Squires in Rochford

Refused to do a takeaway coffee because they was too busy.

Excellent & friendly service from Diane and all the Staff. Food was fresh and wholesome - even the Decaff Coffee actually tasted of Coffee. Highly recommend! 👍

We have been regular weekly visitors but following 2 extremely poor experiences we will not be returning. On our last visit, we were advised there was a 30 mins wait for food - not a problem and we were happy to wait. We ordered 2 sandwiches and hot drinks. Our drinks arrived soon after placing order. We however waited and waited for our food- well over 30 mins. Everyone who was already seated when we arrived had been served and most had left and we had still not received our food. A table behind us left as they had not had their order taken despite having been sat there for at least 10 mins. Staff were standing around chatting. 50 mins after placing food order , we were just about to go to the counter to ask when our food would be ready, when food was then delivered to a table that had arrived significantly later then us - they were certainly not the same people seated at the table when we arrived. At that point we decided to leave and we went to the counter to cancel our food order and pay for our drinks. There was no apology or explanation, but we were not charged for our drinks. As this is the 2nd time we have walked out we will not be going back.

Was very much looking forward to our food today, but unfortunately the breakfast my partner received was really not very nice. The mushrooms were not hot and did not appear to be cooked properly neither was the tomato, also the sausage seemed to be of poor quality. I had the eggs benedict which I enjoyed but again was not very hot.

As a frequent customer of Squires I have to say I shall not be returning. We were giving it a second chance after having some very mediocre sandwiches a few weeks ago. We went for breakfast, we were not 'noticed' for some while before we were given the menus, even though there were only 2 other table occupied at the time. After quite a wait our order was taken. The drinks arrived after another wait but then nothing. We waited, the other tables started to fill up, and still we waited. Eventually a plate of toast was brought up, but we were unsure which of us it belonged to so we thought we would wait until the rest of the food arrived. 10 minutes later my husband's Full English breakfast was served but no sign of mine. He had to start his food as it was starting to get cold, after another 10 minutes my smoked salmon and srambled eggs finally appeared. There was no apology for the delay, but most telling was the fact that we were not asked if everything had been OK when we went to pay - they obviously knew it wasn't.

Long established Rayleigh "restaurant & tea/coffee shop" Friendly, helpful staff, excellent choice of coffees, maybe less so of cakes. breakfasts look good. Nice environment, think old fashioned tea shop.

We visited for brunch as my daughter who was unwell needed to eat and required a liquid diet so i thought the cafe would likely have soup on the menu. It was busy but there were a few empty tables, we were seated to the side while the table was cleared and cleaned. We had call the waitress over, firstly for a menu and then again to place our order. We ordered the soup of the day and a toasted sandwich. All very well presented as you can see by the photos. Although we did request they remove the bread when ordering due to liquid only diet, but that was ignored. My daughter said the soup was nice though. My toasted sandwich had too much cheese in to the point it was just too sickly and i had to scoop half of it out. Its clearly a hit with the locals but for us it was just a pit stop on the day while in the area and unlikely that we would return.

Service needs improving. Rude staff. Won't be returning.

I’ve found this a great place for a quick coffee, afternoon tea or a meal, especially breakfast. Lovely genuine old shop with wood beams just adds to the friendly atmosphere. If you like coffee I think Squires has the best selection in the area. Delicious afternoon cream tea which I have also had as a take away. Thoroughly recommended, a Rayleigh gem.

My favourite coffee shop in Rayleigh. Great for a quick tea or coffee with a good selection of both to choose from. However I find their breakfasts and lunches are equally good and the afternoon cream tea is well worth going for. Lovely old shop with wooden beams and friendly staff.

Very quaint, lovely atmosphere, young lady called Eve , very friendly and helpful thanks

My elderly mother and myself were greeted by the Manager and the waitress as ‘guys’. We mentioned before that this is insulting and inappropriate, but still they continue to do this each time and also to other groups of men and women! Please think about what you are saying and look at who you are greeting!! We are not Americans! and an elderly lady is NOT a ‘guy’..!!

