps some new management at the cafe would bring the whole experience up to 5 stars.

We were very excited to try this cafe after a long arduous walk to the top of Lynton Cliff. The lady serving us had a bit of an attitude and was not very welcoming. The scone was undercooked in the middle, very doughy. Ended up spending the night on the loo! The 2 star is for the size of the scone. Will not be returning

Quite possibly the biggest and best scone we have ever had. Service was good and the scone and tea was amazing. Scone served with absolutely lovely clotted cream and jam! Want to go back already!

Lovely location perched on the cliff edge overhanging the railway track. Very friendly staff and an excellent "value for money" fresh cream tea, the scones were enormous. Immaculately clean in the cafe and around the area.

We stopped at the Cliff Top Cafe and had a cream tea. One plain scone and one fruit scone. The scones were massive and very tasty. The staff were very helpful and friendly. The cafe was clean and tidy. If we are back in the area we will pop back in again! The views out the window down to the sea were lovely!

We had a cream tea each probably should of got one between us and a extra cup of tea the scones are large if you sit outside it is served in a box and disposable cup. Would of been nice to have a cup and plate and teapot which is how I think of a cream tea but it was still ok

Amazing experience. Only one water powered in the world. Lovely shops at top when u get off. A must do x

We had a cream tea here and the scones were so large we couldn’t eat it all - quick, efficient service. The scones were delicious. We would definitely visit again

Looked down on the sea front for somewhere to have a cream tea and decided to chance the Cliff Top Cafe after my better half saw some pics and we were going to use the funny colour railway (😉). NOT disappointed at all. We got the 'special', which on this day was fruit & chocolate, with cream & jam (may seem a weird combination but it was very good). Scone was large, light texture and really tasty. The cream and jam was not stinted on either. Altogether, one of the best cream teas I've had, though the setting, the weather and being 'on holiday' may have added to the overall experience 😀. When the weather is good the seating area is a lovely place to sit, watching the train riders go by and it's an attractive location in its own right! Service was quick and pleasant. Paper cups to facilitate easy & quick service (I think!). Overall, highly recommended 👌 👍 😉

Ordered 2 iced lattes and 1 tea plus 2 treacle tarts and a scone. Was asked if we was sitting in then before being given a chance to answer was told "no you'll be sitting outside". Was then given everything in takeaway although we was still sitting on cafe owned tables and would've sat on a table inside if a clean one was available. No lid on any drinks and filled up which was a spillage risk and in the case of the tea a health and safety risk as could cause burns. Scone was warmed yet the cream was very cold so made it difficult to spread causing the scone to fall apart when trying to spread it. The treacle tarts also had little flavour

The two women who served us were rude with zero customer service skills. We had to sit outside due to the small amount of seating inside. We sat right outside on the table that directly infront of the door that belonged to the cafe but were still forced to drink hot and cold drinks out of cardboard cups and eat out of polystyrene with wooden forks. The drinks were okay. But the scone was disappointing and dry. And the treacle tart was equally disappointing. Not a good way to end our trip to the area.

The scones & cream tea was delicious…. however we were very dismayed by the waste. We ate outside & were given disposable cups & our cream tea was served in a throw away container. Extremely wasteful & unnecessary which was such a shame for an otherwise lovely experience. Jam & cream were served in plastic pots. Surely washing up isn’t that hard?!

Best (and biggest!) scones I've seen so far, superb views and loved having scones served on a slate!

Century old engineering Marvel..

I visited the cafe whilst on holiday in Devon. It's a lovely little cafe with lots of homemade cakes and local tea. I am gluten and dairy free so I was unsure if they would have a sweet offering. I was so pleased on discovering they did. I ordered a mug of tea and a flapjack and I can honestly say it was as good as my Mums! Delicious! The view was stunning, looking down the hill on to the beach. I would highly recommend a visit whilst in Lynmouth.

This little cafe was the icing on the cake for going up the cliff railway. Beautiful view, pasties are big and yummy. Scones were beautiful, would suggest one to share, but they do come in take away containers, so we took our second one away with us. The tea comes in a large takeaway cup, so for me, I felt like more for my money.

