The Castaway Cafe in North Devon

The most disgusting fish and chips we have ever had. The piece of fish was so small, I've had bigger fish finger. So little fish in awful hard batter. The only recommendation I have is don't buy food from here.

Had breakfast here as usual cafe was closed,really good and returned again on last day.Breakfast freshly cooked,staff are brilliant,two young Saturday girls,so polite and cheerful,they were cleaning alongside the manager as was early,can only say the hygiene standards are impeccable definitely will return next time we are there, thank you x

Wow. What can I say. This place is a hidden gem. I ordered the firey chicken burger and chips. My partner ordered the cow with Chipotle fries. The quality of the food was outstanding. In the 41 yrs I have been on the earth ,that was the best chicken burger i have ever eaten. My partners burger was also outstanding. The burger was moist but not soggy, and the Chipotle fries were a meal on the own. Very generous portions and polite staff. Love the boxes that turn in to plates. Great for the environment. If you are anywhere near here. Please please go and try the food. 5 stars

I rarely write reviews, but this visit tipped me over the edge. Today we had the misfortune to end up in this place. Ordered two bacon rolls with coffee, the rolls arrived after a while, no sign of the coffee. I opened the roll to see slimy cheap fried streaky bacon - at least 50% fat. By the time I’d cut the fat off there was little bacon in a cheap roll. Still no sign of the coffee, so eventually we chased it up and it arrived a while later. Pointed out the mountain of fat on the plate to the waitress, who just looked blankly at us and walked away without saying anything. As we left we had to wait behind someone else also complaining about their food, and left the plate of fat on the counter saying it was unacceptable. Chap behind the till muttered “sorry ‘bout that” without looking up. Disgusting food, toilet needed a good clean. Not a chance I’ll ever set foot in this place again. I guess it’s target customer are tourists who they can catch once - they certainly don’t deserve any return trade.

Wow! New menu is amazing. Chicken shawarma wrap is by far the best I’ve had and I’ve tried quite a few! Great variety of flavours. Partner had the squid box and was equally impressed. Hidden gem. Thoroughly recommend and the service was great, really lovely staff. So refreshing to see places offering interesting innovative menus. Thank you.

Food is not great….. cleanliness is even worse! Dirty greasy menus and the young girls conversation about two 14 year olds being abused was not what we wanted to hear especially when our 9 year old son was with us. We won’t be back.

Visited for morning breakfast to sit outside in the sun. Wanted to go opposite to The terrace cafe but it was closed. Castaway cafe, now called Tides in&out was our only option. Table outside were dirty, had to unstuck chairs to be able to sit, bread crumbs cleaned with our own tissues. Dirty menus was the first red flag! Cooked breakfast for almost £10 with undone mushrooms, disgusting sausages, not proper done egg, toast without butter. Had to go and ask for some. Cold out of fridge was given to us then. No Ofer of any sauces or salt and pepper. Found pouch of tomato sauce and pepper on next table. Dirty pepper pot as well. Coffee was okay, not the best but not the worst. ORANGE JUICE… please don’t bother. The cheapest quality I ever taste. Please mind, we are not fussy eaters and we are always polite but this was too much so thought I will share our experience and warn others. Asked to change our orange juices as I thought they were old but new given to us were exactly the same. Food and hygiene check/visit is definitely in NEED.

We visited this establishment, now known as Tides in and Out, twice last summer and loved the food. However we've tried twice this week and been turned away both times. First time was Sat 26th June 2021 at @ 4.45pm having just driven for 7 1/2hrs, and was told they were closed. All signs were outside still and doors open to both takeaway & cafe!!! Who closes a chippy at 4.45pm at a seaside resort on a Saturday afternoon??!!! 2nd attempt was today 1st July at @ 1 30pm, was told cafe weren't seating any more tables, but given no timefrane, so went round to takeaway kiosk but also told not taking any food orders there either! We ended up across the road at a lovely cafe, where we then watched as 5 people, 2 different parties, were subsequently seated and orders for food taken. Not going to bother again!!!!

Love this place! Has lovely food on offer and really amazing coffee and tea! Staff are heavenly and so friendly. Highly recommend!

