Jackson's California Lake in Wokingham

2nd visit to California Country parkrun and 2nd visit to this lovely restaurant for our post parkrun breakfast. Conveniently situated in California Country this is the recommended breakfast place for all runners post parkrun with a perfect location close to the finish. We were here as tourists and can see why Jackson’s was recommended by local runners. So at Jackson’s we experienced brilliant customer service by Penny. I especially liked that Penny was welcoming to our group and being the only vegan made a real effort to cater for my vegan diet. There were loads of lovely vegan options on the menu including the hot chocolate both of which are rare at our post parkrun breakfast venues. Better still Penny made the effort to check that the vegan options were available for me. As for the breakfast I had the Vegan panini and vegan hot chocolate with coconut milk – brilliant, perfectly made and nicely presented. It was a nice day too so we chose to eat outside where there was great seating and great service to the outside tables. Lovely experience and I can recommend Jackson’s for a lovely post parkrun breakfast and if you are visiting California Country be sure to visit this place – lots of locals and tourists go here and it contributes perfectly to the lovely atmosphere in California Country as well. Highly recommended and thank you for a lovely visit!

Love this place! A family favourite for both Sunday roasts as well as lazy day Breakfasts. Great food, good value and a nice location. Staff always friendly. A perfect local family restaurant. Highly recommended

What an amazing place to be , extraordinary food and staff , I would definitely be back !!!!!!! I can not thank enough for the amazing hospitality i have been offered!!!!!

I thought I would try a Jackson's stack + double up!, which, although nice; @ nearly £14.00, I expected more & the portion size was not great. On the plus side, it was well cooked & nicely presented. Would I make a return visit? Probably not as it is expensive 4 what U get.

Had a friends young puppy staying with me for the weekend. Decided to take her around the lake at California Park and then go for a coffee at Jacksons. No water in the outdoor dog bowls, they were full of leaves and debris so clearly hadn't been filled in a while. I went in to order a coffee to take outside and had the puppy with me. Was told dogs were not allowed inside and suggested that I went to the 'window' around the back of the restaurant. This is a country park so why do they not let dogs in so you can at least order your drink and then take it outside. Decided I didn't want to give them my patronage so puppy and I went home and enjoyed some time in my garden. Won't be going there again, with or without a dog.

ordered stack and big breakfast took an hour to arrive cold breakfast missing hash browns and black pudding Stack was similar to a mcdonald’s sausage and egg mcmuffin but three times the price at £10.95 muffin was chewy where it had been microwaved not impressed and won’t be back

Avoid at weekends. We live locally and the waiting times just seem to get longer each time. Todays wait was “over an hour” for a sausage sandwich. Like most people, we had to just walk away.

Tasty breakfast!! Perfect fuel to then take a walk around the lake with the kids and dog Dog friendly in seating area outside.

Visited last Sunday with our two young kids for roast lunch at around 2.30pm. Place was not very busy yet food took roughly 30 mins to arrive. Forgivable if the food was good, but unfortunately, the food was awful. Lamb and beef itself were ok, if a bit fatty. The trimmings were pretty awful particularly the potatoes which felt like there were made early that morning then heated up - really tough and chewy on the outside. Prices here really aren’t justified when there are an abundance of decent pubs within 5 mins drive where you get significantly better quality of food and service at similar prices. Absolute waste of £60 for the four of us (2 of which were young kids) - this was one item off the kids menu, a kids portion roast, two adult portion roasts, and two canned soft drinks. Have to mention as well - salt and pepper out of those tiny paper packets, Heinz ketchup in a recycled greasy bottle with browning labels… We live 5 mins away so really wanted to love this place. So convenient and perfectly located at the lake, away from town centre, with the new kids play area and improved parking. Had high hopes when they were renovating but the place feels really tacky now with more of a canteen feel, which again does not justify the food prices. Unfortunately, too many disappointing visits. We gave it a fair shot.

What a fabulous day we had at Jackson’s in California Country Park ! There were 6 of us ladies, made really welcome by managers Penny and Luke, fantastic food and drink ( GREAT coffee ), an extensive menu, superb setting, clean areas, very child and dog friendly, lovely walks - altogether an amazing day catching up with friends. We stayed over 5hrs altogether - weather was pretty amazing too - so if you intend to spend the day it’s worth paying the whole day car park charge of £6.80. Would thoroughly recommend for families, as play area is excellent, dogs, great walking areas and meeting up with friends for coffee, lunch/ dinner and a day out. We’ll be back !!!!!

