Johns of Appledore in Torridge

Loved the chicken and pesto panini, and the cheddar and chilli jam toasties lovely friendly service from the staff here

Took ages for service majority of stuff on menu they didn’t even have and got order wrong and wasn’t even nice bread was dry and salad had no flavour and especially for the price

We went to both branches. The other one is in Instow and larger. We bought deli foods on both occasions to eat later but did not go into coffee shop as we were too late each time. The deli items which included Frittata (full of peas) quiche, Scotch egg , sausage roll and Homity Pie. We also bought other items eg chutney and marmalade which are individual to them. It certainly wasn’t cheap but we thought the quality was good. I wish we had a branch nearer home as we enjoyed what we had.

Well where does one start So firstly we visited the delicatessen that is situated next door we purchased a few bits, yes overpriced and we were served by a rather abrupt rude assistant , who I got the impression would rather we were not there ….. spending 47.00 on 5 x items and immediately wishing I hadn’t . Anyway we thought oh well let’s try the very small cafe next door, seeing as we were here, well that was even worse, as we entered we immediately sat down , no welcome no hello not a word from either of the two staff working 1 x male and 1 x female. We looked through the menu and it was limited, very pretentious and ridiculously priced ( toasted sandwich 14.00? Anyway having sat there for ten minutes , bear in mind there were only two other customers there at the time who had been served , how long they had been there who knows , but they were dressed in Victorian clothes 🤣 Joking aside the wait was getting silly so after 13 minutes without any conversation from either the staff, they were happy to chat amongst themselves, but had not a care for the customers We decided to get up and leave, this rather pretentious and quite frankly very rude establishment I will endeavour to make sure that I never recommend this place, as I would not want anybody to put up with the non service that we had to We found somewhere nearby that was the total opposite in all ways Shame on you johns

I wish we never set foot in this place , the service was appalling , the coffee was lukewarm (despite us being sat right next to the coffee machine ) nothing was explained - for anyone wanting to try this place you have to go into the deli bit next door ( and get pushed about a bit while other customers try to see what’s next to you ) to place the order and you have to explain you want to sit in the small seating area as they have to do things differently?? We placed the order and had to repeat it several times only to discover the staff member still missed one item off which caused several issues , total waste of money and is in absolutely no way suitable for anyone with any mobility issues .

We had a lovely lunch here, everything was delicious. Ellie our waitress was brilliant and we got some nice things in the shop. It's not the cheapest but it's also not the most expensive and we thought it was reasonable given the quality.

As an experience, you think "wow" a lovely quaint village shop and separate delicatessen. Main issue is good grief it is overpriced. When I'm on holiday, I generally don't worry about spending money, but this really does leave you feeling like you have been slightly taken advantage of. We're talking £4-5 for a single sausage roll / scotch egg. The scotch eggs were OK and the sausage roll good, but for the prices EVERYTHING needs to be no less than excellent. £5 for a loaf of bread!! The quiche was truly lovely and worth the £5 (for a slice), but an apple Danish cake (again in the region of £5 was far too dry. If you want to charge the prices you are everything has to be excellent, but sadly some of it isn't! I'm sure the place is a roaring success commercially and hope it continues to be, but the initial feelgood vibe is not matched by delivery / COST ratio!

Lovely looking deli but sadly the coffee was very weak and the cakes were nice but on the pricey side. 2 cakes and 3 drinks just over £20. Good location with a few tables outside.

Great breakfast here with great service from friendly and helpful staff. Harley particularly helpful in the shop too.

Popped down to Johns Deli as I often do living just 5 mins walk away. I was craving a bit of quiche and John's always delivers on the flavour front, lovely homemade bacon and cheese quiche , fair price for the portion and I don't mind paying more for quality. Oli in the Deli was very helpful and polite. Popped in to grocery side to grab a couple essentials and was served by Annie who was also a delight! I frequent Johns of Appledore often and the team is lead wonderfully by Jo , the store is always beautifully presented my personal favourite is Christmas 🎄 grotto season in the deli .Well done team Johns :-)

Really disappointed with the level of service on offer. All three members of staff I spoke with were completely dissmisive, when approached. I asked for a menu multiple times and asked for assistance to retrieve one,as it was hard to navigate the shop floor with my pushchair, and instead of helping the staff member just repeated where it was. I don't live in Devon any more and was visiting for the weekend, so I drove over to Appledore specifically to visit John's supermarket, and ended up leaving without buying anything.