I had the pleasure of frequenting the Tides cafe on a rainy day in Combe Martin. I was greeted by a warm welcome and I ordered a Baked Potato with butter and Cheese. The potato was piping hot and accompanied by a very nice side salad which included a nice crunchy homemade coleslaw. For £3.99 I was well impressed. I cannot fault the food or the service.

We only popped in for a light bite and was greeted by a friendly waitress/owner the decor has been done very nicely but unfortunately the the breakfast baps we had were horrible, frozen pre sliced buns that had a slight stale taste to them extremely cheep sausages that had just been deep fried and were terrible. I have worked in the hospitality industry for 28 years and haven’t come across a breakfast bap so horrible and if I was only paying a couple of pounds I would accept it but for nearly a fiver each I was horrified. Would not recommend and definitely wouldn’t go back.

Called here lunchtime just for chips as nearby chippie closed. Waited for them to be cooked fresh but as I followed my husband on our way to a bench I was aware of a horrid rancid smell.We opened them and what a stink, they must have been cooked in old fat. We ate a couple but ended up throwing them in the bin..very disappointing

Called in for breakfast on our last day. Very friendly and attentive service. Very good hot strong tea in big china cups. Had to wait awhile as all cooked fresh. Very tasty brekkie. We asked for crispy bacon which wasn't but very good all the same. Fried eggs lovely, excellent hash browns. Sausage OK, black pud a bit crumbly but very tasty. All in all a good experience and happy to go back.

Very nicely done out and very posh. Doesn't seem to be run well though, but these days very few Devon tourist places are well-run. It's what goes in the Till that counts. Nice place but our coffees were pretty awful so we didn't eat here. So apart from the recent facelift and higher prices on Borough Road Combe Martin, not much has changed at all here, after reading the reviews past and present. Family with kids on holiday in September 2020.

We called in here for 2 takeaway flat whites. Not sure quite what we were given, but coffee is not a word I would use to describe it. Hot wet cardboard was the only flavour we could taste, one sip was enough and we both threw the lot away. To be fair, the young lady who served us did seem to be trying to do everything, serving takeaways, serving food to tables and taking orders from the cafe, all on her own.

Change of name and total makeover. Same management who ran the Castaway Cafe before, therefore am not hopeful. The restaurant part seems to still be closed, but you can get food from a main counter and a little entrance at the side. Noticed the food on display looked burnt and unappetising. Not ready to use or go back here just at the moment. Not a fan of Combe Martin Borough Road in any case.

Can't rate it but anyway, looking through the local eateries list, this place is mentioned but it's now nowhere to be seen. It's probably changed to the The Tides now, on Borough Rd. That new premises has a had a facelift and is looking very good tbh. Apparently it's a big improvement and hopes are higher nowadays.

A spacious and well appointed Cafe near the Combe Martin seaside/beach. Famous locally for being shut (we live locally); we can't say much more than that so we'll score it average. Serious seaside caterers would be welcoming hungry visitors and coach parties, and under new management the Castaway Cafe would be a much-needed asset to this increasingly popular, and busy, North Devon seaside destination.

Food came out cold beans and mushroom were not turned on. As we were told. Plate taken back for 20 minutes beans and mushrooms came back out warm not even hot and the rest of the plate now cold! Disgusting that I wasn’t given a new plate. Other family meals came out cold and poor attitude from the guy who really didn’t care. Will not visit again expensive for cold food!!

Visited this cafe throughout my life on serveral occasions but shall never return. Portions tiny enough on the breakfast for a 2 year old to be quite honest! And the girl cook with plaits was just plain snotty and rude when this was mentioned! Loss of a good customer

On looking for somewhere for breakfast this was the first place we found, we were totally disappointed by the food standards, despite the staff being friendly and the price being reasonable. The toilet was disgusting looked like it had been forgotten about with the bin spilling over onto the floor.

A fair sized Cafe near the beach on Borough Rd which may have closed down. We can't say much about The Castaway Cafe because we've never managed to get inside even in summer. Either we're out of step or this place has shut down. This honestly looks a decent Cafe though it's never been open on our visits to Combe Martin. They apparently serve curries at the weekends and there is a large seating area inside.

A variety of breakfast eats available at this greasy spoon cafe. The service was good, the food OK. Everything was good enough, perfect eggs but the bacon was underdone and the tea was weak.

