Fox and Herb - Cafe, Restaurant and Cocktail Bar in Braintree

Fantastic experience great food - friendly staff, love the decor and the best menu in the town. The coffee is so good 👍 Menu prices from £3 only - best value for money. I had full English breakfast with orange juice. The breakfast was freshly cooked in their oven served piping hot and orange juice was freshly squeezed. It's hard to find freshly made in this world. Staff were friendly and good atmosphere. They have a small Christmas gift shop in one corner. Kids play area and library and games also in the cafe. I will definitely visit again.

This coffee shop was a pleasure to find. Plenty of comfy chairs & tables.. Tasty great menu. Served by friendly helpful staff. Give it a try..... Lots of choice. 👍👍👍

First time and a brilliant breakfast and pleasant staff and service highly recommend

Disappointed 😞 got a breakfast, and everything was cooked via a Micowave instead of a grill how a breakfast should be cooked on... sausages were hard rubber bacon over cooked and burnt, there was no fry eggs only an omelette, and they are charging london prices, could understand if the food was actually of good quality only decent thing was it was spacious

Good selection of food and patisserie in the small town. We ordered pistachio cannoli - you could tell it was freshly made and tasted yum, some places you try the cannoli shells are soggy but at this place it was crunchy! We also ordered avocado on toast and full English breakfast - all cooked fresh, yes highly recommended! They have kids play area and library and disable toilet Staff were humble and very helpful - great service. We will visit again and certainly spread the word.

Perfect.....I took my family to Fox + Herb for a meal, drinks and cakes. This place is amazing - great food, good environment, very clean and friendly staff. We were amazed with the range of food and drinks available on their menu and they serve them all day - including breakfast served all day!! I ordered full English for myself and cheese burger chips for my wife and cold sandwich for my dad. The food was fresh and absolutely amazing flavoursome - delish! We tried their milkshake, frappe, freshly squeezed juice and coffee. I fell in love with their red velvet cake (huge slice yum), 100% recommended. This place is big inside with a free to use library, kids play area, packman machine, and disable toilets. They keep the place so clean and staff members are friendly. I ordered at the till but have seen some people ordering on a self serve kiosk - not a big fan of self serve I suppose we all need technology but not for me. We enjoyed our family time and will definitely be coming back as our new favourite place in Halstead - a great place to recommend!

Lovely place for a comfortable chilled coffee.

food was awful and overpriced. Mostly everything had clearly been cooked from frozen, nothing on the plate was fresh. Waiter was unwelcoming and unfriendly, overall terrible experience.

awful food with expensive costs. been there multiple times now and been served moldy and stale food

Food is abysmal. Service is good but coffee is average. Shame as if they had a smaller menu with things they perfected it would be really good. Food is seriously dreadful

Freshly made cakes, etc. Delicious fruit scone, but notvenough butter (one small piece for both sides, needed two. Lovely milk shake and tea.

A nice dog friendly place to have a quick drink or something small to eat. We have been here a few times and the staff is very friendly, the dog gets complimentary water and treats and they have a menu with many options both in food as in drinks. Nice coffees and I personally enjoy their tea. They offer vegan replacements for the milk as well. The food is okay, although I wouldn’t recommend anything with the sourdough bread since their buns are not the best (I tried the burger and the panini but the bread was obviously defrosted and not great in both cases). But that’s my only real complaint.

I was out with my fiancé and we wanted a little something to eat, as we are currently on a keto diet we thought we'd have to abandon that (or do as best as we could). However we were surprised to find a small number of keto dishes on the menu! They both tasted amazing.

Hidden gem....Such a lovely coffee shop always clean with a friendly service, lots of space so not sitting on top of each other unlike Costa. Same price range as Costa but so much more choice! Food is sooo good as is the coffee, milkshakes and cold coffees I have tired over the many times I have been here. Also has self order screens like McDonald's and a lovely play area for kids at the back of the shop so you can enjoy your coffee. Highly recommend!

Good choice of food and drink, friendly service, and lovely atmosphere.

We needed some fuel to continue our walk so we stopped here as it was a Sunday and everywhere else was closed. The food was mediocre at best, and the service was ok. I wouldn’t go back.

