Naafi Restaurant & The Squadron Mess Bar in Epping Forest

Arrived to RoseyLea's at 9.20am for breakfast on 9th June. Stood by the wait here sign for 5 minutes without any staff in sight. Two tables eating their breakfast inside the restaurant. When I poked my head around towards the kitchen, there were two staff members enjoying their own breakfast and 5 staff chatting to themselves in the kitchen. Stood for a further minute or two before we were acknowledged. A young woman with a scowl on her face and looking like she would rather be anywhere else barked 'how many?' After saying we were 3 plus a baby she gestured half heartedly to the restaurant and walked off sullenly back towards the kitchen. My pregnant wife was left holding our toddler while I was forced to shout across the restaurant for a high chair. The food was extremely average - both in quality and cooking skill. I am by no means a chef, but I could have made it better at home. And honestly, £3.25 for a small glass of long-life orange juice?! I don't mind paying that kind of money for juice, but at least get some not-from-concetrate stuff. You must think your customers are mugs! What a massive shame as with the novelty of the airport for children this could be a really good spot, but this is a rip off at £50!

£20 for English breakfast and a cup of tea. Food was very average, service was very very poor, for the money there’s no way I’ll be going back. If you want food at the airfield go to wings

Beautiful gem of a place, very clean, pretty surroundings, as in decor, food very tasty, beautifully presented, good value for money....lovely view overlooking the Airfield. Lovely friendly staff....all of them, George was very informative and helpful, would definitely visit again, a quirky vibe to the place, loved that tea was served in a teapot with cups and saucers.

Good range of menu. Quick happy service and a Spitfire taxinge past. What's not to like. Excellent visit

Took my old Mum there as she was stationed there during the War. She was able to remember her days from the very same place.

Love this cafe. It's no nonsense and tasty well priced grub. Fascinating little building and really friendly staff. Hope they get the place sorted for the summer - it's annoying to turn up and find it closed. They're missing out on a lot of custom as people were turning up all morning and having to go to the rubbish cafe on the other side.

Visited on a weds before school went back, food was lovely!! Customer service from an older lady was awful like she didn’t know how to crack a smile!

Came here with my family for Sunday carvery -the older blonde lady who served us was extremely rude!!! The food was awful -rock hard carrots dry horrible meat and there were no roast potatoes just fried potatoes- the carvery looked drab and boring

21st July 2018. My son's weddinreception at the Squadron Club. Scorching hot day perfect weather, the bar and room was perfectly laid out and as it was so hot the initial reception was catered for outside. That included the double decker Bus Bar which catered for all needs with a super Pimms. Catering consisted of hors dourves on arrival and a full Bar B Q served by Billy Manning. He was a super host and his staff could not have been better, nothing too much trouble. The food was excellent and vegan requirements were catered for as well. The Disco for the evening was great and as a special request Billy served the famous Squadron bacon sarnis. Everything to make the day special was thought of by Billy who hosted it without any fuss. To top the day it was arranged that a Spitfire from hanger 11 not only taxied past the guests but what I can only describe as a private flypast of the plane took place (thanks to Peter Teichman) Superb day and all thanks to Billy and his staff.

Lovely cafe with exceptional food (and prices!), friendly staff and we thoroughly enjoyed our food. The locally sourced sausages, hand cut bloomer bread, home cooked ham and hand written specials board are only a few things which make this cafe one of our favourites! Highly recommend and will be visiting again!

The food is rubbish the owner is rude and very over priced the event they run are waste of time and only thing good is the planes that fly in

Went today for breakfast in the rain. Great historical venue, great prices and friendly staff. We love sitting and watching the aircraft taking off and landing, plus its an easy place to get with limitless parking. Great breakfasts and meals here.

I loved it here for a Sunday morning breakfast. Firstly, it is not posh. I used the squadron mess bar. Secondly, it was a magnificently sunny and hot morning. You order your food which is well cooked and hearty. Then you can sit inside or out. If you sit out you can watch the aeroplanes taking off and landing. It is out of the usual and very interesting if you like planes. It is a bit of a drive around the airfield to get to, but I think its worth it. Friendly, welcoming and great cafe food. I understand that they also do Sunday lunch and open at other times.

