Colonels Cafe in Dover

With a group of friends we went to the East Kent Railway for my "train driving experience" on a day when there was no regular service. The light, airy, very pleasant cafe was open (as it is on every day except Mondays), so we had lunch first. There is a good choice of snacks on the menu (can certainly recommend the ham, egg and chips) and our meals were served quickly by very friendly, chatty staff. The meals were excellent value for money. There's plenty of seating (both inside and outside) on socially distanced tables. The cafe is also dog friendly and there is also a large car park nearby.

I happened to be visiting a friend in nearby Elvington, and thought I would pop in on the railway today (Thursday 1st July). I didn't expect it to be open, and indeed no trains were running, but I was really impressed to find that their cafe was open and very welcoming. The lady serving, Leahnie, was delightful and they had a good range of options - especially considering it was a day with no trains running. I work for a heritage railway myself, and was pleased to have the opportunity to support the work of the East Kent Railway and enjoy lunch in the peace and quiet of their Colonel's Cafe. I discovered that the cafe is open every day expect Monday. If you happen to be in the area, and want to know that what you pay for your lunch is going to a good cause, then I highly recommend the railway's cafe. Whilst I parked in the neighbouring mainline railway station car park, you can drive through the open gate and there is a large free car park just beyond the cafe.

Highly recommend. Gentlemen who took our orders also gave us w lot of advise & many ideas with the Surround area. The place it’s self Offered gluten-free lemon cake but friends highly recommend milkshakes which which ‘ to die for?& ‘ 

Fabulous breakfast and lovely service with a smile Good value for money We’ll be back again soon, thank you!!

breakfast is our main reason for a visit ,not a fancy venue but a decent variety of simple fare and pleasant ladies cooking and serving

Stopped here on a ride out in the Kent countryside. The cafe is part of the Heritage Railway in Shepherswell; the ladies working in the cafe were really friendly and the omelette beans and chips I chose were excellent and the portion size was very generous. Definitely a stopping point on future travels.

Sited at the East Kent Railway, this is well priced cafe, with good food and great service. I had a breakfast baguette and my wife had a bacon sandwich; these were as good as we've ever had. Well worth a visit whether you're a railway fan or not!

Nice play area for children and set adjacent to the Railway station which was interesting for the little one. The breakfast wasn’t absolutely terrible but priced quite high for what you get. We spent £13 on one breakfast, two coffees and a sausage sandwich. Which in theory is probably reasonable but the coffees were horrible, basically just sour hot water.

Excellent food , great value for money and really friendly staff, the setting is about as perfect you can get and as an added bonus ,Wednesday evening from 6pm is a classic/vintage motorcycle meet

Varied menu. Good value for money. All profits help run the preserved railway which was designed and built by Colonel Stephens to serve the Kent coal fields..

We visited the Colonels Café at the East Kent railway’s Shepherdswell station as part of a trip to the railway with our grandchildren on a Sunday in March. We found the railway station fairly easily being a short distance from the junction for Shepherdswell on the A2 and conveniently located in Station Road. The station has a large car park and we got parked up very easily. If you choose to travel via public transport then Shepherdswell mainline railway station is very short distance from the East Kent railway station.Entrance to the site itself seems to be free with the visitor buying tickets for the train journey if required once ‘on site’ and so presumably there is no restriction on the casual visitor solely using the café for refreshment.The Colonels Café is located in a reasonably large building and once inside it is quite bright courtesy of the light colour scheme and plenty of windows. The walls are decorated with photographs of the railway, and in one corner is a play area for small children to play with toy trains and cars and also some age appropriate books for them to read or be read to. The café has a quite comprehensive choice of snacks and drinks ranging from a cup of tea biscuits and crisps to a full English breakfast and we thought the prices were reasonable. The interior appeared to be well kept and clean and the staff here were all friendly and helpful. A separate toilet block is located close by.We used the café twice during our visit, once for a hot drink on our arrival in the morning and later during the day for something to eat, and on both occasions found it to be an enjoyable experience.

Because it close to home always been a good place for a dog walk followed by a full English on a Sunday pure bliss.... However there is big news now you can get a Sunday Lunch but as it’s popular you need to book which we duly did. For a tenner a head we indulged in Roast Beef and a dessert. Amazing armed with a couple of bottles of vino that we took with us we dug into a superb Sunday Lunch that I can’t recommend enough because we didn’t have to cook it lol. Veggies and potatoes all perfect with a very large portion of beef. So if you want a Wanda around the trains or around the woods and the trenches from war followed by some decent grub then add this place to you list

Friendly place, good cooking good value, comfortable; followed by a walk in the woodland or a train-ride.

Recommend the huge breakfast. If not, try the sausage, bacon and fried egg baguettes. You wont be disappointed.

We visited on beer festival saturday. The beer wasflowing from the said Tent and so therefore scran was needed to fill our bellies! The trick is to order in good time before the train chugs off to Eythorne.We went for cheese burgers and chips, others for bacon and burger rolls . We were all happy with the food well cooked and terribly unhealthy. BEER SPONGE comes to mind. Good service , great atmosphere.

If you are looking for a nice hearty full english breakfast in Shepherdswell, I would recommend this cafe. Staff were very nice and the place was spotless. Added bonus of a backdrop of the heritage railway station and trains

It's not really British Rail it's far more superior. But here we have the benefit of lots of trainy interest. The cafe is a delight it was a lazy Saturday morning outside in the sun or in doors you can order your cooked breakfast veggie option is also a delight. Can't recommend it enough and great value also. Luckily the attraction is a short walk from home and it will be a regular haunt

Another fantastic breakfast at Colonels Cafe. Great food, lovely staff and yet another free sausage for Boris 👍 See you soon guys.

Once again our family have used the colonels cafe (5 adults 2 children). Seeing at it was mothers day the cafe was very busy with people taking mum out for breakfast/lunch. We all had a lovely roast beef dinner. The meal sizes were more than generous and very reasonably priced at £7.50 for roast and £2.50 for pudding. The cafe itself could seat about 40 people with seating outside for approx 20/25. Staff are friendly and will cater for any needs if possible, you just have to ask. Well worth a visit.