The food is OK but not great for the price. There's no excuse for not doing eggs with breakfast and only an omelette. The bacon was practically non existent and the ketchup was cheap and nasty. Canned drinks were highly over priced. Customer service was poor. You are supposed to pick up a menu on your way in but no one tells you this and just leave you sitting at the table like a lemon. We won't be revisiting that's for sure

Amazing experience - I visited first time with my family but surely I will be preferring to come to fox + Herb due to friendly polite staff, selection of continental foods and kids play space. The staff members are very friendly and caring, the space is clean!! I love their full English breakfast, naughty croissant, chicken panini and a big fan of red velvet cake. They also have free WiFi, and my favourite spot is table 17. Highly recommended place to visit if you are in Halstead

Popped in for lunch today - we used to live in the area and were visiting. Staff are lovely - super friendly & polite. My partner had a jacket potato with vegetable chilli & cheese which was very tasty, and my Berry Smoothie was delicious! Cafe is really well laid out & inviting. Will definitely visit again!

Stopped here for breakfast today after living in halstead for the last 2 years. Never again. Full english breakfast was like a 10 year old made it. Everything tasted frozen and tasteless. Shocking. Top prices for very poor food. Steer clear. Child's beans and toast came out. Beans were poured on the plate not even on the un buttered toast. Flat white tasted like an Americano pure water didn't even drink it. 1* !!!

Visited here for lunch when we were in Halstead today. My hubby ordered a cheese and ham toastie, and I had a piece of lemon meringue pie. Ordering was very easy via a touch screen with a very good variety of products. The food was very good, hubby said it was the best toastie he had ever had and my meringue was lovely. Very pleasant staff, would recommend and look forward to visiting again.

Wonderful place to visit in Halstead - great service, good food and absolutely great vibes. I love their décor and choice of music and amazing range of food and drinks on their menu. I ordered full English breakfast and milkshake and my wife ordered avocado on toast and peach iced tea. We also ordered carrot cake and eat natural - amazing!!!

Amazing selections of food and drinks. I am impressed with their menu and large options, available in such a small town. It feels like I am having a treat in London Kensington - great quality products and reasonably priced! We tried breakfast muffin £5.50, cappuccino £3.70, frappe £4.50 and milkshake £5.00 and also we tried almond croissant £4.00. We received drinks first and followed with croissant and breakfast muffin. They serve you as they prepare which was not an issue with us as we are not that formal. The coffee was great, perfectly heated and strong enough for my likings. My wife loved her Coffee & Cream frappe and my son can't stop praising enough their milkshake. My breakfast muffin was succulent juicy and perfectly crunchy - they had layered it with sausage patty, omelette, cheese and bacon strip. I should have asked for extra bacon as it only come with one strip of bacon - I realised how much I love their crispy bacon so can't get enough! The almond filled croissant was toasted perfectly for our taste so we ordered second one as a takeaway. The staff were very polite and friendly. The shop inside is huge with plenty of tables. I can tell this place is the most desirable place to meet with friends and family in this town. The place is clean and they have kids play area, library, toilets and a little gift shop. We spent around 2hours, easily could have stayed longer but parking was limited. I enjoyed catching up with my son after school on a chess play - they have free to use board games and a retro pac-man machine. We will definitely visit again.

Ordered a cheeseburger and an Americano £13.50. couldn't have a bap as NO gluten free option available, not for sandwiches or anything!! Food was appalling- burger appeared to be mainly veg, v thin so there were two - and oddly curled at the edges, so obviously reheated in a microwave and dried out. There was an odd omelette between the burgers , processed cheese and exceptionally over crisp bacon. Obviously microwaved. The burger tasted disgusting, the chips were black in places( as if they were frosted or damaged before being cooked), they tasted of stale fat and were oddly greasy, but had been microwaved. There was no salad as mentioned in the menu and was told by an extremely surly male that the bare dessert spoonful of coleslaw,was infact the salad! No coleslaw is a pickled condiment. Salad consists of lettuce, cucumber, spring onion, rocket, etc.The male was rude and asked me to leave as I had been promised a 50% bill reduction on the food. I had been given £3.50. The meal was £10, and coffee was £ 3.50. I tried to point this out and was told I had abused his staff! There was only one other couple in and they were having coffee only, this was at 12.30 pm, middle of lunchtime when other places close by all v busy. Coffee ok, but think this was packet coffee as there was no smell of freshly made coffee and no coffee machines in use and it seemed to be gritty as if made up from a powder. The two female staff were friendly and as helpful as they could be but the male was surly and insulted me - a female on my own. I still have my receipt( I requested it from the card machine). I would not recommend, needless to say the meal was left.