Good, friendly people. Quick service. Delicious huge scones. Nice view.

Biggest scone I've ever seen, lovely coffee and amazing view. What more could you ask for! Good prices and lovely friendly service, one word of caution though as I don't see any toilets up there so be sure to go before you go up! Large selection of drinks and cakes, plenty of outside seating where you can enjoy the view

Mug of tea , steak pasty and bread pudding with a great view of the railway from the windows and very nice atmosphere. Team very professional, efficient and keeping very high standards. Wonderful. 😊👍😊

Inside full of files and no one sat in there. Charged £16 for 2 teas in paper cups and 2 small leek and potato (?) Soups in paper cups!!!

We popped over for the day from Butlins as we have done previously. This time we decided to pop into the cliff top cafe and glad we did. The home made bread pudding was the most delicious one I've ever had and the coffee was absolutely perfect (they received 3 other compliments on their coffee from other customers whilst we were there). As a regular coffee drinker and somewhat ashamed to say I can easily have 5/6 a day... My cardiologist will says it's bad... But this coffee was splendid along with the bread pudding. Highly recommended ! My 18 month old toddler also recommends the bread pudding from helping me finish it :)

Wonderful experience coming up the steam cliff train. At the top you'll find a little cafe with wonderful snacks and coffee with an absolutely fantastic view of the bay. Well worth a visit when in lynmouth.

The people that run and work on the cliff railway are always so nice and clearly have a passion for it.

Lovely cakes. Please don't microwave my scone!!! Service is pretty slow as there's one person making all of the drinks.

Lovely little dog friendly cafe. Very impressed with the variety of Gluten Free and Dairy free options

A lovely lunch stop after a walk with friends. Dog friendly, lovely home made soup and sandwich. Very friendly staff. We will be back.

Best scone I have had in a very long time. Highly recommended if you are in the area to try this place.

We have visited this cafe on a few occasions but sadly won't be coming back anytime soon. We had a tea and a coffee as we was hoping to grab something when we came back up. My husband asked to use the toilet and was refused and told to go down and use the free toilet. I have no idea why as on other visits we have been able to. The drinks used to be in China cups and as I have tea I used to get a teapot. All i got this time was a papercup. We decided not to spend any further money in this cafe due to the lack of facilities.

Lovely fresh and large scone with nice fruity jam and cream. Lovely views over the bay also right at the top of the cliff railway

Lovely cafe with amazing views. I have been on a gluten free diet all my life and this cafe had so much to offer. The gf steak pasty I had was delicious with fantastic pastry. I just wish I’d had room to try a gf scone as well!

Wonderful cakes, tea and the view is wonderful

A fabulous experience for only 3 each way at.time of writing. Reassuring drivers for nervous passenger and dog.friendly. alternate walk if you don't like the tram

Just popped in for a take away tea and cake. Reasonable prices.

Nice ice cream and coffee and clean covered place to sit but unfortunately no toilets

Very good place for coffee and cake fabulous views.

The scones in particular are really nice and the views while your stuffing your 4th into your mouth are unparalleled!

Food was excellent. Amazing views.

Staff were so friendly and helpful even though they were clearly very busy. They took their time to talk to people about their food and service. Food was quickly prepared and delicious.

We were very disappointed with this cafe but the good first it has a great view thats it. Had tasteless scones, the service was extremely disorganised and unfriendly looks rather dirty. Lots of other lovely places to eat i would avoid this place on our next visit.

lovely cosy little cafe with great views of the cliff railway! friendly staff, great coffee and cake! highly recommended

Great food and friendly service, great view but seemed a bit run down. A poster covering a broken window and wasps getting in upsetting other people inside.

Best views in north devon while having your tea and cakes

A small cafe , more outside seating than inside , but well worth stopping for light meals , snacks and drinks. The scones were superb, large , very fresh , delicious and associated with clotted cream and a pot of tea. Perfect, and all served by very friendly and helpful staff.