I took my son and his family including two small children into the cafe for breakfast. It was a bad experience. The croissants were ok but the cinnamon roll was undercooked (raw pastry) The tea and coffee arrived late (long after the food had been eaten) And it was overpriced. The worst thing however was the noise from the intrusive coffee machine. It was consistently hissing and spitting loudly and there was a constant ear splitting banging as the server was forcefully hitting something (a receptable of some sort) onto the counter to empty it. It was impossible for us to converse and some of the party left before the tea and coffee arrived. If you are going to charge those sorts of prices then you need to improve on preparation of food, the service and the atmosphere. A good start would be to get rid of the coffee machine!! I won't be returning.

The shop is very well stocked and is an emporium of quality food and goods. We also enjoyed coffee and pastries for coffee from Johns of Appledore in their cafe next door. The prices are very reasonable and the staff friendly and helpful.

Really excellent John's best breakfast butty. Lightly toasted fresh sourdough bread,not too thick filled with freshly cooked quality bacon,sausage and egg cooked to perfection.A true winner! Dog friendly ,warm and cosy cafe.The staff are proffessional,friendly and efficient.Highly recommend for breakfast.

Paid £23.00 for 2 breakfast rolls and 2 coffees and was served it in a cardboard cup and box. Shocking! Very greasy too. McDonald's style service for double the price. If you have a cafe at least offer coffee in a cup and food on a plate. Fair enough if it's take away. Not my idea of 'going out for breakfast'

What lovely little shop and cafe. Lots of nice high quality products, service wuth a smile and really tasty pasties. We had a great snack, drink and wander around the small store. If you are in the area definitely worth a visit.

Shopped here for some treats from the deli. Really good choice but rather expensive. However as we were on holiday felt we could indulge ourselves a little.

Only dropped in for a takeaway pastry sausage roll, but ended up with a crab baguette as well. Utterly delicious and highly recommended, if a little pricey.

Had an amazing iced Carmel Coffee I’ll never forget. Also the girl with short blue hair who made was gorgeous

Beautiful deli and cafe. Friendly staff, gorgeous ice cream and coffee and well worth a visit when in Appledore.

Amazing shop with great choice. food was delicious and quick to come. crab baguette was full and lovely. pasty was hot and full of meat. brilliant. service was a bit lacking in joy and both people I interacted with didn't seem happy to be at work.

What a shame, food and drink is lovely if a little expensive which would be fine if the people working there weren’t so miserable with customers and each other. The people working there seemed to actively be sniping at each other in front of customers. We are local and would love to support small business but won’t be back. Also wish they would reconsider - I feel that if you are happy to take £8 for 2 sausage rolls asking for a little tap water is quite reasonable and denying this is rather mean.

Wonderful selection of local products and home made food, helpful and knowledgeable staff and we enjoyed the lunch items we purchased sitting on the quayside.

Lovely place with nice groceries, local products, gin, cheese, bread etc. Nice service, good little cafe and ice cream place there too as well as post office. Lovely to have in the town, we have visited lots.

A very expensive cream tea served in a carboard box. We were told that we could eat-in but the scone, jam and cream were a take-away. Imagine trying to serve that on your knee on a seaside bench. We sat in. No plates, weak coffee in a cardboard beaker and the scone (just one each) was made of cardboard too. This deli used to be very good but we won't be going back in a hurry. We are locals not tourists.

Nice shop and cafe. Food and latte great. Clean and tidy making this a great place for a coffee and a little rest after walking for a while.