We had breakfast here twice while we were staying at the Chalet Park. Large meals beautifully cooked

Been here a few times, can't fault the food or staff. However, I've knocked off two stars because it's the second time in a row, I've not seen the tables wiped clean and both times it was not that busy. Also, I think it's time to wash or air out the numerous cushions you have inside the restaurant, because all I can smell was "dog", probably totally not noticed by dog owners, but it certainly is for non dog owners. Thanks.

After queuing for half an hour we were told the wait for food would be 30 mins. It was nearly an hour in fact! The first item on the childrens menu - pancakes - are not available after 12 (not stated on the menu) which was a great disappointment especially that the lunch boxes which we subsequent ordered have a very poor selection of items available to choose from! To top it off, there were barely any ice Lollies left at the cafe and the ice cream hut was closed despite it being a very sunny Sunday! I’d avoid especially at the weekends.

Family Weekend breakfast for 9…. Started to queue to order at 11.35am. All had chosen their choice of food from the menu. Finally get to the front of the queue and ask for eggs Benedict x 3. ‘Sorry, the kitchen are very strict and stop cooking that at 12.00pm.’ was the response. Seriously…. 28 minutes queuing to order…. It was 3 minutes passed…. Some flexibility required….

This place so needs more staff! It took 35 minutes to get two coffees today! Waited ages to be served and then another age to actually get the coffee.

We went for a walk and visited the cafe for breakfast and a hot drink. The service was quick, the food well presented and tasted good. The drinks all good. There were 3 of us. We had a nice time there. Friendly people and reasonably...

Came last week and the food and drink was absolutely awful. Ordered a black cherry hot chocolate it was cold and the milk had curldeld. They made another but no flavour and a little hotter. Then the over priced food came out it was cold....

Don’t bother unless you like your hot ‘chocolate’ as a ‘and hold the chocolate’ order. Hot milk. Hardly surprising given the zero attention the lady making them was putting into it. And despite being almost empty every table was uncleared and dirty. And stayed that...

I don’t usually write reviews. Esp while I’m still sat at the table still eating but I couldn’t not sing their praises!! Going to a park cafe you always expect over priced food, and poor quality of food BUT... I couldn’t have been more wrong!!...

Visited the cafe again for breakfast and had a great experience. Good menu with a range of options. Service very good and the food enjoyable and good value. It is a bonus that you can watch the play park whilst having a coffee and that...

Although the food is usually very nice, the outside seating area is not pleasant to eat in as it's surrounded by waste and the tables aren't thoroughly cleaned which is a shame. My daughter has allergies and I also need to be confident that cross...

We’ve been coming to Jackson’s since it opened but the wait time for coffees and food has got progressively worse. A 45 minute wait in the queue at weekends is a regular occurrence. The food is lovely so no complaints there but they seriously need...

Great food and service when they opened. The experience was spoiled because we expected them to open at 9.00 as advertised but in fact it was 10.00 on a bank holiday. I had sent an e mail the evening before but perhaps it was too...

On a cold morning, waiting 10 minutes for one cup of coffee when there were minimal customers and staff chatting is not acceptable. I won't bother again.

Just enjoyed well cooked fish and chips delivered to home in little over 20 minutes. Batter crisp, chips substantial, fish fresh. Also treated myself to a piece of orange and chocolate cake. My, my, what a tasty delight that was packed with the right flavours.

My family of four had brunch on a wet Thursday during half term. Massive portion sizes and very tasty. Excellent service. They coped well with current Covid 19 restrictions. We will be back.

Looks like a great place for breakfast, brunch and lunch. Cycled here today and had some really good coffee + the best Millionaires shortbread I have had in ages. This is a park cafe but big, with seating in and out, close to the car...

Went to there this morning (Sunday) you expect it to be busy, we were told 30-40 minute wait for food we decided ok. 45mins later I asked where our food was to be told there was one table in front then it was us, the...

Excellent location, menu, food, coffee... But they don't plan in advance of peak times (like weekend breakfast and lunch), takes up to half an hour to get coffee and an hour for a breakfast meal to get served.

Lady behind tills attitude was atrocious. Roast dinner arrived with cauliflower cheese, asked for it to be removed due to not being able to eat cheese. She came outside and spoke to us like a piece of trash loudly in front of other customers that...

Have just ordered a takeaway from Jacksons for first time and glad I did , it was amazing .I got the ribs with chips, two big ribs which were full of meat and not loads of fat with delicious chips and a fresh coleslaw on the side.My wife ordered the fish and said was very tasty nice batter and chunky chips.we had a side of ooinion rings .... no small rings near again big crispy battered covered oinion which were very tasty Excellent customer service to the lady who took the order was very friendly as was the lady who delivered .Will definately be ordering again .