Visited on Sunday 19/02/23. Post our first seasonal ride up the Cliff Railway, we tried out the Cliff Top Cafe and their famous "Giant" scones. Note not so giant as well as quite dry and tasteless. Disappointing. Disposable crockery and cutlery are poor when all other sites are using crockery and metal cutlery again.

Superb cafe with the biggest scones I've seen... We eat the lot.... Service was superb.

The view is tremendous. That is why I insisted on this cafe. Everyone in the group , five people, had pasties. Mine was supposed to be cheese (and onion from memory) but they gave me a vegetable one instead, this I found out when I bit into it and thought it tasted off for a cheesy one . I swapped it with a family member. After we had ordered, we had to make numerous trips from the cafe to our seating areas, with the drinks and pasties. No tray was offered and I didn’t see any available. The staff saw us struggling but didn’t offer any assistance. It was a bit busy, I don’t know if that is why. I felt the quality of the food was okay but nothing special.

Dis not stop for food, although it did look OK- pleasant ride down the cliff face £3.50 pp each way, a return ticket was not an option thou ? - feel like that should be an option

Visited on Sunday and see that they advertised a wide selection of pasties including Vegan options, and a Vegan sausage roll…. Perfect as hubby is vegan! There were plenty of other options too for myself, not having any dietary requirements! We were looking forward to eating here and taking in the magnificent views…. sadly this wasn’t to be as the lady serving informed me that there was nothing vegan left on the menu and only 2 varieties of pasties left out of their wide selection. Quite surprised as it wasn’t like it was near the end of the day or anything, in fact the railway was still open for a further 4 hours after this point. We ended up leaving with an empty stomach and just the bottled drinks we brought and the lady telling me I’d be lucky to find anything else open on a Sunday! Thank fully we did find a few and opted for a lovely cafe down the hill which had a good selection of vegan options.

Lovely hot scone and cream and jam And lovely hot choclate

Amazing scones and tea.. 5 stars and the views wow..

Fantastic home baked cakes and hot drinks available. Amazing clifftop views. Outdoor and indoor seating available.

Staff were incredibly friendly and helpful especially with dietary requirements and the food was excellent. Views spectacular and the railway is one of only three in the world!

Me and my brother stop here for a cream tea and have to say the best and biggest scones I’ve ever tasted

Short ride but very pleasing, with great views to see from the top of the town. You can also walk to the top.

Amazing for gluten free and vegan in combo! Wonderfully kind and welcoming staff. Nothing is too much trouble. The best gluten free scone I have tried. Beautiful view from the cafe window too. Brilliant for families including dogs too.

Beautiful views, service was excellent. I have to have a gluten free diet and the choice is superb. I love the giant scones, would recommend

I cannot praise the Clifftop Cafe Lynton North Devon highly enough, I visited with my son and his partner who were visiting me from Switzerland. The cafe is spotless, beautifully decorated, but above all the food is exceptional! A “true” homemade cafe, fresh as fresh can be, we had delicious sandwiches on soft fresh extra thick granary bread, cream teas “to die for” homemade, enormous, absolutely delicious, and generous portions of thick clotted cream and jam! The coffee and tea was very high quality, beautiful large mugs (looked like local pottery made) and the husband and wife team delightful and very welcoming. If you visit Lynton the Clifftop cafe is “a must” and as an added bonus, I’d situated literally at the cliff lift station, you can watch the world famous Lynton & Lynmouth cliff lift gliding up and down to a backdrop of stunning cliffs and beaches, I will definitely be back!!!

Huge and wonderful scones for cream tea. Sit by the window for a stunning view over the bay.

Nice café, an essential pit stop to take in the view after the cliff top railway. Seating inside and outside (both with a view).The scones are HUGE, easily shareable and a fair price 🙂

After spending a few hours in Lynmouth, we used the vehicular railway to come back up to Lynton, we had our lunch of sandwiches and coffee at this little cafe, which were absolutely delicious.