I asked for something gluten free for lunch and was offered gluten free scotch egg or gluten free bacon and sausage sandwich. I chose the latter and was quite ill later in the day with classic gluten ingestion symptoms for coeliacs. My daughter bought food for 2 adults and 3 children and we all felt rushed and unwelcome. Plus their drink order was incorrect even though it was on the receipt. She has lodged a formal complaint on all issues.

Lovely Sunday wander flowed by a tasty snack from John's....what a fantastic cafe /deli. Stock fab foods and provisions. Instow too.

Go to john's when we visit appledore every few weeks, always have a well done vegan pasty to take away and sit on seat facing water. Really lovely pastys.

All of the establishments were friendly and efficient, the food choices were varied and suited everyone, highly recommend.

I wrote a great review a long time ago. Since then we've had a couple of visits and there is definitely a theme that the team are not as happy. You kind of have to decide at a team level whether you like tourists or...

We had the crab baguette which was quite tough going and pricey - I asked if they did crab sandwiches which of course is more traditional and would have been a little easier to chew but unfortunately was told no.

Was looking forward to coming here as I had read that it is dog friendly (as most of Appledore is) but unfortunately was not allowed to bring my dog inside. You have to go inside to order so was naturally disappointed. Am sure it's lovely...

When looking at all the displays everything looks amazing and delicious. However, we bought a salad, quiche and scotch egg and all were not great. Not 100% fresh from today. And expensive! Staff were very friendly , pity about your deli products.

You need to change your links! When you click on the menu tab of John’s of Appledore it takes you to the full menu of John’s of Instow! We turned up for breakfast in Appledore and had a choice of two breakfast sandwiches only. Very...

Staff were so friendly, fish soup was great. Fab selection. Will be recommending to friends family and anyone else who’s wanting to listen to my rave reviews. Thanks again Johns for being my number 1

Local friends recommended that stopped by at John’s as it was a ‘local institution’. We were spoilt for choice, but opted for a selection of the chocolate brownies having read an online review. We were not disappointed - and the staff were lovely.

crab baguette was filled with lettuce at the back with only crab at the front. (£8.50) one pot of clotted cream not enough to share between 2 heavy scones for the takeaway scone box (£8) sausage rolls average £3 each. won't be back.

We purchased local cheeese and biscuits but found the prices expensive…take away crab baguette was very nice.

Popped in for my favourite latte and left with an armful of Easter booze! Couldn’t decide whether to go for the wine or gin offer, so left with both! Loved your smiley staff! Thank you Johns!

Literally just back from buying a pasty along with several of my family. The only thing useful for it would be knocking in nails. They have clearly been sat in a warmer all day drying out. £4 and it was mostly inedible. This is one...

Bought some scotch eggs & brownies for a picnic . Fantastic choice though if beers , local Gin , cheeses . Everything looked really tempting ! Good quality produce . We visit every year whilst on holiday . Nice to buy foodie presents too to...

Overpriced, average quality goods. The deli is especially expensive and really not up to the standard expected of the prices . Staff not really engaged.

We were staying in nearby Bideford but decided to travel to Appledore and get a light breakfast and hot drink. This place stood out as it offered so many different options for different tastes. The cakes and other local deli items looked amazing but we...

We were searching for a quick lunch rather late on in the afternoon after a disappointing catering experience at Rosemoor gardens. I have to say that the quiches we ate were the best I have ever tasted. The man serving us however had no personality...

Wow this is an Aladdin's Cave of delights!!!!! The sausage rolls and pasties are off the scale and top value, so much wonderful local produce including amazing cheese. A must visit.

Really nice helpful staff. Lovely produce on sale. Only downsize is prices on some things are a bit high - but didnt stop us returning lots during our stay.

This is the type of deli we all want on our high street. Loved the display of local food. Great choice of yummy grub.worth a visit.

Great deli, delicious but pricy to get enough to feed 6 adults and one three year old. Pies, pasties, quiches and lovely brownies etc

Brilliant Deli with fab range of unusual and high quality food. Quite simply the best brownies I have ever eaten!

We were all looking forward to our visit to the Appledore bakery today as a family, but unfortunately we were served by a very rude man. The caramel brownies were delicious, but we will never go to the store again due to the condescending manner...