Love the decor and the design of the tills and tables are awesome. The cheese was properly melted on my chips and tasted gorgeous. Staff were great too!

We went here for breakfast on the 31st July. It was amazing. Friendly staff, great portion sizes and we and the kids really enjoyed our food. Highly recommended if you are looking for a traditional English fry up. We will come back again xx

We had breakfast here once during our stay in Combe Martin, it was so nice nice thick bacon and a varied menu

The best family breakfast we’ve had in ages. Beautifully cooked to order. Great tasting, decent size portions would recommend to anyone wanting a breakfast in Combe Martin.

We had breakfast here a couple of times during our stay. Staff are friendly. The captains breakfast is huge and it is cheap. We will be going back on our next trip!

I come to Combe Martin every summer and every time I come here the service is friendly and the food is great. Very good value for money and a lovely atmosphere.

Sunday morning a bit worse for wear we popped in the Castaway for breakfast. The young lady that served us wasn't very attentive and one of the meals came out wrong. The eggs and beans were slightly over cooked, the mushrooms swimming in oil and the bacon tasted as though it jad just been taken out of the sea it was that salty. Aside from the that the service was friendly, relatively quick for a busy period. They do have a good selection of beverages and the food did the job.

The canned water is pretty lit and the fries are bomb . Their is also great service and is a very clean place

Had a wonderful cup of coffee here, the best I've tasted! Dog friendly place, the young ladies were very good at their jobs, nice clean set up. We came back for lunch, again excellent food and service. Know where to go next time we're back.

Visited this morning after late night and had a good breakfast enjoyed by all. Staff are very friendly and try the hot chocolate for the kids!!

Popped in for quick coffee break but ended up ordering light lunch also.

Beautiful place love the boat desk.We had the awesome captains breakfast and our dog shared.Very friendly staff would definetly come back.

Had a delicious cooked breakfast before travelling home. Cooked perfect no grease. Friendly and quick service. Dog friendly even gave the dog a treat when we came in 😀. Loved the surf deco.

Great staff, best I came across on my time there in Combe Martin which was a treat in this hidden gem (although now I can see why it has such good reviews on Tripadvisor). The food was very tasty for a fair price as well so overall a very pleasant trip and highly recommend. We will be returning!

Lovely little find.friendly staff and really nice food.we had a burger, toastie and sausage roll and chips.all beautiful and homemade and they made a lovely cappuccino .would recommend to anyone visiting combe martin

This place is fantastic.spotless and great staff. Food is outstanding and great value. Loved it ❤❤ will defo reccomend

This is a fantastic cafe which we found to be vey welcoming and even allowed us to bring our dog in who was promptly fed sausage much to his delight. Food was great and well priced and the staff were helpful and very friendly.

Welcoming host Mark, good cook and warm friendly atmosphere. Comfy chairs and generous tables. Excellent food, eggs any way you like them, we had scrambled eggs and one Shipmates breakfast with steaming mugs of tea. Ideal for children, seniors bikers and walkers. Nobody stands on...

Food and staff are amazing, definitley going to be a returning customer, best burgers in town! And staff!

Best breakfast in Coombe Martin, the Captains breakfast (huge) sets us up for the whole day long. The service is...

Lovely clean, well appointed cafe. The staff are very polite and welcoming. Between the 3 of us we had 2...

Ate breakfast here before a day on the beach. Three of us had the Shipmates breakfast which was a perfect...

No hay lujos Café sirve un buen desayuno sólido, tortitas, panini, etc. además de las bebidas habituales. Perros para todos pero la más peliaguda y más húmedos. Precios razonables. Pop en si necesita sustento!

Myself and my hubby went there for breakfast recently and I can recommend anyone staying in the area on holiday to go try it. The food is freshly cooked you also get the choice of free tea or coffee with it and the nice thing is its a decent sized mug too not a little cup. Their choice of breakfast is good we had the captains breakfast for £7.50 each and for this you got a massive plate full of 2 fried eggs, 2 sausages, 2 rashers of bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, hash browns, beans, fried bread & toast. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!! :)

Looks good for families during the summer as relaxed and not expensive. Ideal really with a very good varied menu.