Lovely old school tea shop on Rayleigh high street. Came here just before my dentist appointment and was greeted with a warm welcome. Decided on a latte and scone with cream and jam. Reasonably priced and very quaint. I recommend if you’re in the area

My friend and I enjoyed our coffee and the piece of chocolate fudge cake we shared. The waitress was lovely. I would agree it's confusing for someone who hadn't been there before to know what the idea is a choice of so many coffees in a cafetiere

Bit cramped but lovely food and the fresh teas are very nice

Cute little cafe. Good food and service x

This was the 1st time me & my partner went here, we had the afternoon tea for 2 and was really well presented and yummy. The staff was super friendly and lovely to talk to. I know nothing about coffee but was lovely to try different types and even bought our favs to take home to drink ourselves. Definitely recommend

Absolutely charming! Really friendly polite service and lovely home prepared food. Quite good choice for us Veggies My brother and l really loved it. We went early Sunday morning so got seated easily but in future l would happily wait for table. Back in time- quaint decor, old fashioned good service, lovely food - what's not to like!

Lovely tea room, serving an excellent cup of tea, made in a tea pot with proper cups. Not a tea bag in a paper cup. Nice selection of cakes to go with the tea. Breakfast looked very nice although have not sampled yet. Very good and friendly service.

Love this place clean and love the coffee.

Lovely little place. Had coffee and cake with my partner. Atmosphere is wonderful and staff go above and beyond to help you if you have any questions. Definitely be back

Such a shame. Really was looking forward to this after reading the reviews and seeing the pictures. I get that when you purchase afternoon tea, you purchase an experience and had we got that experience, I could have overlooked the other issues. Firstly, although a quaint building, it felt like I may as well have had afternoon tea in Wetherspoons. Quite closely packed in with people next to you having a fry up etc. It's effectively a slightly upmarket greasy spoon, not the ambience I was hoping for. Like I said, AT is an experience, it's meant to be whimsical and pretty..... Beautiful teapots, crockery all that... Not here I'm afraid. Clear modern tea pots, plain white cup and saucer, and severely chipped cake stands.... On to the food. One round of sandwiches each, consisting of four different flavours, all tasted pleasant enough but we did wonder where the rest was. Two, smallish scones that appeared to be shop bought rather than homemade but I can't say for sure, they certainly don't look like the ones in their website gallery, that were nestled above the rather more generous supply of sandwiches. Tiptree Jam and clotted cream in individual pots. Personal preference, but I much prefer the more personal touch of it being in little dishes rather than massed produced pots. Nice enough taste though. Then the cakes, again their gallery shows lovely big slices of homemade cake whereas in reality it was a bite size piece of flapjack, same size rocky road, bite size square of ginger, the same of carrot and two bite size Victoria sponge pieces. If you go by the pictures on the website, you'll be disappointed.... If you want the experience and ambience you'll be disappointed, if you want to leave feeling like you've had a a decent amount of food, you'll be disappointed. Two rounds of sandwiches, 2 scones and 6 bite size pieces of cake and cups of tea for nearly £40. I certainly couldn't justify it and wouldn't go back. A real shame.

Lovely food, friendly staff and good service. Will be back for more.

This is a good place for chatting with yours friends. The waitresses are nice, the food is good. It's amazing that there are dozens of tea for your choice. My wife tasted Darjeeling. It is good. Overall it has very cosy atmosphere.

Had breakfast here with my partner. Lovely freshly prepared meals and beverages.

Great afternoon tea! The service was superb and went out of their way to accommodate a fussy child! Lovely friendly atmosphere! Will definitely return!

Brilliant café brilliant food and friendly staff 👌

Love Squires! Small friendly with superb food

Had a lovely lunch there with a friend. Good service, good food, and extremely good value. I'm definitely going back soon.

Lovely place nice ploughman's lunch 😋 👌🏻 😀

Very nice coffee (plunge it yourself) & mushrooms on toast-delicious.