Overall this should be the best local weekend family breakfast location, especially for warm period.* great cooked breakfasts, coffee and deserts* scenic location with lake and walks just at the doorstep* next to a car park* kids can play outside while parents still enjoy their coffee.

We collected delicious breakfasts this morning. Called, ordered and paid in advance. Collected soon after from an outside hatch. Very efficient.l and great service. Well packaged. Still v warm once home. Very impressed.

Always venture here for a hot drink and cake when feeding the ducks however had never tried their Sunday roasts until last week. The lamb and beef were both perfectly cooked, as was the rest of the meal. Needless to say we'll be coming for lunch much more often now!

Perfect pit stop after a long walk in Arborfield. Food and hot drinks are lovely. Slightly pricey though for what it is!

Went here for breakfast, we had the medium English and the Jacksons stack, both were very tasty and well portioned. Definitely worth a visit

Just had the most incredible meal at Jackson’s. Absolutely not your standard Valentine’s fare. Food was truly amazing - the best in the Wokingham area by a mile - service was warm and friendly. What a little hidden gem we have here.

Very friendly staff and fair pricing for a welcome bacon bap and hot coffee. Couldn’t say what they are like for main meals but would be willing to try sometime. The work on the car park being done by the Council has improved the surroundings immensely. Will visit again soon.

Lovely restaurant and cafe very near our home, the food is good and lovely cakes if you just fancy a cuppa.

Met friends for breakfast. We got in touch before hand as daughter has a severe dairy allergy , they responded quickly on Facebook messenger, told us what she could eat, made extra suggestions, even explained how it would be cooked. When we arrived and went to order the lady serving had been told we were coming which was also reassuring. The breakfasts were well cooked with quality ingredients and a really good choice too. We felt really confident with his they handled my daughter's order and really enjoyed breakfast. Kids played on adventure playground in the park outside afterwards while we sneaked in an extra coffee.

Great food at reasonable prices. We were really impressed with the quality of food but the only thing that let the place down was the reluctance to change an item in my veggie stack (from a roasted pepper to a roasted tomato!) unless I paid a premium fee. The whole cafe feels a bit tired - old curtains, tasteless decor but the food more than makes up for it.

Stumbled upon this cafe within the California Country Park. 2 of us had beef sirloin Sunday Roast with parsnip, carrot, cabbage & bacon, toast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding.

This is now our go-to cafe. It serves everything from packets of crisps & ive creams to sandwiches to proper meals. It even serves beer & wine. It’s clean, the food is excellent and e staff are so helpful. Top place

Jacksons hosted an amazing surprise birthday party for my husband and 50 guests. They offered a fabulous choice of hot dishes (plus gluten free alternatives) and we were entertained by the amazing band Full Circle led by their singer Alicya who is also a partner at Jacksons. Guests complimented the venue, ease of parking, the decorations, the food choices and the band. If looking for the perfect party venue I thoroughly recommend contacting Jacksons!

The menu is extensive for the size of the place and also offers both vegetarian and vegan options, both imaginative. Breakfast is superb. Cakes generally very good.

We love Jacksons and eat here on a regular basis. The food really is excellent - far better than you'd expect from a cafe in a park (plus you can get a glass of wine!). It's also very reasonably priced and the staff are always warm and welcoming. Yes, there's development going on at the moment, but this is only going to make it even better!

Lots of staff but only one taking orders, and people ordering individual items for their full English breakfast hold up the queue terribly. And too expensive e.g. £2.50 for a weak not very nice coffee.

Warm welcome rom staff. Clean. Choice of seating, either at a table, comfy chairs or outside. Chose a Jacksons Stack - delicious. Should be even better when the new outside seating area is finished. Worth a visit.

Went here after a lovely walk round the lake. Had a tuna and cucumber sandwich which was very nice served with salads garnish. Had a red wine and husband had a small beer. Nice relaxed feel to the cafe

Food was good and atmosphere fine. Unfortunately much building work going on around the cafe so it seems a bit scruffy

We went today to have brunch at the cafe as we had read really good reviews and wanted a peaceful location with a walk around the lake. Unfortunately we walked into a building site.We were short on time, so we had no choice but to stay. As we walked from the car-park towards the cafe, the noise increased, with machinery being used right next to the cafe.It was my daughter's 21st birthday and as she likes peaceful places we chose there rather than going in to a town centre. No mention of the building works on the website for the park, or on Jackson's own website. The food did live up to the reviews and the lady who served us was lovely, but if we had known about the noise and dust, we would not have gone. It should warn you on the websites!

