Empire Cafe in West Berkshire

I love the pathetic negative reviews, this a hidden gem, full of charm. We had the most wonderful breakfast. The sausages are from a local butcher and are amazing as with the rest of it. Yes it's old fashioned. Bit that is what makes it so special. I'm sure most of the people that leave negative reviews have been way to pampered all there lives. So if that's you stick to Costa and Starbucks. After all they need all the money they can get. Then lovely local, family run business will be gone forever.

Had large breakfast, sausages of cheap quality, very fatty bacon, hard mushrooms and a snotty egg. Wish we had gone somewhere else!!!

My wife and I are regular visitors here for breakfast. This is a gem of a local cafe and bakery. We really enjoy the full breakfast which is cooked to your liking. The staff are very friendly and there is a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere inside. The Lardy cake, Chelsea buns (which I am partial to) and of course the bread are all especially good too. I would strongly recommend for treats or a good start to the day.

This a lovely small bakery/cafe. We went for lunch and was pleasantly surprised by the choice on the menu, something for everyone. The food was well cooked and very tasty. Nice cosy atmosphere. Will be going back soon

Small portions, price typical, taste OK but not marvellous, service indifferent, building is about 150 years old and everything is made there

This was a truly lovely cafe. Great coffees lovely pastries and very friendly and helpful staff. Everything seemed very fresh. What a treat.

Having moved from Newbury I now live in Cornwall but the Empire was always renown for it's traditional values products and service. A friend of mine in Newbury had been very unwell and so a quick phone call to Wendy ensured a fabulous same day delivery of their wonderful home made / premises baked goodies to my Buddy. Not only great cakes, but fabulous friendly service from Wendy and a team of people who go that extra mile. Good Old Fashioned Customer Service.

So so happy I found this wonderful place, Wendy and Empire cafe delivered a lovely birthday cake and treats to my Grandparents during lockdown. First for my Grandads birthday - he was over the moon. Then again right before Christmas as my Nan mentioned they do THE best lardy cake! I live many miles away and they have been so helpful and professional. It couldn't have been easier to order via email and the young gentleman who delivered was so polite to my Nan. I'm very impressed, I will be a returning customer and can't wait to visit when they reopen after lockdown. Thank you Wendy & all at Empire Cafe, you have brought some sunshine during an awful time x

One of the oldest original restaurants in Berkshire. A real blast from the past. Lovely atmosphere and the sausage rolls are delicious.

After spending a delightful visit to Newbury and on my way home, I called in The Empire Cafe and sampled Wendy (owner’s) very large home made delicious tea cakes with butter and Jam and their delicious coffee or tea. The cafe is quaint and olde worldly and situated very close to the Newbury Train Station and is on my way home via Reading to London. A very comfortable tea room with a variety of freshly made food and bread on their menu. The atmosphere is very friendly and the service is very good and I do enjoy their home made food. I have always found the cafe very clean and will always call in the evening when leaving Newbury as they are open late. The “train station buffet” is not open as late as The Empire Cafe and therefore unable to get coffee or tea.

Charming, historic cafe, where you can ‘build your own’ all day breakfast. Nothing is too much trouble. If you’re tired of the plethora of trendy eateries in Newbury and would rather not pay £10 for a Welsh Rarebit and wait 40 minutes for it, try the Empire Cafe for very good, fairly priced food and old fashioned service. Long may it last.

Popped in for lunch, the table was covered in dried food from the previous occupants and the floor was sticky. Toasted sandwich was tiny and poor value. Left in a hurry.

A short review as I can’t comment on the cafe side of things, but it looks quaint with some charm, so I must try this side of the business out on my next visit. So, this is about the bakery side of things. It’s a quaint little shop which being honest, I have passed on so many occasions without even a look in. I think also, it probably would have been closed on many of those occasions too! Most bakeries tend to close early. Anyway, on this occasion, I was heading back to the station and I noticed it was open with some lovely looking loaves of bread in the window. I had to pop in and get one. For such a small retail space, there is an awful lot on sale including various preserves, cakes, loaves and homebaking flours. I found the staff to be very friendly. OK, the prices aren’t necessarily cheap, particularly for the bread flour as I can get it a little bit cheaper in other retailers, but we’re only talking about 10% or so. But, as it was a flour I hadn’t been able to find elsewhere, it was worth it in that sense, although I wouldn’t buy the other flours if I know I can get hold of them cheaper elsewhere. The problem is, little retailers like this are being squeezed by the big boys and often, they no longer have the opportunity to deal directly with the manufacturers which ultimately ups the costs as they have to deal with distributors. This ultimately impacts on a lot of businesses which eventually fold as they lose the custom due to increased pricing. Either way, we need little businesses like this to give us something different from the usual competitors.

This charming cafe is well worth a visit. The oak beams add to the period charm and the welcoming service provided by the staff. Definitely worth a visit

This is a good place to stop and get something to eat if you come into Newbury from the railway station or the south of the town. From the cafe at the pack they serve a splendid home-cooked traditional breakfast to order, and there is the advantage of getting a nice cake from the bakery counter to take away for later!

