Tarka's Cafe in Braintree

Lovely cafe. Good food. Nice friendly staff. Good location.

Had a wonderful full English breakfast here, will be back for another. Great cup of tea too!

Always a great place to enjoy a nice breakfast. All local produce and cooked to perfection 👌🏻

Breakfast there this morning absolutely gorgeous 😍 😋

Love it here but it's noisy like a canteen and the frosted windows make you feel gloomy, I know they are temporary and the food and friendliness keep me coming back.

Went here with my mother. Busy and a nice vibe. Had a breakfast and my mum had a tea cake. Good came quickly despite being busy. Really good quality. Staff very good and polite

You can always guarantee great food and service here

Lovely place and very relaxing atmosphere. Food is wonderful and the staff are fantastic

Excellent customer service. Food always amazing. Highly recommend.

First visit, nice food, prompt, polite service, reasonable prices

Lovely staff and consistently good food. Great place for breakfast, brunch, lunch or a tea and some cake.

Excellent cafe. Good selection of food and drinks. Can get very busy but very well run. Well worth a visit.

Amazing cafe, nearby parking, little pods owned by different businesses. Cafe, Butchers, Farm shop, Bakery, Wines, Antiques very reasonable prices also xx Highly Recommended *****5*

A great place for breakfast, good choices. Also, there are great choices throughout the day. The warmed cheese Scone is superb but so are the cakes, breakfasts, lunches etc especially the soup. Added to this the girls working there are all lovely. A great place for lunch

Very generous portions. Great cup of tea. Although felt cups could of been cleaner as had tea stains.

Delicious 🤤 & freshly made food to suit all Friendly service Great parking and good vibe Can highly recommend a visit

Ordered the Goujon fish wraps.disappointed with filling as tomato and cucumber slice was too big.All the mayonaise was at the bottom.Quite messy to eat.Filing should have been diced in small pieces.Would still return and try something else.

Expensive for what you get, but good food.

Great bacon sandwiches using bacon from on site butcher 😋

Great little cafe , beautiful cakes and staff

Friendly staff, great welcome and dog friendly. Large range of breakfast items, good service, amazing scones. Looks like the staff really enjoy working there as it’s a great atmosphere. Easy to park. Well worth a visit.

Just been here today . Really enjoyed my food the sausage rolls are from another planet beautiful will return soon

Nice cafe with some vegan food on offer. We visited on a sunny day and managed to sit outside. With no table booking we have been turned away in the past when it is too busy. We had the pizza with vegan cheese and chips. Our friends had scotch eggs. Wanted ice coffee but the ice machine couldn’t keep up with the demand. Nice location but the back garden could do with a makeover. Looks a bit sparse.

Ladies are so friendly, place is nice and clean, plenty of parking, my only request is to do an all day breakfast.

Visit most weeks , and such lovely friendly staff , dogs made so welcome , never had a less than perfect visit and meal🐶

Always great, friendly service and food is lovely and fresh - best place around for a breakfast hands down!

I've eaten at tarka's since it opened - when they made their own baked beans and the breakfasts were, if not generous for the money, not disappointing. If I am honest it was always somewhere I went with girl friends rather than my husband. On this occasion my husband and I dropped in for breakfast , we were greeted and seated and ordered our breakfasts. I ordered their yogurt, granola, fruit and honey platter and when it arrived it was good. My husband ordered their full English and paid for an additional side of black pudding. His breakfast can only be described as a joke. It was tiny. One piece of bacon, a minute sausage, one piece of black pudding . ... For a breakfast totalling over £12. It really was farcical. When asked if he'd enjoyed his breakfast my husband replied 'well, im.not doing cartwheels,' Paid the bill and left. My husband hasn't been back and I now frequent Petals, at the garden up the road - which is a real girly retreat

The staff here are very welcoming and accommodating. There is plenty of parking and the Café and toilets are very clean. There was a good buzz in the café. While I only got a black americano, the food did look delicious.

Lovely food, needs more outdoor seating, maybe this happens in the summer. Not cheap but nice food. Didn't have any fresh sourdough on the day we visited but did offer alternatives.

Lovely little cafe, in ground with a bakery, butcher, garden centre and antique shop. Plenty of parking, toilets available. Food lovely.

Regular customers , everytime is a lovely experience , the staff are absolutely lovely whenever you visit , and being dog friendly is perfect for my visits

Excellent food, never seen such huge portions of cakes

Sparkly oasis, busy with bustle, crushed avocado sourdough toast with smoked salmon and a glass of St Miguel. That's lunch and love ❤

Great place for coffee and lunch

Friendly, efficient service. Great food and coffee. Nice, relaxed atmosphere.