We had breakfasts here everyday while on holiday for a week and never had a bad breakfast, lovely food and great staff who also went out of there way and made our son feel really special on his birthday witch was lovely couldnt of asked for a better, friendlier place to go would highly recommend

We loved this place last year when staying in Combe Martin and when on holiday this year in Lynmouth we returned. Still fab food, fab service and a great friendly atmosphere.

Interesting food hygiene in North Devon. We went back to this Cafe on May Bank holiday and it was actually open. They were advertising Donuts five for £2.50 and we sat outside for coffee. "Cook" comes out and feeds a dog out front with his bare hands, from a bowl. I'd expect foodhandlers to get hammered for that. Didn't wash his hands immediately, and even if he had: how disgusting is he. The place looked clean and the service was okay. Typical North Devon Cafe I would say, all price no class.

After a 3 hour drive to Combe Martin we needed some food. This was clean and quick food which was good.They also accommodate what you fancy, I asked for black pudding and egg bap which I really enjoyed

We went here for breakfast before setting off for home after a weekend break.Great breakfast, at a good price, nice relaxed atmosphere, dog friendly as well, even better.Would highly recommend

Partner and I enjoy breakfast here the morning of our departure from annual holiday. Generous portion sizes so don't get eyes bigger than your tummy.

On setting out on the Coast Path from Trentishoe, we were determined to seek out a bacon sandwich in Combe Martin. Castaway did not disappoint - big mug of tea, bacon cooked as we requested, soft white bread - perfect! It was so good we stopped in again on the way back from Ilfracombe for a Devon cream tea - again, great value and delicious, simple, homemade fare.The service was friendly and this is obviously a popular spot. Highly recommended.

Friendly, welcoming staff who made us feel like old friends. Good food served in good portions and with a smile. A choice of breakfasts that lasted us all day! Clean, comfortable, quirky surroundings. Wish we had found them earlier in our holiday we would certainly have made more visits. Good choice of dishes available all day.

We visited the 'Castaway ' in Combe Martin, sat down at the street tables, but we didn't stay long. Their breakfast on their menu is priced around £7, the most expensive we've seen. This establishment appeared clean and well cared for ; staff were outside, 'vaping', they weren't particularly smart and didn't look clean. Such practices don't present a good or professional image, and we'll take catering professionals over amateurs every time, but those standards are dying out fast. Not saying that local builders have bought this place as well, but an increasing number of monied, amateur & scruffy 'caterers' (window cleaners, builders, & retailers) are buying up eateries in North Devon to make a fast buck. We need a catering renaissance and better restaurant training, not chavs and not a £7 breakfast thrown together by the local window cleaner or bricklayer and served up by the dish-washer.

My husband ordered cod & chips. All I can say is I wish I’d taken a picture of it. It was surrounded by lashing of burnt batter and was so small and thin it was difficult to identify that it was cod - literally, it was only twobig enough for two bites. No wonder the server put it down and ran off, and they didn’t ask us how our meals were. Luckily I ordered the lasagne which was HUGE so he had over half of that to satisfy his hunger. The lasagne wasn’t bad but served with under-cooked garlic bread and under-cooked chips.The up-side is that they were nice to our dog!

Friendly and clean little cafe. Breakfast was good and reasonable price with a kids menu, really great find!right next to beach. Will be going again tomorrow!

Nice pies, home made, not microwaved. Good chips. Good service.About the only thing that didn't impress was the fact that the proprietor / chef would feed tit bits to the customer's dogs. We did keep an eye on him and he did appear to wash his hands afterwards, but it would have been nicer all round if he had avoided the animal feeding altogether.

The breakfast here is very good and not overly expensive. The place is clean and tidy and the staff were welcoming and polite. Certainly above average without being amazing.

The fish and chips here are really nice. The batter is cooked nice and crispy. They also make a lovely latte. Presented well and very friendly staff. Would definitely recommend

£6 for 2 boxes of takeaway chips and 2 cans of pop and it just wasn't worth the money. The chips weren't fresh homemade chips but frozen. This wouldn't have mattered all that much for a quick afternoon snack if they had been cooked properly. Some of the chips were undercooked and lumpy in the middle.The cafe itself and the staff seemed nice enough but based on this experience I probably wouldn't go back.