Fine traditional British café giving good service, great value, home cooked and nourishing meals and lunchtime specials with the added bonus of a wide range of cakes and the best lardy cakes for miles

This café has a lovely traditional ambience and a wonderfully friendly staff. The choice on the menu is impressive and better value for money is difficult to find. Cup of tea for £1.00 is not to be laughed at. You will not get a gourmet five star meal here, but come for the curious decor and enjoy a good traditional meal of a tea.

A cold Saturday morning and we were early for a special viewing at Highclere... We asked at the station a good place for a cup of tea and the lady recommended Empire... So very glad she did.... a great cup of tea and a huge selection of bakery items!! And the friendliest folks working there... I enjoyed the conversation! They also had a super selection of local goods for sale.... flour and eggs, etc... They also have a little cafe but we had already eaten breakfast.....

My partner and I love to come here for brunch, I honestly never realised the cafe was in the back of the bakery (even though there is a sign stating the Empire Cafe!) but do recommend it, I really like this place so much, and its even kid friendly.

This place is more of a bakery that a café... I have been there twice / three times during the last few years and every time I went there my opinion remains the same.. poor / below average place. what lets this place down is two things: 1) the food they serve is simply not fresh it certainly tastes that way...including the bakery. you get the feeling that this was baked the day before and some baked last week. 2) the place is dull - you are not greeted with a smile and it feels that you are not welcomed. after you walk in there, you feel like, out of all the excellent cafe's in Newbury what brought me here?! shame, as otherwise it could have been a good café.

We found this cafe on trip advisor as we were looking for somewhere that was open early on our way to south coast now little chef at tot hill had closed. The staff were really friendly and helpful but the food was just ok. The tea though was awful and the coffee tasted of something really cheap. They had a good selection of bread and cakes on show for sale. It was nice to see somewhere that opens early and for that alone they deserve real credit.

Mi hijo tenía el tocino y patatas fritas, que dijo que era bastante agradable. Tuve el queso y cebolla pasty con patatas fritas que por alguna razón llegaron en dos platos. Estuvo bien el pasty era un poco seco. Mi madre tenía un bocadillo tostado que estaba bien para el precio.

Nos detuvimos en con mi hermano para el almuerzo, en primer lugar elegimos algunos pasteles, mermeladas y encurtidos en la fachada de la tienda y luego Baker en la cafetería sentado a almorzar, todo estaba bien hecha y el té era perfectamente preparado. . Personal muy amable y el lugar es encantador y limpio. . . Mi única queja aunque muy pequeño es que me gustaria tener placas más grandes como el de uso son tan minúsculos. . Pero más allá de eso, un lugar en el que me encantaría volver demasiado y lo recomiendo. . .

stopped off for breakfast while I waited on bike service very quiet in there polite friendly service meal came very quickly well presented very tasty could do with filling salt and pepper pots as both were empty

Great cafe, wonderful cakes. Good old fashioned bakery and cafe. Recommend a visit, parking outside at pay meters and near the cinema. Kids will love the selection of ginger bread and other specialist kids cakes.

Gran café, ideal para un delicioso desayuno o una relajante taza de té. Sus pasteles y panes frescos se cocinan en el lugar y el tradicional pastel de Mantecadas es el mejor que he probado

Este es un café muy razonable con la ventaja de toda la gama de los pasteles de la tienda en la parte delantera.

Voy regularmente por las mejores patatas fritas en el mundo. El servicio intachable. vuelva al menos una vez por semana y nunca me decepciona.

Se trata de una cafetería ideal si quieres tener a casa de la tierra comida cocinada. El personal es amable los precios razonables. Tienen muy buenas tiendas. Un muy bonito y agradable negocio familiar.

El restaurante de este pequeño café familiar con comida fresca y ha sido en Newbury durante muchos años y siempre es una delicia, yo solía venir aquí con mi madre, que ella iba a ser muy exigente con la comida, pero esto cumplía con todos sus requisitos.

Just arrived in Newbury at 7am and apart from here nowhere else is open. Good to see at least one cafe believes the working man needs feeding before work.

I'm sure this place means more to people than the tea or food.My first trip to Newbury 20 ish years ago I stopped in for tea. I took the train in and was going for a job interview.Since then I drop in from time to time for food and a drink and think of how my life has changed.The food is grand, it's nothing crazy and sometimes in this day and age that's just what you want. It's like home cooked food all you are missing is your mother poring the tea. Great place for people watching and lovely fresh bread.

I love the empire cafe. I've been going there since i was little and it's still just as good. The food is freshly cooked and the service is very friendly. My father and i are partial to the fry ups and we're never disappointed.

We stopped here after the train trip from London. Excellent breakfast. The owner gave us a few hints on how to get to Highclere Castle, which were very helpful. We returned after visiting the village and the castle, had an enjoyable lunch before returning by train to London.