Fresh ingredients and lovely atmosphere.

Having been here previously and not had the best experiences. Much better The quiche was amazing and warm. Pizza was really nice and fresh Ham, egg, and chips. Generous portion ham was very thick and dry. Takeaway cakes are amazing, so fresh and tasty

A really lovely little cafe, great food and the staff are always so nice. It's not cheap but it's definitely worth it!

We visited with a couple of our older friends. The food and drink was all very nice, and the service was friendly. I particularly enjoyed the sausage rolls, and with the meat being supplied by Miles of Morgan’s butchers next door then of course they’re going to be top class! The only thing I’d comment on is that it was very loud in there, because it’s mostly hard furnishings, which made it very difficult for my fairly deaf friend to hear me. I can see they’ve tried to put soft fabrics in a few places on the walls to help with this, but it still needs some work. If you’re hard of hearing, don’t visit at busy times. But yeah, really good, nice and easy to park, worth a visit!

It's a great brunch. Wonderful cakes are available. A fantastic breakfast with locally sourced products.

Lovely place to eat. I visited with a friend for breakfast and the food was delicious. They offer gluten free options.

Great cafe, cycled here today and was happy they had space and great food

The service is great but, the coffee and food is pricey and looks and taste cheap,

Overcooked my fried egg yoke not runny. Coffee 6/10...a little weak. Will attend again. I'm a fussy sod!

Delicious food, friendly staff, a really lovely way to spend a Sunday brunch time. X

Excellent all round, lovely staff and the food is always of a high standard *****

Another exceptional breakfast at Tarkas! The food and service is always excellent. Our four year old loves Tarkas little breakfast - a cooked breakfast that’s just the right size for a little tummy! Thanks guys - see you next time!

Visited on an incredibly busy day and very impressed with the level of efficiency, organisation and care for their customers. Service ran like clockwork and all with good humour and friendly smiles. Highly recommended and will return as often as possible!

Top notch cafe/restaurant in excellent barn complex. Staff are friendly and cafe has pleasant indoor and outdoor seating (on the decking). Pizzas are cooked fantastically with excellent quality local ingredients. Ham eggs and chips were lovely. Breakfasts are also excellent. Definitely a place to have on your list if you're out and about.

Excellent cafe with very friendly and helpful service from the staff. We had four really nice sandwiches for lunch which were all great. My Cheddar and Chutney was delicious! Only very minor criticism was that the chips were a bit over salted for my taste but I appreciate that's a personal thing. There is a farm shop, antique shop, wine shop and garden centre on the same site making this a good place to break up a journey. We will definitely return next time we're passing.

Really friendly staff, great food. Delicious scones.

Regular customers , everytime is a lovely experience , the staff are absolutely lovely whenever you visit , and being dog friendly is perfect for my visits

Great food. Competitively priced and beautifully presented with all the extras.

Lovely setup, great staff & a wonderful location Highly recommend.

Fantastic venue...food and service was amazing...lots of outlets also to see on site....visiting from South Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 family

Called in with friends for a morning coffee. Met by very friendly staff. I'm a Coeliac and they offered a very good range of cakes. I had the chocolate brownie, delicious! My friends had the tea cake and said how fruity they were! More of an Artisan teacakes. Would definitely go back again.

Came for morning coffee with friends, very friendly and welcoming staff. I'm a Coeliac and they had an excellent choice of cake. I had a brownie and it was delicious!My friends had the teacakes and they all really enjoyed them. Would certainly come back.

Bit on the expensive side but you get what you pay for good food and friendly staff with a good bakery and butcher

Excellent food and coffee... A reduced menu today so ordered something different. The Scotch egg is certainly one of the best.

this is our usual place to go out for lunch break, can't fault them at all and the staff there is amazing

VERY nice food - we popped there for a lunch and there were 5 of us.

We've been here numerous times now and always had good food and service. We visited again at the weekend with some friends and their kids and all the food came out together. Great for a walk around the antiques place opposite afterwards. 👍

Lunch at Tarka's was lovely. Food was so fresh and tasty. Service a bit slow but it was rather busy at lunch time. Good value for money in a lovely atmosphere

Great coffee stop and lunch on the bike

Great little cafe in an interesting collection of buildings. Reasonably priced with quick table service. Somewhat limited menu, but all done to a high quality and with lovely sourced ingredients.

Great food, nice place 👌 smells of sewage outside

Beautiful meal and good service. I was disappointed to be charged 50 pence for a pot of hot water, even after I’d ordered a tea and wanted the extra water as I like my tea weak. That is not customer friendly! Delicious scones and cakes.