Really nice place the two lady's were so nice, had some pastys and probley the best cream tea ever the scones were superb and huge. Thanks guys

The first couple of cafes / coffee shops we tried in Lynton had none, and next to none, vegan / vegetarian options. Then we tried the Cliff Top Café (situated next to the top station of the cliff railway) and they had many options to choose from. All food was severed in take-away containers and varied from OK to good. My scone was a bit dry and thus fell to bits when I cut it open and tried to put the jam then cream on it; drinks were OK.

Very large scone, plenty for two!

This is the first cafe you come to, as you step off the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, so it’s inevitable that it’s busy. We had quite a wait before we were served but the coffee, cake and stunning sea views made it worthwhile. Living in landlocked Derbyshire, it’s not every day that I get chance to have such a wonderful view of the sea whilst having my elevenses!

Amazing giant scone , views and friendly staff. The actually train ride is worth every penny as it’s old and unique. £3.30 each way.

If you decide to walk the hill you will be desperate for a quick coffee before going down on the railway. this is the ideal place at the railway entrance Its small but does what it says on the tin .

I have visited this cafe in previous years and found it surprisingly delightful with good tea and coffee and yummy treats. The service was also good. Unfortunately I've visited twice in the past week and found that if drinking or eating outside you are given disposable cups plates etc and even if you eat indoors you get a mug of tea no teapot or even a teaspoon to be found and the toasted teacake was stale and tasteless. Sadly, I won't be back.

What breathtaking views and so clean too. However if you charge £2.50 for a cup of tea then please display it is £2.50 on the board as its not £2.25 anymore is it? x

Excellent choice of cakes including good gluten free selection including scones for cream tea. Largest normal scone we've seen. Good selection of teas and coffee too

Gluten free and dairy free cream tea with a scone the size of tea plate. Home made scones. Eco friendly packaging. Wide range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free food available. Great view across the coastline. Big range of gluten free vegan cakes as well.

Lynton is a lovely place to visit and was looking forward to a cream tea at the cliff top cafe. My 3 children were deciding what they wanted and and my son chose and left his order with me and sat outside with his dad. As he left one of the servers accused my son of taking a drink without paying, he had nothing in his hands. When she realised she was mistaken I had no apology. She was very rude and I won't be returning.

We have been holidaying in Somerset/Devon for many years and yet never stopped for something at the Cliff Top Cafe. We both had the hot chocolate with marshmallows on the top. My wife had a scone with jam and cream and I had a Pasty. The lady serving went into the kitchen to check the pasty's coming out of the oven were hot enough to eat The scones had also just come out of the oven as shown by the butter melting nicely when spread on them. If anybody thinks these are being microwaved then they must be thick, totally different type of heat and will produce a wet product not crisp as they were. good to see local business being supported Miles tea and coffee etc, were back down for a week in October with our three dogs and we will make sure we stop again for a light bite

As always #Awesome. Great scone, jam and cream. Always visit when in Lynton generally due to the size of the scones #huge 🤣🤣 I do however miss the slate plate and presentation you used to get pre covid. The cardboard container and plastic tubs just aren't the same. Thats to take nothing away from the delicious cream tea and the awesome view 😋 😍 Albie loved licking the plastic pot of it's cream 😋 Update Thank you for the response to the review. Sorry about the pots, my mistske, but yes will definitely be back 👍🏻👌🏻🌞

A gorgeous cream tea ruined by being served in environmentally harmful disposable containers. An enormous and very nicely baked scone. Unfortunately only enough cream for one side of it.

A nice treat on a sunny day. Devon cream tea. Amazing scone!

Cute historical cafe on the top of the hill tram. We had Tea and yummy cake, with a beautiful view!

This is the best place for cream teas! The scene, amazing, the jam was delicious, we have tried cream teas all over devon and this one was definitely the best. The views also stunning!

Lovely food, can eat in or out. Great views over the sea.

What a great experience. Well priced and well worth a visit. Great little cafe at the top of the ride.

Fab views, coffee and feature scone. Nice staff and a great coffee stop.

Great place for Gluten Free options, lots of nice cakes to choose from which was really pleasing

Just the best vegan scones on the planet. We went back for more! Amazing. Could not recommend more highly.