We had a fab breakfast here and the staff were lovely!It is really nicely decorated and reasonably priced.The food was fab tooThank you

Tea time Saturday, called in with my husband, I had the lasagne and chips, salad and garlic bread, the lasagne was average and didn't appear home made, resembled supermarket frozen lasagne to me and was warm rather than hot, frozen chips which from appearance looked cooked but were hard inside, uneatable meal.My hubby had fish and chips which also appeared to be frozen rather than fresh.We will not be returning.

Happy and polite staff. Lovely food and a good atmosphere - the best you can find in this area. Only place we actually enjoyed eating!!

Stopped off in Combe Martin mid August 2016 due to bad weather but, surprisingly, had a really great time. Chatted with the owner and he had only taken over the place a few days previously. Obviously a family enterprise and so really wish them all the very very best. Made to feel really welcome by the staff, and chanted to some really nice locals who were eating there (always a good sign). Would also record Surfside kayak hire a few doors up from the cafe - the two combined provided a brilliant half a day!

We stopped off in Combe Martin on a bit of a round robin tour of several places in North Devon. Not much of a beach, just a small scruffy area, in a small bay. We decided to have a walkabout and there really isn't a great deal to see and decided that we would like cup of tea and snack. Because we had our dog with us, the only suitable place that we found was The Castaway Cafe, as it has a few tables and chairs outside. My wife went inside to see what was available, whilst I sat down with the dog. She returned saying that she had ordered tea for two with a couple of pasties, and they would be brought out. One of the staff then followed her to our table with a dish of lovely, fresh hot doughnuts and offered them to us, whilst we wait for our pasties and tea. What a surprise! An unexpected treat. He then returned with a cut up sausage for our dog - that soon disappeared as well! What a place - and man. You do not expect little generous gestures like that today. Our pasties and tea turned up very quickly and went down a treat. A very pleasant surprise, which was appreciated. Many thanks Castaway Cafe, ten out of ten!

Best full English breakfast I have ever had in a cafe, really tasty and good value. Really busy place had to wait a while for the meal to come but well worth the wait. Excellent staff too! X

Fantastic place. I visited on a busy day with a 7week old baby in a large pram. The new owner opened a door at the other end of the cafe, made room for me, ask the waitress to come to my table and take my order and also money to save me leaving my baby alone while I went to the counter. He also offered to have someone mind the baby while I used their toilet. He didn't bat an eye or make a fuss when I was discreetly breastfeeding at the back. I was made to feel very welcome and would definitely return. I ordered a 'savory cream tea'- delicious! Arrived quickly and was presented wonderfully. Fab place :-)

We had a lovely selection of ice creams. My only downside was that our server, a lovely young lady, had her very long hair hanging down over the food. Not what I'd expect from any food establishment.

This isn't a fancy posh restaurant, but it's a top notch diner/cafe.Last summer after eating here I decided it wasn't for me, based purely on the quality of the sausages served which were a bit like chip shop sausages.This summer is a different story! The sausages have changed hooray! Great quality and very tasty. The rest of breakfast was fresh and nicely cooked. And I would consider it the best priced breakfast in the area based on its quality.I was super pleased to find it, am hoping it's one of those dependable places where each time you visit it's a good standard. Nice to find it open on a Sunday morning.

by far the best cafe ever , in here most days when we are staying in combe martin , owners are lovely food is fantastic :)

It's not often you can take your dog into a cafe but here you can. The food is basic but good and very reasonably priced given its location. Cornish Pastie, Chips and Gravy, it doesn't come much better especially to a man from Yorkshire. Loved it....

Nice place to eat they even did us a takeaway full English breakfast with everything in its own little re-use-able pot

Had lunch here on the last day of our visit. Six of us in total, 3 adults and 3 kids. Food was hot and we didn't have to wait to long. Everyone agreed how good the food was. Very reasonable prices.

Very impressed by this place. The staff were very friendly, the service was excellent and the food fab. Freshly cooked with fresh produce. Definitely recommend this place.

No real cappuccino, no real fresh orangejuice as provider, bad toast. Large portioneren for breakfast But Thats iTEnglish are very Proud of their first meal of THE day but its seldom good. Can you Buy in England a deacent Cappucino?