Great place food is wonderful. Especially the cheese scones and cakes 😋

Very nice place to sit and chill, coffee and a bacon sandwich was good and fresh.

Disappointed with the food 😕 I ordered a sausage sandwich 🥪 and that was all I got we travel around a lot and visite a lot of café and every one served the sandwich with crisps and salad and coleslaw

We were greeted, if that’s the right word, by a very unfriendly, bordering on rude, person. Why would anyone put someone with such attitude as front of house, is a puzzle for me. Otherwise the food was good and the waiting staff were very nice. So, one star for service may be harsh, put the first impression was terrible. I won’t be returning any time soon.

What a fantastic place , very friendly loads to see and do .

First time visiting, a great place, great coffee.. :)

Beautiful breakfast once again! Got a couple of huge scones for later.

Friendly atmosphere when you walk in your greeted to your table of choice And it is table service which I found very nice who gave you menus to browse through at leisure? I found the whole experience relaxing and enjoyable. The food was outstanding. There seem to be a very wide variety for people of all dietary intake and would highly recommend that people go there just for the experience and I'm so glad I did with a friend of mine. So yep thumbs up coming back. Thank you for your service. Well appreciated

Our first visit, we stopped by to have a quick lunch, not realising Tarkas was in tier 3 so couldnt sit in, but it really didnt matter in the end as we enjoyed our mushroom and olive pizzas so much!The staff were really friendly and helpful, and we didnt have to wait long for our food and drink. Definately will be stopping by again regardless of whether takeaway or sit in available. Thank you!

Took granny out for the 1st time since lockdown! Great friendly and very clean cafe. Professional, yet very friendly staff and great covid-19 safety measures in place. Will definitely be going back.

I took my elderly parents for breakfast here and they loved it. The service was not just very efficient but was warm and friendly and made you feel so welcome. The breakfast was good value and everything was cooked to perfection. TY

Lovely friendly little place - have been for coffee and excellent scones and for lunch which was very nice. Will return without a doubt

Visited here during the first week of 'Eat out to help out". Lovely sunny day and plenty of parking available. Had queue for 15 minutes to get in, which was no problem. A very nice waitress gave us a menu to look at while we waited (see photo). The 6 main items were all pizza based and looked delicious. We were shown to our table at 13:09 and were told on the way that they had run out of pizza dough! Our table outside was downwind of the septic tank, which was a shame. After a 30 minute wait, our order was taken. I chose a sausage roll, Scotch Egg and chips. After a further wait of 30 minutes they arrived. Both the main features appeared homemade, were very small (see photo) and tasty. The chips were the normal frozen Brakes variety and were well cooked and crispy. Mine were served in a small ceramic pot. My companion's were unceremoniously dumped on the plate (see photo). Presentation is not the Tarka's strong suit! Even budget restaurants know that a small mound of mixed salad on the plate adds little to cost and real value in terms of eye appeal. The Stokes ketchup and mayonnaise were a nice premium touch, but I'd have preferred Heinz for the former.All in all, it wasn't a great first visit if I'm honest. But in fairness, I think the mistake was coming on a very hot busy day during a pandemic and a government give away scheme. The team were clearly under pressure and it would not be fair to judge them too harshly. I'll be back when things return to normal when I have high hopes this will be a great place to eat.

We sat outside - a lot of good tables in the lawn area, on the paving, and some inside. We were served quickly and the food is still as good as before lockdown. The staff are always smiling and ready to chat. So chuffed to see them back! And the meals are half price on Tuesday and Wednesday...

Stopped here with a friend for coffee and a slice of cake. Nice coffee and tea with a huge size of Biscotti cake... delicious. Food coming out of the kitchen looked really good. Staff attentive and social distancing adhered to, hand santizer at the door and you have to wait to be seated but nice to get out.

Lovely little cafe. I had a goats cheese and beetroot salad, which was tasty and fresh, and my OH had a pizza which was also tasty and obviously freshly prepared. The staff were all wearing visors to protect themselves and us (Covid-19) and we were asked for our details for track and trace - nice to see a small company taking the situation seriously as we have seen plenty of inconsistencies at cafes during our tour.

Lovely setting and super friendly staff. We had breakfast here and although the food was nice I found the portions were small for the price.

