Teals in South Somerset - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

We live in Somerset and like to visit local restaurants and cafes. We saw the article about Teals in Somerset Life and decided it looked worth a try. The grounds, landscaping and parking are very good and better than most places. The building is unusual and visually attractive, but the excess of hard surfaces and high ceilings create an uncomfortably high noise level. It needs softening with suspended baffles and wall hangings to change the acoustic. The shop is a good example of its kind: lots of interesting items and some unusual food products, but nothing that really grabbed me. We had booked for lunch. The reception and service was good and the staff had happy positive attitudes. The menu is very restricted but sounds interesting and unusual and so raises expectations. The reality turned out to be a little uneven. My flatbread with brisket of beef, slaw, gherkins and sweet mustard was attractive but has a fundamental flaw. The flatbread is very very tough and the knives are blunt. Hence it is a very time consuming and strenuous activity to carve off a useable mouthful! I saw a lady on a nearby table with arthritic hands who was hardly able to eat anything because of this. Inside the flat bread the beef was excellent and generous, the other items were perhaps too acidic and not as well balanced as they could have been. But overall the filling was tasty and interesting and indeed ambitious. But the flatbread packaging fell extremely flat (pardon the pun). A softer texture like a wrap would have made the whole thing manageable and even pick-up-able. We felt this place has real potential and is trying hard, but perhaps the menu owes more to a desire to experiment than to a desire to give diners something which combines novelty with practicality.

Awful experience. Directed to bench as not buying lunch. Table outside was available. We were there for coffee and cake. Obviously not spending enough to warrant sitting at a table!!!! Even though table and chairs are cheap affairs!!! Will never go back. Cafe staff patronising and entitled.

Stopped here to let the dog run and grabbed some coffees and pastries. I ordered a small americano and the barista kindly offered to make it in a smaller cup than usual to get the best experience. It was just perfect! The croissants were so buttery and delicious that I’d be tempted to drive the 80 miles from home to pick some up. I think I’ll be back very soon!

We visited today as had read that they have a dog friendly exercise area, their website does state that dogs are not allowed in the restaurant but are permitted in the outdoor seating area, so we thought that we would stop and walk the dogs and then eat with them in the outdoor area. On arrival the site looked clean and appealing. We walked our dogs in a lovely area and then went to order breakfast and sit in the courtyard area with the dogs while eating our breakfast, but were informed that we needed to order from the 'food to go' counter and could not have hot food outdoors, this was disappointing. Teals have a great dog area, good parking, clean and fresh interior and exterior, local produce, the only flaw is not offering hot food where you can sit with your dog.

A quality place to stop. Knocks all other Services into a cocked hat. Delicious food and a good array of goods to choose from as well as a huge field to let your dog have a run.

Arrived here on the way to Devon because it kept coming up on Facebook and I stupidly thought it would have a decent range of snacks and sandwiches. We prefer to support local enterprises like this than big chains. Serves me right for not doing more research. All that seemed to be on offer were rolls made from the cheapest white bread imaginable. I opted for the cheese roll although none of them looked appetising. This was a piece of cheese and some limp looking green stuff. All yours for about £6.00. I have never felt so ripped off. The coffee was expensive too. Do yourself a favour and stop off at an M&S somewhere to buy a sandwich there. The shop itself has a wide range of goods including some Indian blockprint items. We will not be stopping here again. It could be so good but makes motorway services look like good value. What a shame.

This place has great potential with it's location next to the A303, Cafe, Restaurant, Games, Butchers and Deli. It also has a meadow behind it. However there is far too much packed into such a small and uninspiring building with aisles too narrow and extremely poor layout generally. Extending the building and car park would improve the place drastically.

I really liked the items available on the menu that bridges breakfast and lunch, brunch presumably. The staff were very friendly and helpful with finding a suitable table and I enjoyed my smoked trout. Thank you.

Loved it - you get what you pay for - unlike the typical fast food cafes on A303 Teals offers high quality, local, beautiful food and drinks. Coffee and tea were lovely and the breakfast first rate. If you like Greggs this may not be for you!! Absolutely loved it and will be back. Nice dog walking area too.

Food fine but very slow service. Had spiced cauliflower soup, tasty but recipe needs adjustment so that you can actually taste cauliflower

Took one look at the menu and thought this was just for vegetarians and healthy eaters. Nearly walked out but so glad we didn’t. My wife had the Pie and I had the flat bread with lamb sausage. Both of us thought our meal was absolutely delicious. A couple came and sat next to us and looked at the menu and then walked. They made a big mistake. Thank you we will definitely call in when we are passing again and tell our friends. Worth every penny. Very pleasant staff.