The menu choice for breakfast is great. I enjoyed perfectly poached eggs on toast with avocado. Absolutely delicious. Quick service and friendly staff. The cafe seems to be undergoing some renovations at the moment so it's not as aesthetically pleasing as I'd imagine it normally would be but dont let that put you off!

Popped over for a walk with a few mates and decided to see what the food was like. Great food, decent portions so definitely needed the walk after. I recommend the the Jackson Stack, if your brave enough double up. Would highly recommend

This is a great place with amazing food and atmosphere! We had a really good time and will come back for sure! 😁

Found the food, either a quick snack or a full lunch the food, excellent. The variety from full English breakfast to vegan and vegetarian is fantastic, not tried veggie so cannot comment on what its like but there is a wide variety for food on offer. We also book private evening functions up there and used it last for our Turkey Christmas dinner for the third year in a row, there was over 50 of us but the food and service could not be faulted.If you want to run a private or business function I would highly recommend it.

We stopped off here on a cycle ride, it was only for a coffee but one look at the breakfast and we deviated slightly. The service and quality of the food was outstanding, we will return in the very near future.

We hosted my 60th Birthday party celebrations at Jackson’s on Saturday night the 6th April at a private function.

Have been doing a few breakfasts in the area over the last 6 months and have found Jackson's to be the one we always return to, either on our own or with the family. Great breakfast/brunch with good choice. Lunch menu looks good as well but have not tried it yet.

enjoyed the food but staff don’t look very happy to serve you....very unwelcoming, as if they didn’t care for your business. A genuine smile doesn’t cost you anything and would go a long way.

Visited Jackson's for the first time today and will definitely be returning. We met the owners on holiday & we promised to visit their cafe. The owners are so passionate & this shines through. Was spoilt for choice on the menu & food was delicious. It was also excellent value!

Besides the excellent traditional full English the eggs benedict and eggs Florentine are outstanding, with a homemade hollandaise sauce that is perfect. But get there early at the weekend as it is very busy - as you would expect with such fantastic food.

I’ve been to Jackson’s on several occasions; for coffee after a walk around the lake with friends, for breakfast with my hubby and for lunch with my grandchildren after a session on the adjacent park - the venue is so versatile!

I have only ever been here for lunch, but really love it's location and setting, especially in spring / summer. All food available for takeaway. Really friendly staff, wide menu choices and great service - fab for a bit of peace at lunchtime !

Whilst Jackson’s does have a vegan option on the menu, it is advertised as a vegan breakfast which it isn’t really, it’s a lunch. And whilst the food is nice and when booking large dinners over Christmas they cater really well, the standard menu gives very few marked options. With the vegan population rapidly increasing it would be lovely to see Jackson’s keep up with that! It’s a lovely location.

Cannot thank Lucy and her fab team for making our Christmas party amazing. Food was delicious, atmosphere warm and cosy. Thankyou all.

Held my wife's 60th Birthday bash at Jackson's.

Quality cafe, with quality food that is cooked on site from premium ingredients.

I recommend, to walk around and see the ducks and swans, great place to see wildlife Come on yout own or with a friend, just wander around Alan

My wife and I recently decided to have lunch here after noticing the cafe open early in the morning while walking the dogs, the wood fire burning and it looked to welcoming. Not sure what time they open, but we were usually walking past around 8am.

Hard to put across in words how good this breakfast is, a friend discovered the hidden gem a while back and I finally had the chance to go today, unreal!

Good place to stop for a coffee and cakes to break a walk through the lovely California woodlands park. They also have a good looking menu for more substantial meals, and I saw the breakfast being served which look very tasty indeed!

Had a nice lunch. Very friendly place food good and prices reasonable. Was good there was disabled parking right by the cafe. Had a lovely walk around the lake. Saw lots of new ducklings and signet.

On first impressions we were not expecting too much - it looks like any other "park" restaurant you would find in the UK. The food is fabulous - their breakfast menu is varied, colourful, fresh and caters for vegans, Gluten-free diets and carnivores! Coffee is good too! The staff are super-friendly and welcoming and even though we only stayed at the park for two days, they remembered us the following day and greeted us warmly, in spite of being totally swamped. A must-visit for breakfast if you are in the area! take some bird feed for the swans and geese afterwards to walk it all off!

We read the positive reviews and decided to have a cooked breakfast as a special treat. We were not disappointed, a great meal at a reasonable cost. When this way again we will certainly come back.

Seem to do everything from Sunday lunches to snacks. soft drinks and ice cream. Friendly staff. Great cakes.