I had a ham salad sandwich, the fresh bread and ham were good but the salad was sadly lacking, the ‘green’ leaves were turning brown, there was only one quarter of a tomato placed on top of the sandwich and none inside. Once I took out the nasty green stuff I was left with a few slices of cucumber cut into quarters and a few bits of raw onion. Overall very disappointed. Was also very pricey, we had one sausage sandwich, one ham salad sandwich, a can of cream soda and a bottle of water for £12.40😳 The glasses provided for drinks were also dirty 😏

Lovely friendly atmosphere with seating inside and out on a busy airfield next to one of the main taxiways and aircraft parking. Perfect on a nice summer's day to sit outside and what aircraft coming and going. The buildings have lots of character, clearly some going back to WWII when North Weald was a fighter station during the Battle of Britain. The buildings and tables and chairs are now looking a bit tired, particularly the outside seating. The food is good and tasty though nothing special. Overall a lovely welcoming place to come to relax with a nice meal.

Rode here for a late breakfast with three other bikers. Food was decent enough – portions large, bacon cooked exactly as requested, eggs runny....just how I like them. Tasty too. Worth a trip...

I visited the Squadron with friends one Sunday for a drink and a chat. After seeing what the other customers were eating I had to stay for lunch. My friends had sandwiches that were packed with filling, or the Chinese lamb noodles. I went for a simple ham, egg and chips but found the ham was fresh and thickly cut and the eggs were cooked perfectly. The building has kept a strong link to the airfields history with pictures and items around the building. Glenn Miller was playing the whole time we were ther too, adding to the feel of the place. Really good place to go for a Sunday dinner.

What a great venue - better when the sun is out, and you can sit outside and watch the aircraft movements. Hard to find a better breakfast, what ever you choose you will not be disappointed.

I was looking for a cafe/rsrnt somewhere near Epping.

We came here for a Funeral wake for my Aunty and on opening the door was instantly transported back to the 1940's with memorabilia from both wars. the staff were very helpful

Good food and coffee, friendly staff. Novel setting. Will be back in better weather to sit outside and enjoy the planes a bit more :)

Friendly staff. The food we had was not great but there’s a nice feel about the place and great for aircraft-watching.

We love coming here for a beer in the sun, watching planes taxiing by, taking off, and landing. Amazing place to have round the corner!

Booked here for lunch with my family prior to a birthday flying lesson.

We took our family from Kent for what we thought would be a good slap up meal!! BUT got slapped in the face and wallet by an absolutely awful meal!! My brother in law is the original dustbin for bad food, BUT, the sausages were so hard he couldn't even slice through them, they should supply an angle grinder to cut them up!! Took them home for the dogs, BUT even they refused to eat them, and I then feared their teeth might drop out as they were so hard!! Some of us had fish and chips, the fish was ok but minute in size, but the chips all but three of them were black, and I do mean black!! The tea was cheap dusty tea bags which tasted like hot stale water! The positive was the cheese and cucumber sandwich was quite nice, but other than that this was an embarrassing time for us, as our family clearly let it be known that this was the worst meal they had ever encountered, and we absolutely agree. Will definitely not be returning, and hope that the owners view this review, and for future visitors do get their house (cafe') in order!! Best advice is look around at other people's plates before buying yours?

Had a cooked breakfast on a lovely sunny morning. Able to sit outside and look over the airfield. It's a nice novelty in terms of location. The cooked breakfast was as good as any normal cafe let down only by the coffee which was very weak for all of our tastes. I'd come again but would make a specific request for stronger coffee.

It's a brilliant little gem of nostalgia and a terrific bacon sandwich. Other good food too. Whilst there a spitfire passed the window and all sorts of activity on airfield. Such a good place to take visitors to North Weald for something different

My friend and I visited the Squadron today, just before lunchtime. We were made very welcome by the owners and staff.

Having been to visit the North Weald Air Museum the friendly curator suggested we visit the Naafi for a cup of tea or spot of lunch. We'd never have found it otherwise, but were really glad we did.

My wife and I have enjoyed the Sunday carvery on a few occasions before our latest visit and always found the food excellent, good value for money and the staff very helpful. Last Sunday used the Naffi as a venue for my mum’s 90rth birthday and I must say it was excellent. Our party of 26 consisted of the age ranges from babies to my 90 year old mother. The food was excellent and great value for money as always. The staff really helped to make it not just a great day for my mum but for our whole group and I would like to thank them for their help and attention that made it a really special day for all.

To be clear, this is not a restaurant, but a cross between a cafeteria and a school canteen. You have to queue to order food which has to be paid for in advance. When it is busy and people ahead are placing large food orders, not a problem in itself but It can be a nuisance when you only want to buy a drink. There are peak times in the past when I have waited over 15 mins just to get a coffee!

Having visited the Naafi for breakfast and the carvery on a number of occasions with our fellow bikers we saw the flyer advertising Christmas Lunch and decided to book it.

We took our elderly parents here for lunch and it was all perfect - staff were lovely, café was lovely, weather was lovely, experience was lovely, apart from the food! There was plenty of choice but the chips were really dry (Dad choked on them!) and my pepper and halloumi burger fell apart! Don't let it put you off going as its a lovely atmosphere and I'd go again for that!