Excellent place , Lovely staff Tasty sconesss

Excellent lovely friendly, we have been going there for years now ,staff and owner are polite and curtious, food is so tasty and perculated coffee

Their spicy relish and cheese on toast was amazing. I will definitely have that again. The tea was a little 'perfumed' for our liking and we had ordered just regular tea. But for my first visit I loved it!

Staff very helpful, delicious food 😋

yes the food is extremely good and the Cafe all round is the same highly recommend

Loved my panini, mozzarella and chorizo amazing. Will be back. Thank you.

Great little coffee shop in Rayleigh. They did a great job Sunday at the baby shower we attended. Definitely be back.

Went to squires for a baby shower today and the afternoon tea was amazing. Lovely friendly staff would highly recommend xx

My sister and I popped into here with the intention to have some lunch but was short of time so just asked for tea.Well the owner in an abrupt manner told us that it was lunch time and normally would not just serve tea but this time he would.He spoke to us like we were tel years old ,me and my sister could not believe it but we did stay. If there had been a queue or no other tables available we would have not stayed but there was no queue and several tables available so there was no reason at all for the attitude and arrogant manner. If you don't want people to just have coffee or tea during your opening hours maybe put a notice on your door but after all it is classed as a coffee and tea shop.

Usual excellent service & friendly staff

Brilliant, lovely food, great friendly atmosphere 😀

Had a lovely strawberry /kiwi tea and Apo Dorset cake and custard

Very nice place and the food and drink was nice, I would go there again

Good coffee excellent prices would prefer coffee in a mug instead of paper cup !!

Lovely cafe/restaurant with a variety of hot and cold food and delicious cakes.

We enjoyed an afternoon tea which was delicious, helped by a great range of tasty coffees and friendly and quick service. We'll definitely return!

Lovely quaint coffee shop, excellent afternoon tea also a great selection of other food to eat generous servings on all food, very popular venue. I would highly recommend this place.

Beautiful old worlde tea rooms, lovely cakes and toasties, range of teas, can purchase afternoon tea vouchers and tables are reserved for you for your booking. Always busy

Met my sister in Squires for a much needed catch up and was given a choice of tables. The waitress was very friendly and gave us the menu and took our order in good time. When the food and coffee came up it was hot, very tasty and nicely presented. Cannot fault anything and will definitely return

My husband and I have visited this place on several occasions and on the whole the food has been acceptable but usually the customer service is hit and miss, however today it was so terrible that we left without even ordering due to the poor attitude of the young person who insisted we sat on a table that has been squashed in near the fire place there is no room to move and you are on top of the other customers, we had asked to sit at one of the other tables that was available but the girl was not interested my husband could hardly move it was totally unacceptable.. We live in Rayleigh and use all the coffee shops cafes to support the local town however we certainly will not be supporting Squires any more

Can be busy and if the owner is not present customers get overlooked at front even when table are available. Jacket potato poor today and small filling, wanted some cake to finish off but difficult to get attention so went elsewhere. Won’t be back as service remains inconsistent if owner is not present

I visit every week and the food is excellent. Very varied menu and my friend who is vegan is always happy too. The restaurant is in a beautiful old beamed building. Staff are very efficient and the service is good

Gorgeous food, hot, tasty and plenty of it. Fantastic service, friendly and efficient, lovely warm, homely atmosphere. No wonder it's always full, but definitely worth the wait for a table if you have to!

Tea and cake in a friendly atmosphere

Visited for brunch. An excellent service by the friendly staff, the Waitresses, Katy and Eve were very attentive and efficient. The food was delicious, thank you to the Chef, Kerry. Lovely tea rooms, with a warm, cozy feel. Will definitely be visiting again.

Thank you Squires for a delicious afternoon. The eggs royal, eggs benedict and sandwiches were delicious. Scone, carrot cake and tea completed a very relaxing couple of hours, attentive staff and quaint surroundings...we will definitely return.