Service was good, friendly polite staff. The place is clean and welcoming. Unfortunately the food is terrible. The Blbreakfast muffin was dreadful, bland and somehow the muffin was tough and chewy. The bacon was burnt to a crisp. "Ketchup" tastes of vinegar. It must have been a pre-made meal, into a microwave oven, any ingredients that are outside the bread get burnt to a tinder. Tea was like dish water. My wife ordered Beans, hash browns and 'Omlette'. I think these are made from powdered egg, possibly pre-made. The hash brown tasted of a deep freezer so was left along with the omelette. Truly the worst breakfast we have had in a long time.

Had the Mexican chicken and rice meal and tasted and looked like it came out of a packet in the microwave. Very disappointed for £9.50

Lovely cafe, lovely food. Thank you.

Always love coming here for a coffee and a chat

It's the most smart looking café on Halstead high street. We visited Fox + Herb first time today. The place was very buzzing and full of people. We were a group of 7 people and all of us ordered full English breakfast, coffee and cakes. Amazing service, staff were helpful and food was amazing. The coffee and cake was amazing too and good value for money. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience. By far the cleanest shop and customer toilet by far in the town. We will definitely visit again and will bring more friends and family. They have a small deli shop corner and lots of patisserie options.

Nice place but extortionate prices £17.20 for a coke a small hot chocolate and two scones which is higher than London prices so needless to say we won't be visiting again also the air conditioning was on to high and we were glad to get out of there as it was so cold

Asked for a small double shot Americano got a massive weak horrible coffee, all day breakfast was poor to the egg turned out to de scrambled 2 tiny bits of bacon, never again

Lovely staff, and good drinks, but the full English was very average in my opinion, but for £8.50 I shouldn’t really complain. These days that is a bargain, but I think they could do with sourcing ingredients elsewhere. I will come back to try again though as there were a lot of other options.

If you want reheated food and a side of food poisoning then the fox and herb is the place for you! Very disappointed with the dry and clearly reheated cheap quality food. Three of us had the all day breakfasts and later that day we all had explosive diarrhoea. Moral of the story is if you want explosive diarrhoea come here!

Every time I’m in Halstead we stop by the Fox and Herb. Service , food and atmosphere are lovely . Just stopped by today for lunch . Staff are always kind and accommodating . We will continue to come back again and again . I lived in Earls Colne last year and made the trip back yesterday from the United States.. we decided to go to the Fox and Herb today on our second day back in England

Coffee was flavourful and a substantial cup full. Toasties very filling and tasty. Staff very welcoming and helpful

Not sure why there are so many bad reviews as this is an absolute favourite of mine and my partners! we come here quite often and have always had brilliant experiences. the food is always fantastic. don’t pay attention to other reviews saying the coffee is instant (i’m a barista and can vouch for it) and the food is always piping hot when it’s arrives. and the sweet treats are a must. the staff are always super friendly and attentive. always approachable so if you do find something is taking a bit longer than expected, just ask! also for other customers, having a kids play area is a bonus and the cafe is wheelchair friendly too with a ramp rather than stairs to get in. so everybody is welcome! please give this indie cafe a chance, it is amazing!

Went in today, amazing mobility access, best I’ve ever come across in a cafe. Had a really nice all day breakfast, excellent sausages and lovely thick toast with real butter. Customer service was excellent and my little dog was more than happy because they even gave her some treats. Will definitely go back, a rare find. We noticed that they also have a reading corner with books and a play corner for the little ones.

What a wonderful deli/restaurant/cafe.Excellent choice and reasonable prices and service. Well done!

Deceptively deceiving... Oh under whelming (Quoting my wife!) From the outside this place looks like a bit of a cosy, quirky and upmarket kind of foodery. But then you go in and yes, it's quirky but it's deceptively big with a variety of areas, a library section, a play section, diner style chairs and a low ceilinged front area, as seen from the road. We had a brekkie bagel and a full English. The bagel was really small, a Maccy Ds bagel probably had more substance and the bagel itself was very crunchy. The full English wasn't too bad but both had cheap bacon and a weird omelette and with the full breakfast having a obliterated tomato and beans that had been microwaved to near death. My wife had a cappacino and I had a latte. Both were abit gritty and even after eating our food, the drinks were piping hot and still only in sipping mode, unusual if made properly so we had our doubts about if they were proper versions or made mostly with boiling water. Interesting place and maybe worth a visit as moderately priced but we come away disappointed.