We found this while staying in the area. We drove round the perimeter of the airfield and had a coffee outside the Naafi while watching lots of light and medium aircraft taking off. There are some really historical aircraft that we thought we would never see flying.

Visited Naafi bar and restaurant with family on 29th August 2016; great place to watch the planes with great views. Excellent home made food and service, would highly recommend. The staff was very helpful. Thankyou for your service.

We visited the Squadron cafe after visiting the very good nearby museum.

My farther loves old vintage aircraft, so we decided to take him to North Weald Airfield, we decided to have some lunch in the Naafi Resturant. So disappointed the service was appalling and our lunch was awful, when I asked to change my meal as I wasn't happy I was told if I choose something different I would have to pay for it... We were made to feel very uncomfortable after my complaint so we decided to leave.

Don't be put off by the barrier on entering the airfield.The squadron cafe is at the far end of the peri track.The new manager has substantially improved the food and seating areas.It's all very reasonably priced and good quality.The cakes are the only downfall as they are bought in 'home made'.A lovely spot for plane and people watching.

We was at north weald air field to visit the air ambulance site, And found the naafi restaurant, what luck! Great food at sensible prices, the place is all set up as it would have been for the air crews in the war, we sat and watched light air craft taking off and landing while eating for over an hour, highly recommended.

After a glowing reference from friends we went for a meal. We sat outside next to the runway watching planes and helicopters taking off and landing. Surrounded by hangars & memorabilia. Great location and atmosphere. The food, including one veggie option, was excellent. The service was professional and friendly. Everyone, staff included, seemed to be enjoying themselves.

We were there as we were going on a helicopter trip, we arrived and decided we were hungry there was a bbq, so we had a burger which was £5 a bit steep I think for a dried up old burger in a bun. Dont think we would eat there again although the staff are very friendly.

The menu covers traditional and more exotic choices - a flying breakfast with plenty of egg, bacon, etc or delicious Greek feta salad, casseroles, and even fish finger butteis. There is also a Sunday lunch carvery and sometimes a hog roast. A good selection of wines, spirits and lagers are available from the Mess bar and I can recommend the Scramble bitter specially provided for the Squadron. It is lovely to sit outside in the summer enjoying a meal and watching the planes come and go: with luck you might see a Mustang or Jet Provost or other vintage aircraft taking off or landing.

We booked to have a 1940's party there, and the venue was exactly right, staff very helpful, and arranged a lovely buffet in keeping with the era. Wonderful place, and can highly recommend it for a 1940;s themed evening

This venue is a quiet Nissan hut converted for events. We had a lovely 40's party with 40's singers in a wonderful environment

Really looked forward to this and followed information on website, but got there to find it is now the Squadron Bar and naafi and it was only open for a private function. A long way to go for nothing. Won't be going back. Website misleading.

Great atmosphere and good food. I went over there on the recommendation of an alderly friend and she was spot on. Food served hot and very enjoyable. Would highly recommend.

Great experience The bar restaurant was good Good food at good prices Great pint of scramble best finest ale Nice place for a lunch

Myself and my husband had a helicopter experience today so chilled here with a cuppa and some chips watching the aircraft take off and land. It has a relaxing atmosphere and the staff are lovely. Thoroughly enjoyed it and will be coming again!!!

This is a great venue for so many reasons. The food is so good in the NAAFI and the bar next door in the Mess is fun. You are surrounded by some fascinating pieces of our history in World War II and you have the pleasure of seeing planes flying by. If lucky, you might even see the resident Spitfire or Mustang..

Have been here often and always loved it. Today it was a yummy Sunday carvery lunch enjoyed in the NAAFI's friendly relaxed atmosphere and then next door to the Squadron bar for more drinks and live Irish music.

We have been here many times after moving to North Weald and I have to say it was a really heat find. Breakfasts are fantastic and it's nice place to go for a few drinks in the summer as its a real sun trap and there is always something interesting to see.

Strongly recommend for party, event or quick lunch. Excellent food and very accommodating staff. Love the location and the fresh home cooked food.

My wife and I together with our grandchildren have visited The Squadron’s "NAAFI" café several times which is located on the far side of the WW2 airfield at North Weald near Epping Essex, post code CM16 6HR. The menu choice is basic, homemade and very good. On our last visit we ordered off the bone ham, homemade chips and two eggs at just £6.50 each, very good value. Other options included, steak, chicken burger and sausage or bacon sandwiches. Hot and cold drinks are also available and it’s open daily from 9am until 3pm.