Have visited twice this summer but didn't review initially. This establishment gives the impression of being a traditional tearoom/coffee shop. Small and quaint although not really suitable for large families, children or anyone with mobility aids. Quirky mismatched furniture and "no room to swing a cat" as they say. Toilets very basic, with baby changing facility apparently, although it looks like this would be very awkward to manage. The friendliness of the staff is hit and miss, unfortunately for us, both times we were not made to feel welcome. 1 All day breakfast - Mushrooms not fresh fried, possibly tinned? thinly sliced & watery, tomatoes thinly sliced barely warm, beans looked like they were the last lot from the pan, squashed, dark and gloopy (complained and replaced). Bacon was nice and thick, sausage was tasty. 1 Veggie Muffin - all heaped-on plate basically. !!! cheese on muffins was tasteless. (Same thin mushrooms & tomatoes) the scrambled egg was overcooked and dry. The tea was good, but the coffee was weak, i requested a new cup which was replaced. TBH the portions were just too big. Perhaps if they concentrated on quality not quantity, they would have a better review? Our personal choice for breakfasts, would be whole or halved fried, fresh mushrooms, tomatoes halved and well grilled, so they are soft and sweet, plus reduce the egg portion. It may be ok for people with huge appetites but a little finesse and some tlc on the food would go a long way! Our previous visit was similar although we had sandwiches - looked ok - but tasteless sadly

Someone brought us a gift for an afternoon tea at squires. It was excellent! The service that my husband and I received was exceptional especially from Rachel, Diane and Kerry. This made our experience and the occasion very memorable. Thank you squires for an amazing experience.

Came in today to ask about a Cream T voucher and was helped by a very polite, and pleasant member of staff.

Our weekly visit to Squires is always enjoyable, with pleasant staff and good service. The waitresses are always helpful, especially Lucy, who always remembers our order, before we are seated. We have also eaten lunch there occasionally, which is usually well, presented and tasty.

Highly enjoyable Afternoon Tea. Everything tasted very fresh, everything was delicious and decaffeinated tea was available (it isn’t always!). Our waitress, Rachel, was very kind and helpful and knowledgeable about the dietary specifics of what she was serving and her service was prompt and efficient...

Lovely place service was good, they e ven let me I a bit earlier as it was raining..

Little Bit Busy When I Came On Thursday

Sweet little Tea Room ,pleasent staff, serving light meals /cakes etc.

Very busy this lunchtime but we were seated almost straight away. Despite how busy the staff were we were attended to promptly and our coffee arrived in no time at all. I ordered a Chicken, Brie & Cranberry Panini which again was served much quicker than I expected (especially after reading previous reviews complaining about the level of service) the staff were attentive and polite. I liked it here and will return and I would recommend, there's a wide range of food on the menu at a reasonable price.

Came to Squires for the first time and was surprised how busy it was for a small cafe! Servers very friendly and polite, told there would be a wait on food which was completely fine, and the food was delicious! The girls did their best...

Staff too busy talking to serve customers. Cafe was empty but we waited ages to be served. Toast was over cooked. Cappuccino was more like a latte. Nicer places with politer staff elsewhere.

What is prity and lovely little coffee shop does everything you require lovely staff great coffee food lovely as well can't fault the place will visit again

Very popular. Very nice staff. Sandwiches, salad and coleslaw all delicious. A bit warm in humid weather.

Just simply brilliant Thank you

Food was OK, the prawns in my wife's sandwich were a bit dry and chewy, so not so nice. Service was pleasant just a bit inattentive, on the whole I doubt we would go back

I’ve always had great food and service at this little venue!

When we go to Rayleigh shopping me and my partner try to find time to go to Squires for well earned coffee and cake. When we arrived we stood at the door and after a couple of minutes we were shown to our table. Squires...

Food really wasn't that great and they made us pay for their mistake when they gave us the wrong sandwich. We weren't checked on at all and our drinks came after the food

Nipped in for a quick drink and snack. Had a huge slice of the most delicious carrot cake, actually didn’t eat dinner that evening! Friend had what I think was called Jubilee cake, apparently equally delicious. Only criticism - and this always happens with Squires...

