Heron Farm in East Devon

Lovely location which we've supported regularly over the last several years, but feeling very sad to have to leave a poor review. We have found a general decline over the last year and notably our visits over the last 6 months, including our very recent this weekend, have re-confirmed each time that the quality and standard of food has dramatically dropped. This used to be a wonderful place for mediterranean styled food cooked really well and was always a high standard. Sadly now the food is tasteless and ill-prepared. It's not the quality of the ingredients that's lacking, it's a clear failure to understand how to work with them, the food is essentially being ruined. My husbands Club Sandwich was salted to such a degree that it was inedible, my sweetcorn and halloumi fritters were more like pancakes, and totally bland and uninteresting. Our friends fried breakfast looked dried out, with beans with a congealed skin on the top. On previous visits we have had to return food. The arrancini used to be lovely, it's now tasteless and coupled with a passata type sauce that just doesn't go. The Sunday roasts over the 2023 winter were excellent, we're hoping these may come back. I am writing this review to implore the owners to please address this, we love Heron Farm and in the hope this situation can be quickly addressed and reversed.

Listen. The food here is simply outstanding. I chose avocado toast deliberately because everyone does it… and it’s a knock out. I’m from NYC and Devon better realise they are onto something special. Go here. 👏👏👏

A lovely place to stop and grab a bite to eat while breaking up our journey home. The fresly made pizza is fantastic, as is the Wine from the estate. Atmosphere is calm and chilled and the staff are helpful and friendly. I have no doubt we will return. :-)

Third time here thinking the food might get better, but it's still a disappointment! Mushrooms really dry, toast was also very dry/hard like it had been put through the toaster twice to reheat. Such a gorgeous venue, but the quality of the food let's it down really which is real shame.

Visited lunchtime today and, as always, enjoyed the experience sitting outside in lovely Sumner sunshine. Slight downside was that the (young) serving staff were a little too keen to remove our used utensils before we had finished the meal. This interrupted our conversation and detracted a little from the ambience.

Top marks to the team at Heron Farm for organising a fantastic business summer party and having to change things last minute due to the British weather!! Alison was amazing from start to finish with organising the event and keeping us informed at all times. Heron Farm itself is in a beautiful setting, food was fantastic and the wine even better. Thank you for your exceptional service from all, I will be back again soon.

Lovely garden location, very much off the beaten track. Food is all individually prepared with care, the service was excellent. Did think it a little pricey. Definitely trying to impress and punch above it's weight.

Staff ✓ Venue ✓Garden etc✓ Food somewhat lacking in flavour ☹️. We don't recommend the fish and chips, a very oily little square of tasteless battered fish. Chocolate and raspberry tart was an open flan of solid unpleasant chocolatey "stuff", the base was made of seeds that were not good eating and the "raspberries" were not there at all,just a squiggle of sauce to decorate the plate. AND BEWARE OF THE £9 ADDED TO THE BOTTLE OF WINE IF IT'S SERVED AT THE TABLE!!!

Such a cute little garden, plants and bubbling water. Lovely food, staff and their own wine. Well worth a trip for lunch or brunch

First time visiting Heron Farm - A lovely little cafe/restaurant close to Honiton which has been well thought out and tastefully decorated. Quality of food and presentation was excellent, with little touches such as the edible flowers setting off the food. Coffee and service were good. Sadly the food was let down by portion sizes:price. The 'Crushed avocado' on the brunch menu was a little on the expensive side for a relatively small portion that left you feeling hungry. For £13.50 you only get two very thin and finger like pieces of sourdough with a thin spreading of avocado on, accompanied by a side salad. Would go here more regularly if portion sizes had been a bit more generous, but feel that whilst the venue and quality of food, coffee and service was good, you leave feeling hungry and poor value for money. There are plenty of other places that do brunch of equal quality with bigger portion sizes and offer better value for money.

Met here for a family brunch on Sunday. The staff were fantastic from the word go. As it was a beautiful morning we asked could we move to an outdoor table (we had asked for an indoor one at booking not expecting the weather to be so good) the staff quickly rearranged some tables in the garden to accommodate our group of 7 so we could enjoy the weather. The service was prompt, excellent coffee and everyone enjoyed their meals very much. Only let down was they were out of cinnamon buns which was all our 11 year old daughter fancied. Some of our party bought some brownies to go for their journey and have said how amazing they were. The staff were exceptional, professional, knowledgeable, friendly and chatty. A lovely welcome and lovely goodbyes. Our visiting family members from London were blown away and will be keen to visit again next time. Perhaps then we will leave time to explore the Vineyard!

We stumbled across Heron Farm on our way to Exeter, and we weren’t disappointed. We sat in the beautifully relaxing surroundings in their garden. The service and food was excellent. We had the Heron Farm Breakfast and the Veggie Breakfast both were perfectly cooked and seasoned. We would definitely return.