From a small convenience store to a deli stocked with lovely treats - sausage rolls and cream tea scones - and a takeaway cafe too with milkshakes, you won't need to shop anywhere else.

This place looked like it was going to be very good, however what they advertised on the boards they could not provide. Special milkshakes could not be made due to lack of staff. Could t make special brownie milkshakes but yet where selling homemade brownies...

Nice looking store and the Brie was good, but avoid the lobster pate. £5 for a very disappointing product. Expected something a bit better given the location and access to produce

We visited quite late on Saturday not long before closing but there was still an amazing selection of food available. We chose the afternoon tea, cakes to take away and a dairy free milk shake. Our daughter has various allergies but could not believe how...

A lot of the products in the shop are not locally sourced - for example, they get their milk from Freshways, the national wholesaler with a poor reputation. Cheeses are mostly imported, as are vegetables. Fruit is expensive and the prices of basic goods are...

Loved this place. We visited Appledore twice while staying near Buckland Brewer. This store sells such lovely produce with lots of yummy treats. Can highly recommend the annas quiche and the tortillas plus the chick pea salad pot. Lots of cakes, pastry and chocolate too....

We were only in Appledore a week but shopped here 3 times. There was always plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, in fact it was a joy to shop in a small store that had everything we needed. Wish we lived nearer to you. Thank...

We visited Appledore on our way home .We ordered carrot cake which was simply delicious to eat on our return journey. When we visit Appledore again we will definitely purchase more food from Johns bakery.

Great selection of deli foods fresh and packaged. Not cheap so not somewhere you would probably buy from regularly but on a day out well worth it. Good awareness of Covid and felt clean and safe - shop shape made it a bit awkward but...

We shopped at the grocery store and the deli/cafe. Sadly, both members of staff were unwelcoming and rude. While in the grocery store, the member of staff serving went outside and 'told off' people for standing outside the shop. Then she proceeded to ignore me...

We arrived in Appledore and really wanted a pasty. We asked a local person in a souvenir shop who kindly directed us to Johns. Oh my word, we were not disappointed, probably the best Devon traditional pasty I have ever tasted. Definitely recommend this place.

Good coffee and wide range of food options served by friendly staff. COVID precautions and practices well in evidence

Admittedly late in afternoon but popped in here Monday 17th May having walked from Bideford to see if I could get 2 coffees en route. Coffee shop was open still with sign outside still. Walked in to what appeared to be a fabulous deli with...

John's deli is a must go too. They have the best cakes and savoury bakes, highly recommend their sausage rolls and Butterscotch blondie. Honestly the best blondie/brownie I've ever eaten.

Popped into Johns recently to grab a coffee and cakes as they were the only one open on the Quay before 10am. Staff were friendly and helpful as usual, but the quality of the coffee was very disappointing, tasted more like cheap instant coffee. In...

A big shout out to Jo who really helped to settle my anxiety whilst trying to manage through the Covid restrictions to order a coffee. Jo was very calm with my grumpiness and helped to lift my mood going that extra mile to process my...

We popped in mid afternoon wanting a late lunch . We were tempted by the lovely picnic box, containing a range of sandwiches, homemade sausage rolls and quiche and pork pie. Simply delicious! We walked over the road and enjoyed our box sat along the...

My partner and I regularly visit this deli in Appledore for a coffee. After a recent visit my other half dropped his wallet in a rush. Having left the deli, the staff noticed that he had left a large amount of cash on the counter...

My partner and I shop at Johns of Appledore very often as we live in the area. SO MANY members of staff have been unquestionably rude to both of us on many occasions and I just can’t even believe that staff can be that awful...

I would just to say that John’s of Appledore is a little Gem in our village of Appledore- we are so lucky to have such an incredible facility that we can walk to - thank you to all the staff that offer service with a...

Rude, abrupt staff who rush you to make a decision. Not many cakes to choose from. Long waits to get in and unfriendly atmosphere. I won't be going back.

This little deli and cafe is an absolute gem. John’s of Appledore is in an incredible location - right on the water front - and the deli sells lots of fantastic local and artisan produce. We had to be quite self-disciples not to buy the...