Old fashioned tea shop. A quiet place to drop in for a cuppa and maybe a slice of cake. I like their quiche. Friendly, efficient service. I like it here.

Squires could not have been more perfect! A party of 27 volunteers celebrating their recent achievements in a traditional coffee shop. Fantastic food with topped up sandwiches, tasty, fresh scones with jam & Cream and delicious cakes. The tea just kept flowing. The nicest staff...

Lovely relaxing atmosphere all food freshly prepared

Great food, great service Friendly staff Kids welcome A perfect little cafe in the heart of Rayleigh Food quality is very good

Took my mum for afternoon tea for Mothers Day. We had a fabulous time. They catered for her need for Gluten free! Both hers and my food was wonderfully presented, tasting amazing and was served by Carl and his very friendly team. Nothing was too...

Wow, excellent service accommodating staff

Great selection of dishes, friendly service and top value.

The waitress forgot to give us the menus. Apart from that the service was pleasant. Quite good as they were very busy during the lunch period. Coffee was excellent

Love this little gem in Rayleigh great selection of coffee and tea with lovely staff always make you welcome. Food pretty good as well 😋

very easy place to have a good coffee great selection of unusual coffees, tea and eats also available.

Lovely well established coffee shop. Good tea and coffee, decent meals and snacks. Can get busy.

Disappointed with the quality of food. The chicken wasn’t fresh and was so watery it just made the sandwich and wrap soggy. Really disappointed as a pre packed sandwich and wrap would have tasted fresher and been cheaper. Coffee average and nothing special. Menu should...

Ok I suppose if you want food but don't go if you're two OAP at 11am and only want a coffee, we were more or less turned away and had to find somewhere else. Shame on you. 11am isn't exactly lunchtime and we wouldn't have been there long.

Just popped in for a coffee. Lovely venue. Had to wait a while to have order taken ( not great when you have a toddler itching to move) but otherwise couldn't fault it.

Went there for a sandwich manager was rude and the coleslaw a disgrace not shredded at all and for 5.95 for a hams sandwich one slice and the bread wasn't all that neither. Good job i won't be going back there again.

Great breakfast and amazing coffee. Friendly service would recommend

My husband and I visited Squires today and had breakfast with avocado 🥑 and poached eggs. Oh my goodness these ladies in the kitchen sure know how to serve a wonderful poached egg. The staff are lovely and friendly and when under pressure if they are busy still have a great outlook. Well done ladies you rule 👍

The food is good They have a Great menu and the staff are frendly. we had an all day Breakfast and a Jacket potato very Yummy well worth a visit

Nice, cosy cafe. Good range of food.

Lovely quaint coffee shop, food is good, large selection of teas and coffees. Staff friendly and welcoming. Highly recommend for breakfast or lunch.

Me and my boyfriend visited here on a whim after some sofa shopping. I had a latte & the jacket potato with chilli & cheese and my boyfriend had a Brie & bacon panini. Food was lovely & the menu was ginormous. Sad to hear...

Lovely tea shop, lovely staff and great food. However, very upsetting to see an extremely rude customer mistreating the staff. All staff dealt with the woman with professionalism and patience but were met with rude and abrupt demands. It was uncomfortable to watch and sadly did affect the atmosphere of the cafe. From what we understood this was not the first time this woman has created a scene in the tea room and staff clearly felt uneasy around her. As a paying customer I would hope that management would ensure that this person is not permitted to come to the establishment and abuse the friendly staff again. Thank you to the team who ensured we had an enjoyable visit despite the challenges they were facing.

My husband and I took his Mum for lunch.Sadly due to her health issues, it's difficult to find her something she is able to eat while we're out. The staff at Squires went above and beyond for her. It was her first outing since March last year and she really enjoyed her visit. We're really grateful to the team for such wonderful service. Nothing was too much trouble. We really enjoyed our food too. Thanks again. Looking forward to our next visit.

Lovely coffee, great selection of food. Lively staff too. x