Only had coffee in here. Felt new (because it is!) and not cosy but the staff were very friendly and chatty which made the atmosphere nicer. The menu looked good, especially the breakfast, so will go back for a meal sometime. Waitress said they get busy so that is encouraging

My husband and I have been to Tarkas on very many occasions and they never disappoint... We have to travel to get there and are very happy to do so.The staff are amazing, friendly always happy The food is very reasonably priced ( you get what you pay for ) very tasty, VERY good portions.They are always busy, which in my mind is a very good thing as people are always returning.... if I could give 10 stars I would. We love everything about it ❤️

Located at Baythorne end Tarka cafe serves excellent home cooked food,perhaps a pound pricey per meal. Site has wine shop, delicatessen including local cheeses, butchers, gift shop and antique barn in pleasant setting.

I left a very poor review from my first visit, wow what a difference. Lovely service lovely food. Will definitely return. They appear to have solved their service problems. The food was super fresh and super delicious. Don't want to appear patronising but truly well done.

Always lovely food and well looked after too. We are a difficult family ... one pescatarian, one vegan, one vegetarian and an omnivore!!! All catered for beautifully.

We been meaning to try Tarkas cafe for quite a while it only 5 miles from us it surrounded by several artisan shops butchers bakers antiques etc... in a lovely position by the river outside seating be nice in the summer.. having said that we had smoked salmon cream cheese sandwich and dry cured bacon sandwich... the smoked salmon with coleslaw was worth the money the bacon sandwich was not ..one rasher between two slices of granary ... not good value

Visited on Wednesday for lunch. Arrived just after midday and it was packed so we wandered round the Antiques Centre, Farm Shop and new Gift Shop by which time there were a couple of empty tables. It is open plan and although it was cold outside we were sitting by the patio doors looking out to the open air seating area which is a sun trap. The choice of food is different and very appetising, good selection of both food and drinks. Definitely will return.

Having passed Baythorne End many times, decided to stop and explore. Restaurant is small and cosy - only downside is the acoustics due to the high ceiling. Delicious chocolate brownie with welcome cup of tea after trolling the Antique Centre. Very friendly staff -

I’ve visited this cafe with different friends over the last few months and had a throughly enjoyable experience. The chocolate cake was lovely and so was the Christmas pudding rocky road! Staff are pleasant although could be a little more attentive when you arrive, it wasn’t clear whether you order at the counter or whether someone would take your order. For anyone taking babies/toddlers they have high chairs with trays which is a bonus but they are wide legged so get in the way a bit so avoid the aisles. It would also be nice to see a cheap basic food option for young children like toast or kids sandwich as I don’t always want to buy a ‘posh’ sandwich for my 1y old or share mine!

Met up with friends in Tarkas Cafe. All homemade wonderful food on offer. Enjoyed a warm cheese scone and the staff were lovely. Will take our dog next time as there is a lovely outside area to be enjoyed.

Baythorne Hall has lots to offer and this cafe is very pleasant. Good wine and food shops in same complex.

We found Tarka’s café by pure coincidence. After a trip to Adventure Bike Shop, we planned to have lunch at Finchingfield, but on the way, we came across Bayhorne Hall. Amongst a local butcher, antique shop, Ben and Ella’s farm shop and cookery school, lies this sweet little café with delightful food.

Well-thought out cafe halt with a modern, stylish touch and a pleasant outside area when the sun's shining. We found the food tasty and wholesome if a little unadventurous. Excellent coffee and service with a willing smile by lovely staff. Prices about average.Definitely will return.

We stopped for brekky on a bike ride, not long after opening. Coffee great but it took 20 odd minutes for food to arrive by which time we had finished our coffee !!!

What is going on with the reviews for this place - Something is going on I do not understand? I have been twice in the last week and Karen the manageress has been charm personified to me, my wife and dog last Saturday. So impressed was I with the food and service(and I have very discerning standards - a lot higher than most) that I decided to bring my 9 biker buddies the next day without hesitation. Food on both Saturday and Sunday was sublime. My wife who bakes everything from the Great British Bakeoff was highly enthused by the chocolate Brownie and I agree having sampled it myself. Cannot fault this place and even with nine people at a table and 50 others in the restaurant we were served within 10-15 mins. Staff are all perfectly charming and well spoken. I will be back to try the things I missed and I am happy to recommend this cafe as a cut above the average greasy spoon in this area. They take great pride in baking their own bread which only professional chefs do.

We stopped and had breakfast on Saturday morning and I am sorry to say that we were disappointed :( I had poached eggs on sourdough toast, no butter on the toast so my breakfast was really quite dry and not very interesting. My husband had a bacon sarnie which he liked. Breakfast choice was very limited which was really surprising as the building and set up is beautiful. All the doors and windows were open, lovely breeze coming thru the restaurant, lovely aspect but breakfast choice very lacking. I was hoping for a beautiful eggs Benedict or Royale - you could offer so much more so this is constructive criticism :)