The food is presented very well in Johns but the actual quality lets it down. The scones we bought to have in our holiday cottage later the same day are too hard to eat so maybe have not been rotated? The Quiche with spinach in...

Warm welcome, warm quality, warm freshly made pasty and apple blackberry pie. Simply délicieux and kind hearted food

Very friendly welcome on arrival - excellent choice of coffees and cakes and fantastic friendly service ....It’s compact but an enjoyable experience.....

After spending a wonderful afternoon with sunny weather in Appledore in October, yes October, and after some reminiscing on the occasion of our Golden Wedding Anniversary, what better way than to end up at John's of Appledote. They have a small cafe and take away and when we saw a giant waffle, with fresh fruit, ice cream and sweet sauce on the menu..... What a perfect combination! Beautifully prepared by the excellent Lara!If you like a large treat of pudding, this is a must have and you won't be disappointed, service with a smile. The hot chocolate and coffee was excellent too!John's (the shop) also has an excellent array of groceries and produce for the discerning customer. There is also a shop on the Instow side of the estuary.Thanks for making it a special treat!,

I need say no more, possibly one of the best steak pastys I've ever had give me more! Lovely little shop with a nice selectiob of fresh pastry. Nice for a snack or some lunch bits.

Restricted to just 2 tables with Covid so fortunate to get a table. Had the soup with half a sandwich which sounds basic but it was lovely and well worth the extra pound or so compared to other cafes.

We shopped in the deli and bought some chutneys and jam's to take home with us. Shop was clean and tidy and had lots of choice of local products.

Stopped off for a late breakfast on their first day of doing Covid-distanced-friendly food. Delicious full English breakfast with sourdough toast, a perfect latte and yummy hot chocolate (Venezuelan buttons - you’ll see!). Popped into the attached deli next door afterwards to buy some of their hot chocolate buttons (stir into hot milk) as it was so good. Lara the lovely waitress was such fun, friendly, and couldn’t do enough for us. She should be on commission as we spent a small fortune in the shop after sampling her hot chocolate!

John's has most things you need ,expensive ,not very friendly especially in the deli It does h e everything you need at a cost

We arrived in Appledore, parked the car up and have used Johns both the grocers and the deli all week.One of the things we admire is how this business has coped with COVID restrictions and changed their business model. We visited Appledore just before full lockdown happened so very different times. You order your breakfast rolls and drinks in the deli and then collect your order from next door which was the cafe, considering we visited during the book festival we never waited too long for our food and drinks. We love the range of food available in the deli so much we had two picnic boxes. The staff were very clear that the box may not have everything as prescribed because we ordered it late evening for the next day but we were not disappointed. Great value for money and saves you having to purchase individual items to make your own.Very friendly and helpful staff who are all doing an excellent job with the current situation we found ourselves in.We hope that they are still an option when we return in 2021.

We bought a picnic box, sandwiches and the most delicious looking Devon Cream tea which we took to their seats across the road. The coffee was lovely, sandwiches and picnic good (great idea and selection) BUT the scones were rock solid and all four of us struggled to eat them. What a shame as they looked delicious. We then had all the packaging to dispose of, the roadside bin was overflowing and the staff weren’t happy to dispose of it. It might have just been an off day but as we were only staying for the weekend, we will never know.

Remember this is the Appledore Book Festival weekend. Village was quite busy.My sister and I thought it would e good to go out for tea. There was little choice in Appledore at 3.45 mid afternoon. Other cafes had already closed.We asked for a couple of slices of cake with out tea and coffee. Apparently they don't sell slices of cake, only a whole cake. So it was tea and coffee only.The coffee was so bad I tipped it away.Either the machine needs cleaning, the coffee was stale, or of a very cheap poor quality

I was absolutely appalled on my recent visit to this cafe in Instow. The service was horrendously slow and staff seemed to be not bothered by the queues at all or apologetic. Waited nearly an hour for 3 smoothies (which all tasted just as bad as the other) and had to remind the staff member that I had ordered a tea too. People are very reasonable and really don't mind waiting if there are delays for whatever reason but apologising goes a long way and I seen absolutely no customer service here yesterday. My mother ordered a spinach quiche and got given chickpea and spinach pie which she could not eat as it was so cold. When asked if it could be heated she was told it couldn't and wasn't offered an exchange for being given the wrong order. I was also not allowed to use their toilet whilst waiting for so long for my take away which I thought was very unfair. At least if I had been warned of the wait I could have gone somewhere and returned in the time it took for our order to be filled.