Nice food if very expensive but no fun with a dog as have to sit outside in all weather so will only call in there when weather is good

Visited around lunchtime on March 25th more out of curiosity and to buy a quick snack to eat on the road. Bright and fresh exterior, quite busy in the cafe area, a good selection of quality produce but I'm not quite sure if Teals knows what it wants to be, unlike the majority of farm shops that excel and major with their own produce - be it vegs, dairy, beef, lamb etc etc. No fresh milk on the chilled shelves or the self-serve milk machine, few fresh vegs, the few salads looked tired and on the dry side, such a shame when it should be the "go to" stop-over on the long drive. A work in progress.

My first thoughts were how well presented the building and surrounding area was, very welcoming and clean! Superb selection of snacks, we had the sausage roll with a coffee, and we left very satisfied! Brilliant vibe inside and a wide range of products which would make brilliant gifts! The staff were super friendly on arrival and we were seated very quickly! We look forward to our next visit to try the lunch!

A lovely spot for coffee! The restaurant was busy as it was the weekend, but we were still seated very quickly and we were so impressed by how well the staff looked after everyone - amazing service! A great atmosphere in there and the food looked delicious - as well as the main menu they had a very good range of cakes and savoury snacks too. Would definitely recommend visiting if you are in the area!

Stopped on our way to Portsmouth,looked lovely from outside and the hot chocolate was very good but shall never stop here again £16 for a small chicken pie full of gravy and a bit of overcooked broccoli!!!!Thought motor way services were a rip off but not so bad as this place,we have often stopped in farm shops/Cafes and never paid as much as this before ,most are good value for money.

Although restaurant had multiple free unreserved tables … when we said we were only wanting hot drinks and cake we were directed to the take out coffee till and told to eat in the upstairs section The upstairs section is very dark and more in keeping with a service station Can only think we didn’t meet their target demographic

Stopped to break up a long journey to the West Country. Easy parking, clean bright store. We only stopped for a snack but the almond croissants and hot chocolate was to die for! Most of the produce was from the local area - plenty of fancy goods if you needed a last minute gift. We sat out the back looking on to an orchard whilst consuming our travel treat. Only place I will stop at when I make the journey again!

First time to Teals just off the A303 near Sparkford Motor Museum and first impressions are smart purpose built premises, a light and airy welcoming space! We were here specifically to have breakfast I will say I had to search the menu to find the Full English listing and when it arrived my first thought was that the portion size was a tad meagre, but when I starting eating, Wow the flavours were outstanding and the quality of each component was delicious and distinctive. My wife and I were utterly impressed. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Not sure how much of the breakfast was locally sourced but Teals say if it can be, then it is. I was so impressed I had to go to the area where you can see the chefs cooking and pass on my compliments ... and I rarely do this. I can't emphasise enough, this was the best quality and tasting breakfast I have had in over 10 years. (Only the day before we ate at The Duchess of Cornwall Hotel in Poundbury, but the Teal breakfast is by far the better product. To top it all, staff were very attentive, polite and went about their work with happy smiling faces which is so refreshing to experience. Thank you Teals (Signage feedback: on the Westbound carriageway of the A303 we did not see one sign advising us of Teals existence, so continued to the next roundabout where, note, other sustenance could be had but we doubled back and after 3 or 4 signs Eastbound, found the turning for Teals. Surely alerting Westbound traffic to your business is essential, given your location?)

I'm rather confused about Teals and what it actually is... an expensive gift shop with nice deli, butcher and cafe attached is my verdict . Alot of stuff isn't local although it is all very beautiful. We had lunch - again, very confusing.... small menu which is no bad thing but verging on veggie/vegan with chicken pie the only meat dish. (Starters were hummus, olives or parsnip soup for example... flatbread pizzas) Seems strange in a farm shop restaurant especially for Sunday lunch. We had butter bean casserole with very nice sour dough bread and chicken pie (with very tough broccoli which in fact tasted lovely) and then shared a delicious rhubarb crumble with vanilla icecream. It's a shame the restaurant doesn't promote the meat and food in the deli - it's a real wasted opportunity. Also no mention of where the chicken comes from... is it free range?? I certainly would not want to be eating if it it isn't. Food more akin to a trendy wine bar than a farm shop. Portion sizes are fairly generous and good coffee. Very nice young waiting staff who are helpful. I have to say.... all the water is filtered then presented in glass bottles for which you pay £1... what's wrong with normal tap water? All in all, an expensive slightly confused experience!