Today I held a baby shower for my friend, I had initially 25 guest and completed a pre order with Bex who managed our booking throughout. Naturally we had a drop out however Bex handled this incredibly, she called me the morning of to run through the food order and then delivered everyone’s breakfast hot and on time. Offered drinks throughout our booking, gave us space to hold the event. Was attentive, reactive and welcomed by the whole team with a warm and friendly approach. I would recommend the venue hugely. Oh and the food was delicious

We are really pleased we found this place. After living locally for the past few years we had never heard about Heron Farm until a friend recommended it to us. They serve brunch all day with lunch and specials from 12. I think they really sell themselves short as we chatting to the manager of the farm who was also serving in the restaurant and he was happy to talk about how they grow their own veg, grapes for wine and all sorts of unusual things! I loved the piccalilli from my ham hock hash so much I was pleased to see I could buy a jar in the shop (along with a bottle of their sparking wine in looking forward to try 😄) This was our second visit but certainly not our last, the brunch menu in particular has a lot of tempting options and the specials I watched go to other diners looked great. Bring on the sunshine so myself and my partner can enjoy lunch in the lovely gardens!

Lovely time as always, came twice in one weekend! Breakfast and coffee/cake. Wonderful food and service, Sam was fab! Cannot wait until the better weather to sit out and enjoy your beautiful garden.

Marvellous cream tea all made on site with the freshest of produce, many locally sourced! The cakes made by a very talented lady called Chrissy who deserves a special mention, for the quality & care, taste & presentation! The wine was superb too! Lovely staff, clean & well presented this place is definitely worth another visit (soon) Dog friendly, children’s area, outside & inside seating areas. Great menu for breakfast, brunch & lunch! Thank you for a lovely time 😎🫖😎

Not your standard cafe food, which is a good thing . Local produce cooked well, good service from staff delivering with a smile. We have eaten here several times , each time equally good - consistent !

Really beautiful place, the food was delicious and staff (especially Sam) were incredibly friendly and welcoming. Added bonus doggies welcome.

Enjoyed coffee and delicious cookie on this visit - white chocolate, cherry and ginger - excellent. However, I couldn't help but notice that the slice of lemon/orange cake served to my cycling companions was practically see-through. They took the portion size stoically, but it stood out in comparison to other coffee shops we frequent.

I am writing to express my disappointment regarding the experience my party and I had during our reservation for afternoon tea at your venue on February 18th at 2:30 pm. We had booked in advance for four afternoon teas priced at £27.50 each, specifying that it was a birthday celebration. However, upon arrival, we were greeted with a strong smell of fish, and it seemed like our booking was not expected. Despite our reservation, there was no clean table available or set up for us. The member of staff who eventually attended to us, though young and trying his best, appeared confused and disorganized. We had to remind him several times about our booking for the Prosecco afternoon tea and also about our dietary requirements. Throughout the experience, the service was lacking. While Prosecco was served, we had to repeatedly remind the staff for tea and coffee. The afternoon tea itself was disappointing, with only one scone and two sandwiches provided. Additionally, the cakes tasted oily and were below average in quality. No one checked in to see if we were satisfied, and we had to flag down staff to remind them of our request for water. Furthermore, before 4 pm, the area where we were seated began to be prepared for closure, giving the impression that the staff were eager to close for the day. In retrospect, I regret not addressing these issues at the time of the experience. However, I feel compelled to bring them to your attention now. Overall, the afternoon tea fell far short of our expectations, and it failed to provide the special birthday celebration experience I had hoped for my friend. I trust that you will take this feedback seriously and address the issues raised to ensure a more satisfactory experience for future customers.

Came with family for afternoon tea. What a treat, everything on the tiered plates were delicious and plentiful. In fact, I'm not sure how we manged to eat everything! The scones were to die for, the sausage rolls very yummy, in fact everything was very very good. Excellent quality and great value at £22 a head. The only small thing I would criticise is paying. You have to go to the till. There is one till covering the shop, taking orders and paying bills. There was always a queue and it seemed pretty unorganised. That aside, the afternoon tea experience was lovely. The gardens and walks are also very nice.

We visited on the weekend and both had a lovely gluten free breakfast. It came quickly and was all hot and freshly cooked. Even the sausages were gluten free which is rare! Homemade beans were great. A little pricier than some but we were happy to pay it for the location and great service too.

A great little cafe and wine shop, dog friendly and a good menu. Coffees were great, fresh apple juice was good but breakfast could have been better. The eggs on toast were well presented and nicely done, but with only one piece of toast, left us wanting more. The thick sliced granary bread had the potential of a superb bacon sandwich but really, streaky bacon?? More fat than meat, I was so very disappointed. Please, upgrade to back bacon, like the vast majority of breakfast establishments, and I’ll be back.

Passing by and thought I’d call in and so glad I did. Lovely surroundings and atmosphere. Tried the Brixham Hake, what a delight, cooked to perfection and served piping hot.

Beautiful location for a delicious brunch, lovely gift shop, gorgeous views. Wonderful staff. We will definitely return for a wine tour!