Massive portions for fry ups. Been here a couple of times and very impressed every time. Wayne and Cassie are great nothing is too much trouble.

Visited Castaway Cafe this afternoon, delightful service, good food, amazing Milkshakes, and very good value.Thank you!

Abbiamo pranzato qui per caso prima di visitare Combe Martin.Si trova a pochi passi dalla spiaggia.Abbiamo gustato una freschissima insalata con pollo e un buon sandwich al tonno.Perfetto per un boccone veloce.La password del wi-fi é scritta piccola piccola sul bancone.

Great breakfast, great service, good value and friendly staff who made us very welcome and our lab Ted.

We ate at castaways both mornings of our weekend in Combe Martin. We are both vegetarians and the veggie breakfast was delicious, great sausages. Friendly staff too.

Well I only had a drink but they have free wifi!And they give a complementary biscuit (which was very nice ) I would recommend this to people who like any type of food and drink

We found this great cafe in Combe Martin (dog friendly and free wifi to).It was ideal for us as we were staying at Newberry Valley campsite (where we had our normal breakfast) then we would take our dog for a walk onto the nearby dog friendly beach, then walked into Combe Martin for our 'brunch' before setting off on our activities for the day.We loved this cafe so much we visited 3 out of our 4 mornings there (would have been 4 but we didn't discover it on this 1st morning) Can't praise this cafe highly enough.

Had breakfast twice on our honeymoon,it was excellent,hot,very tasty and plenty of it.We would highly recommend it to anyone visiting lovely Combe Martin anytime of year.Well done to all the staff.

We have just made our first trip to North Devon this year The first place to visit was Castaway's for a Shipmate Breakfast and it was just as great as last year .Castaways is a great place to eat .only a short walk from the beach.,

We always come here every year when we camp especially when it rains! We love the breakfasts and my boys love the milkshake love the staff as they are very friendly and helpful and go out there way or go and extra mile to help

Lovely friendly owners who let us take dog inside which was appreciated. Just a quick snack of sausage roll, jacket potato and cup of tea but what we had was tasty and hot. Great location as it is right in Coombe Martin so you can go for a walk on beach then get some refreshments.

Amazing food and excellent value for money . Really friendly staff even remembered us from earlier in the year . Will definitely be eating there again on out next visit

We went twice and both times the service was excellent . Food was cooked perfect plenty of it too . Great value for money .

well what a suprise,read a couple of reviews on here and decided to try the indian nightime foodBRILLIANT freshly cooked,individual and tasty well done

Stopped for brunch, lots of choice of either cooked breakfast or cakes. Staff friendly and café very clean.

great pasties! We saw others have the breakfast and it looked delious. great serviice and pleasant staff

After a 3 hour drive from Chippenham Wiltshire to Coombe Martin a captains breakfast was what we needed staff was really nice and food was beautiful will br back :-)

Castaway Cafe is the ideal place to eat in Combe Martin. Family run, excellent service and the staff are so friendly, the food is excellent (the Captain's breakfast is to die for)..would totally recommend Castaway Cafe to anyone looking for a friendly environment with excellent food...you will not be disappointed.....Trevor, Louise, Oliver & Coco....

We sat down ordered food wife was looking forward to home made lasagne and garlic bread..but to be told they had run out of lasagne..so ordered 2 x burgers with garlic bread 20 minutes later was told they had run out of garlic bread...after a very long wait food arrived at that point I regreted walking in the place...the chips ok onion rings ok...but the burger and bacon was so over cooked no flavour or moisture left in it... dry and tasteless...bacon you could crack...after a long wait very dissapointed and will never return

The food was very greasy and the smell of old fat was terrible. The toilets were disgusting. The table had plates on from previous diners and there was sticky debris under the table.

We stayed in Combe Martin for 2 nights. On the first night we walked past this restaurant and had a nose at the menu. We all love Indian food so decided to try it. I'm so glad we did!!!! It was absolutely fantastic and the chef coming out to talk to us just topped it off. It was so good we are here again the next night. Both waitresses were lovely too. Can't wait to go back again next year :)

We had a lovely breakfast in here. Service was prompt and they were able to take into account our different choices (although they did say this couldnt happen if it was busy). Food was served quickly and was tasty. Reasonably priced too. Would definitely recommend.