Lovely service by Debs in the cafe. The deli has a large selection of locally produced foods and drinks. The coffee is a must try. Best coffee I've had whilst on holiday. Will worth a visit.

Just a take away for us but great COVID secure procedures in place, BEAUTIFUL food and gifty things and the staff were friendly and helpful.They do lovely picnic/ party hampers that are reasonably priced too for the great quality of food.I would definitely recommend.

What a gem. Lovely goodies. Bought smoked trout pate one day. So delish had to return 2 days later for another one before returning home from hols. Sold out! Debbie came to the rescue and made up a tub on the spot. That's what I call customer service!Wish it could be posted!

We love having Johns of Appledore in our village With tasty deli treats like the Sourdough bread and the irresistible chocolate brownies and amazing cheeses - Johns is fab Also the convenience store has everything you need with out getting in the car - plus a great range of local made Gin and Rum - Post office is another bonus Keep up the good work and thank you

As this is the only shop selling groceries in Appledore, I think they take advantage of that as it's very overpriced. A tin of Heinz beans is 99p! I would say most branded products are around 50p to £1 dearer than the local supermarket 3 miles away. Bought the pre packed beef but after opening and storing in a fridge, the next day it smelt 'off'. The staff are also not very friendly.The sausage rolls from the delicatessen next door are nice as are the pre made sandwiches although £5.50 for one sandwich! The scone wasn't that nice. The brownie was very nice.A mixed review really. I can see they stock good products but it's just the price and the feel you are been taken advantage of.Also, not much point in their hand sanitiser that is outside the shop. It's not a pump action so you have to actually pick it up and squeeze it, so imagine all the germs on the bottle plus it comes out like water and is very messy. Also, it's not clear how many are allowed in the shop at once and if you step in, you're likely to get shouted at by the staff or even encounter a local resident informing you how you've sent the R rate up!

Beautiful homemade food. Huge Waffle, lovely coffee friendly staff. Wife says best croissant ever. Lovely to sit on the quay and enjoy the view while eating.

We had the ham & mustard sandwich which was in a ciabbatta roll and.a smoked salmon & cream cheese bagel - both were tough and sadly not tasting like fresh bread. The salmon was so smoked you could roll it in cigarette paper and smoke it! Overpriced for what these were. Store & selection was impressive and coffee was nice. Possibly a bad day.

Don’t waste your money! Waited 25 mins to be served hot drinks, to find that one of the drinks (cappuccino) ordered was very small for the price of £3 and wasn’t even hot! Extremely slow service due to the poor staff distribution between their adjacent shops.

Cream tea to eat on the Quay their tables and chairs provided! Scones near frozen, cream the same, no knife, no Tea,and no mention of no tea with a cream tea by the unhelpful staff £7... The worse ripoff in this whole month! Awards won outside it states! Must be given by their accountants!!! Crap

Today we waited around half an hour for 3 bagels and there was nobody else waiting for food. Pathetic. I cannot get those minutes back, I will never be eating or shopping at Johns ever again.

£3 for a takeaway coffee, extortionate, slow service. And not even good coffee! Will not return . Queue one side pay , queue another to collect but too slow

Never again will I be going there!! So rude and no character. Spoke to us like dirt. Such a shame it has made me not want to come back to Appledore

Great little shop with very friendly and attentive staff who are always willing to help. Lovely cafe on the side well worth a visit

Great vegan and vegetarian optionsLovely quality foodChild friendlyOk pricesClean If it had extra space to sit down instead of being quite cramped I'd give it five stars!!