This is a very versatile place to meet many needs. It has many different spots and cubbyholes and a library, making it great to meet many moods. They’ve got a digital table service, a wide range of choices and a genuinely cosy atmosphere. And vegan options.

Friendly helpful staff. We return regularly.

What a find on a walk around Halstead. Small frontage but a decent sized coffee shop and Cafe restaurant. Serving Illy coffee, my favourite. Small book library and cosy seating

Ordered 2 coffees to go - 1 x flat white and 1 X mocha at £7.40 not a cheap order. Flat white was the size of a latte, watery and unenjoyable. The coffee was very weak and tasted like the beans were old. I will always support local business over chains next door. But I wish I'd went to Costa instead.

Lovely coffee and cheaper than Costa. The breakfast muffin I paid £5.50 for was poor, and the service a bit slow considering it was almost empty, but they do allow dogs in.

Nice brunch , great service . Inexpensive meal , nice latte , no complaints

Really enjoyed my sausage roll abs chai latte here! Good atmosphere and cute little book corner, too! (One thing I couldn't figure out was the app/order online servive)

Ordered on app. Waited 30mins for a cup of tea and a juice which they didn't start to make till we chased them at 20mins. Then further 15mins for 2 burgers and chips. There was only 1 other table when we arrived so not busy. Just didn't check the tickets from the app.

First time here, lovely food & good coffee (don't know what previous reviewers are talking about re "instant coffee" - I'm barista trained, and had a great cappuccino). Asked for crispy bacon with my avocado toast, was perfect. Lovely seeded bread too. Kids play area, a small library, foodie gifts to buy... I'll be back.

Lovely Cafe situated at the bottom of Halstead High Street. Good coffee. Clean and tidy with plenty of seating. Great children's play area.

No frills but decent food and friendly service. Oddly though, you can buy a glass of wine but you can't buy a bottle to share.

Awful breakfast, all reheated junk, service is poor

Very cosy environment, nice and cooperative staff and excellent food and service

The food was worth money .. Nice place to visit with family and friends.

Absolutely awful food! Not just junk but compromising health and safety! My partner ordered egg and cheese and tex mex cheese bread which arrived first. Underneath the melted cheese both the egg and the vegetables & goat cheese was still frozen! We had to take it back. It took a good 20 min to create a new set - both served on end of breads. I ordered avocado toast with omlette topping - arriving 20 minutes later. The texture of the avocado slices were strange, the round omlette was premade - arriving to the same conclusion: microwaved from the freezer. We had two flat white coffee - more like latte with a strange aftertaste. Something was very off with the food & drink served as I had diarrhoea for 12 hours with a rumbling tummy. We choose this indy cafe instead of Costa because of the atmosphere but it turned out to be a disaster. ( £19 for brunch for two is hefty price to pay especially when food hygiene is compromised - frozen egg eh?! )

It's My Pleasure To Get Services, Food from this cafe . As I Didn't Get This Type Of Environment, Food, Service In My Life from any Cafe's. #BestCafeEver

Nice ambience and food. The staff were polite and helpful for ordering. Food and drinks experience osam in taste.

Lovely people and food is awesome

The food is all reheated rubbish, nothing is made fresh. Coffee isn’t great. The boy waiter brings the tray over to the table and makes you take it off yourself.. When we asked to exchange stale food we were told no and could only get a refund. Only go for the kids play area..

Called in for breakfast with my wife. Greeted by an unfriendly member of staff with a surly and indifferent attitude. No condiments on the table - had to ask and was petulantly given an industrial size salt cellar. The coffee was clearly instant and food turned out to be awful - the kind of microwave junk you get at a motorway service station. Would never go back and advise everyone to give it a miss; cross the road and go to Halstead Cafe! 7.11.23 Just read the reply from 'the owner'. If you think my review was 'fake' and therefore I'm lying - take me to court, I paid by 'card', I've got the receipts; your so called 'professional commercial Barista coffee machine and industrial scale fast ovens' don't mean squat - my review was honest; you'd be better off attending to customer feedback rather than making up excuses for your less than mediocre food, drinks and service.

Not sure why people have rated this so low but I have been here multiple times and the food is lovely, everyone is really nice and the only “downside” is that it’s quite pricey but hey everywhere is nowadays so it’s a nice place for a little treat with some family.

The only good thing about this place is the small kids play area. The food is below average, the coffee is not made well and the staff do not understand customer service. Do not recommend.

