The Bee Shed in Chelmsford

Fantastic afternoon tea enjoyed by myself and six friends. Delicious fresh food, generous size pots of tea and individual bottles of Prosecco made for a delightful afternoon. Staff were helpful, attentive and friendly

Where do I start…..great lunch (tuna sandwich on freshly baked bread, ham and cheese toasty and the most amazing Welsh Rabbit. It just goes to show what a little bit of love, great ingredients and attention detail can add to these dishes. Lovely setting away from the hustle and bustle of the city center with tables generously spaced so you are not sitting on your neighbours laps. What set this place apart were the staff - everyone wanted to help, guide you through the menu and nothing was too much trouble. A special mention for Felicity who was an absolute star. She guided us to the Christmas Cake and Chocolate Brownie which were to die for - so much so we ordered a whole cake and tray make for Christmas (at very reasonable rates). The Christmas Cale was the finest I have tasted in years!!! All in all - a fabulous spot for breakfast and lunch 1 we will be back!

This was our first visit here - there were six of us friends. We arrived and sat at a table and we looked round to see if there was a notice or sign to tell us where to collect our drinks etc or if it was table service but there was nothing so we waited. Eventually we noticed people on other tables returning with trays of food etc so we followed a group and found a counter where you can order place your orders. No staff were in evidence other than that and a lot of the tables needed cleaning and clearing. Very strange. When we did go to order we were told quite rudely and abruptly " You order from there, not here" - but here were no notices etc to tell us that. The cakes and drinks, however, were very nice but a few manners and better service wouldn't go amiss. I'm not sure I'll return.

Appreciate they were busy 🙄 but an hour for a toastie and a panini . Really unacceptable. When asked politely where the food was the waitress simply said we are busy. when the food finally arrived my partners was full of stuff we’d specifically asked to not include and no chicken. The other order had toasted bread but it’s contents was cold and the cheese wasn’t even melted. Really disappointing as we are really local to the farm/tea room and often spend money in the shop. Once complained again we were offered our money back for the food (that we accepted). But we won’t get back the hour and the rest we sat there. And leaving incredibly hungry. Waitress was apologetic but kitchen staff no apology.

We have been regular visitors to Lathcoats farm over a number of years and have enjoyed our visits on many occasions. (fruit picking with children/grandchildren, friends etc/ apple days / pumpkin days/Halloween etc). Sadly we have found our experience to be less enjoyable lately due to a couple of things. We visited the cafe a few weeks ago and the service was terrible, at the time we dismissed this as simply being busy BUT we tried again on Saturday afternoon when it was fairly quiet and found that despite there being three staff behind the counter it took about fifteen minutes to buy one tea, and one coffee. I have no idea why it took so long, the staff that day did not seem to have a clue what they were doing! However the thing that may turn out to be the main reason we stop visiting Lathcoats is the main shop. There have been times when we have spent a small fortune in here BUT if we come back to Lathcoats we wont visit the shop anymore due to the unfriendly, dehumanising, completely unnecessary plastic screens encasing the tills. These abysmal things just shout "Lathcoats are NOT friendly and do NOT want to interact with their customers". Why oh why are these ridiculous things still in place in the shop (if you really thought they actually served some purpose you would not have staff wandering around loose and you would also have screens in place at the cafe etc? And please dont quote the equally ridiculous "its for the safety of our staff and customers". The till in the shop is generally the last part of Lathcoats people visit so the experience we go away with is akin to a high security prison!

Visited this morning at 09:20 and ordered breakfast. I have avoided Saturdays for months as it is always busy and the coffee shop just cannot cope. Tried again today and it was worse than before. I was overcharged for the breakfast and then after waiting till 09:55 which is a a 35 min wait, my breakfast was completely wrong. Sadly I was not offered anything other than my money back for the breakfast. Where is the customer service ? I go to lathcotes farm shop at least 3 times a week and the coffee shop every week. Surely your staff can be informed that if they make a mistake at least offer the regular customer a free coffee. Very bad service and I will make sure I never go again