We visit atleast twice a month for either Breakfast or Lunch. Amazing food, yummy carrot cake. Definitely recommend for a long walk and food at Jackson's cafe.

Have eaten here so many time, breakfast and lunch. Always great food. Excellent value for money. Love having this as our local cafe!

As I said good food and well cooked. The breakfasts are hearty, lunch menu good. I've never been there in the evening. Well worth a stop in if you are taking a walk round the small lake.

Been coming here for a ages now and the quality hasn't dropped one tiny bit. Credit to the chef and his team for producing quality year on year. These guys need a restaurant facility in Wokingham sharpish because it'll sell out every night of the week. Amazing stuff!

Food here is always top quality and it's right in the middle of a beautiful country park. Friendly helpful staff. The full English is quite big so make sure you turn up with an appetite!

As this is by a lake it feels like we are in a holiday location. The cafe's layout both indoors and outdoors has the same feeling. We had a lovely large meal with a large amount of salmon, avocado and an egg on toast. They served us very quickly. We also had soft drinks and they have a lot to choose from. They have a very friendly team and they were pleased when I said to them that it felt a bit like I was abroad. It is also nice that afterwards we had a walk around the lake and there is also a caravan site there which makes it very appealing.

I have had it up to here with this now! These plastic straws are really winding me up and I am sick of this. I will not be returning to this cafe/restaurant. Disgusting.

A shed is the last place you would expect to get a high end dining experience, but that’s exactly what it is. This is Michelin star level cooking, make no mistake. Would thoroughly recommend and 2nd only to L’Ortolan in the Reading area.

I’ll keep this nice and short. Great food, great service and fantastic location. Would highly recommmend!

Stopped here around 9.30 on a Sunday morning after looking on trip advisor for somewhere nearby to get a good cooked breakfast.

We visited Jackson's as a family birthday, the service was great, the decor great with a fantastic atmosphere but the food was just great.

We had been told that this place was good so we had high expectations and I am very pleased to say that we were not disappointed. There were 6 of us including a baby (he didn't have breakfast) and we all really enjoyed our visit. The location is great being next to the lake and as we walked we did not have to pay for parking.

Five vegetarians for brunch/lunch. Accommodated well for swapping out and adding items to options and the food was delicious. Recommend the vegan smashed avocado dish. I had with poached egg and sourdough and made a great veg option. Good service and a beautiful location too.

This was our second visit for breakfast. Wasn’t disappointed. Food was amazing. Service excellent. Definitely going back.

Another great evening spent at Jackson’s The food was as always fabulous and Tom and his crew didn’t disappoint Great value and fabulous taste. Each dish was perfect I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this restaurant for a private function

Nice family restaurant, great for kids and grown-ups too. Friendly service, food came quickly and was well presented. Not a lot more to say.

Lovely cafe- good food and menu! Great service and lots of choice on drinks, cakes and savoury foods. Great for prams and groups which is nice as a lot of places are not so friendly!parking outside payable.

Whilst spending the Christmas Holidays with family in this area, we came to California lake several times. Its a brilliant place to walk to along well maintained paths through mature woods that leads to a large lake full of ducks and swans etc. Jacksons holds a prominent place by the lake, and during a cold December was very welcoming to have a coffee and cake. There were plenty of tables, but it did get busy during lunch time. The chefs had made several festive goodies that were all very tempting and delicious. Whist we did not have a meal here, the menu seemed very extensive , and the food being served looked very good indeed, especially the breakfasts . If we ever go back, we will definitely try something from the main menu.

Went for breakfast this morning 30th Dec, first customers in, had to work hard to get any form of response from the lady behind the counter. Ordered two breakfast, delivered in quick time, shame both were cold, not sure how you can cook to order and still get the food cold, sent it back, came back with hot beans but everything else even colder.

Went here for a late breakfast. Good coffee, good food and good value. Tucked away in California country Park, worth a visit. Big breakfast is piled high. Pancakes are a favorite of my grandson

My husband and I had a fantastic cooked breakfast here. Service is outstanding and staff are friendly. We often take our children to feed the ducks and to play in the park and go in for a yummy hot chocolate! The best hot chocolate we have ever tasted. The coronation chicken baguette is extremely tasty! Try it yourself you won't be disappointed.

Popped in for a roast (always great) but saw the new menu and had the beer battered fish and chips which was excellent, can even taste the beer !

We dropped in for coffee and found it to be bright, clean and friendly. The food choices looked good. This...

Have been here several times for breakfast and lunch. Always great food and friendly service. Certainly recommend.

Lovely walk round lake with dog 🐶 granddaughter. Fed the ducks and swans finished up in the cafe all day...