Looks really lovely from outside and inside. Extensive menu. But…Poor service, waited 45 minutes for avocado and toast which was inedible, who puts chutney with avocado and can’t cook you a poached egg! ! instant coffee, limited veggie options. Poor ingredients. Give it a miss!

Very disappointing and underwhelming. We came here a few years ago and it was excellent with great service and food...however this time was not the case the service was abrupt and quite unhelpful. We also waited quite a while for our order, would have expected out drinks 1st and then food to follow but everything came at once after waiting over 30 minutes (I don't mind waiting for food but drinks I think could come quicker) we went up to check our order was being processed at one point as others who had arrived after seemed to get there drinks and food before us. The food was not great and items were missing, when asked was told "chips take longer to cook" followed by shouting to a colleague in the kitchen about forgetting the chips. The breakfast bun was dry and tasted like it had been defrosted. Just overall not a great experience so won't be back

Lovely owners and staff. Food is delicious. I'll be bringing my nan here soon since it is Disabled friendly has a massive ramp for eveyone 2 accsses the cafe. Food is delicious very comftable environment. Visited on 9/9/23

First time visit to this café. Spacious and comfortable inside. A couple of 2 seater tables on the outside. We had coffee with a scone and a savory croissant, very nice. We thought the coffee price was quite expensive. They also do an online loyalty card.

This cafe has changed its ethos. Now they do pre order by computer screen (like in McDonald's) so the cafe has lost some of its appeal for us. It also used to have foodie gifts and lovely bits and pieces. Not anymore. Wouldn't necessarily say the changes are for the better.

Fabulous place . Thank you to the wonderful young man that works there for the kind and compassionate way he interacted with my elderly mum who has dementia . He frequently checked she was ok . He really made her day . What an amazing young man

Awful food and terrible service. The food is frozen and defrosted j including the Avocado which was served warm. The bread cheese and tomato roll was so stale i couldn't get a knife through. I was charged £2.50 which I was not advised about when ordering for a gluten free roll. Service is slow as everything has to be defrosted and heated up. The owner was rude and in my face shouting at me. Would definitely not recommend it.

Excellent service and great food.. the cafe was very clean...with a great relaxing feel.. highly recommended .. there's a lovely children's area.. and a library for those who have a little more Time...

A great place to relax, it's an unhurried oasis with a wide variety of high quality food & beverages. Vegaterian options are available. A mix of standard and Eurasian food choices. You can order via web, touch screen or the actual live staff- who are friendly, efficient & keen. Food quality is excellent, pricing is high to mid market, but the decor ,atmosphere & service can't be beaten. There's a large carpark rearwards,approx 4 minute walk which is free for up to 2 hours, so that's the weekend shopping done with a coffee treat afterwards!

Lovely food, lovely staff and dog friendly! What more could you want.

Food is awful, pulled pork looks like sloppy dog food and was cold, bagel was not toasted and was stale, the pulled pork had a strange smell to it, all round bad food that felt like a microwave dinner When we complained I ended up having an unnecessary argument with the owner as he wasn’t taking my complaint seriously He was rude and condescending Please stay away A lovely coffee shop in town is the little book cafe or even greggs is a step up

Good enough to meet for a tea or coffee, but avoid the food, you will be disappointed.

This is a very clean and pleasant place to visit and a BIG bonus, as well as entertaining children it is also Dog friendly. Well recommended.

A unique experience, you never know what you’re going to get. Lovely food, and friendly faces.

It seems popular, tables full of guests and a few mums with kids in the nice toy area. But I don't like the ordering app, which they expect you to use. Food was OK, lunch options a bit limited. My breakfast muffin seemed prepackaged, the wife's chicken baguette was good though with a tasty sauce. The location is handy if visiting Halstead to do some shopping. Excuse the rant, but the place seems to run all it's ordering and kitchen on an over complicated smartphone app, which is neither intuitive nor easy to navigate. I hate having to scroll through dozens of options in the hope of finding what I want. Their white Americano was at the top of a list but the black Americano was about two hundred yards of scrolling below it. For a deli cafe, the coffee menu was confused. Back to the Americano rant I'm afraid. It's supposed to have two shots, making a nice strong drink. They served up a large cup with a single shot, so really weak and not all that nice. The app only gave options for an even larger mug with or without extra shots, so perhaps that needs looking at. As we left there was a pile of menus on the counter, which we should have used instead of the app.