The Hungry Bedouin - Frinton in Tendring

We visited this cafe in late November on a Monday morning, it was busy when we arrived, lovely atmosphere, You order at the counter, my husband had a sausage ciabatta, which was a traditional Moroccan sausage and delicious, we both had drinks, the hot choc I had was one of the best I have had & my husband said the coffee was great too. Would definitely visit this cafe again. A really lovely independent establishment

Whenever I’m visiting Frinton I always love visiting this amazing cafe 💫

Very cosy and welcoming place. Food was all freshly hand prepared and amazing!

10/10 food, I was blown away with how much vegetarian & vegan options there are. Easily the best food I've eaten locally. Happy days will definitely be back!

My partner and I were fortunate enough to happen on this restaurant today by chance. We were really impressed, it's my new favourite restaurant. We'll definitely be back. Well done.

Went here for dinner last night staff were super friendly. food was delicious so much flavour, my only issue was the portion size is a little small for me personally. I would come back here again nice little restaurant.

Nice that they had alternative milks for my husband who’s dairy intolerant. Beautiful outdoor space out the back. We had a slice of cake each and a hot drink, £14 ish altogether. @kirbystaltari

Popped in for coffee. Lovely placewith a nice atmosphere and great choice of cakes. Looking forward to returning . Reasonably priced. Thank you

Delicious food, good quality wine and excellent service!! We will be back for sure.

When this restaurant opened it was great - really interesting fresh tasty food and great service It became a favourite of ours, even though it was quite a trip to get to, we would go there a couple of times a month - finally a restaurant that served a real experience Unfortunately our recent experiences have been very poor - giving the restaurant the benefit of the doubt we revisited several times after the first poor experience These last visits included the following low lights Slow not interested service - food left on serving hatch to get cold Incorrect food served with little apology given also it appears that Ciabatta bread has become normal bread On our last visit a customer had to tell us they were not serving food - as restaurant shutting an hour early - we had been looking at menus for 5 minutes - staff made no attempt to tell us This is far from a cheap restaurant - maybe our last few visits are not the norm and food should be served Lukewarm, service slow and staff totally not interested

Nice place, good coffee, good service

Liars. I travelled to this restaurant based on the photos of food on their website. It turns out that it's photos are of other restaurant's food. When I showed the photo of the dish I wanted, the server said they had never seen anything like it.

Terrible experience here today. Food took about 45 mins and all arrived separately. They offered a 5% discount which was pathetic given the impact on our day in terms of timings and actually enjoying Frinton. Food was incredibly underwhelming even when it did arrive. Few sparse pieces of meat on some bread.

Delicious food, friendly and attentive service and a lovely atmosphere.

Nice space but average food for the price and the homemade breads they use for the sandwiches were stodgy and flavourless which was a real disappointment.

Tasty vegan options served speedily and with a smile

Fabulous. Sat outside in the back in the sunshine.

Lovely food. You're front of house lass is a huge asset. Quick efficient and smiley. Nothing too much bother. We will be back

This is one of Frinton’s little gems and absolutely worth a visit, especially if you’re escaping the hustle and bustle of city life. The staff are very friendly, the food is amazing, and the atmosphere is wonderfully relaxed. Definitely 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Incredibly rude girl on the counter. We sent back a tiny side order. One slice of halloumi for £3.90 and got a mouthful of abuse for asking for a refund. Been regular customers since it opened. Never again.

This is such a fantastic place to eat or stop in for a coffee. It's our new favourite place to go. We recently went for lunch and enquired about something that was no longer on the menu. The chef went out of his way to provide it anyway. The staff were fantastic and the food amazing!!

Popped in for breakfast and was very excited . Lovely menu and cosy feeling to the place. We were greeted by a very welcoming and warm staff - setting great expectations - we sat down and ordered . Sadly having arrived at just after 10 the food didn’t arrive for over 35 minutes and was a little underwhelming . The scrambled egg and salmon , while taste wise it was nice sadly it was let let down on appearance / presentation - the salmon looking grey and limp on top of washed out anemic scrambled eggs and served in what appeared to be a dog bowl . Sadly the Bedouin breakfast was a little bit of a let down , the whole dish needs some seasoning as it was very bland . The flat bread was thick , dough like and unappetizing while the lamb sausages lacked spice as well as size . After eating everything on the plate most of which was luke warm this Bedouin for certain was left hungry so perhaps the name is apt . The vine tomatoes were washed out and the beans while tasty were sadly not hot . I think we will possibly give the place another try as we so wanted it to be nice , perhaps it was an off day , and the lady behind the counter was full of smiles and very welcoming it would be a shame if the food doesn’t match those standards 😔

Great coffee and cake! Menu looks good, not tried yet. Dog friendly (small and well behaved) when not busy.

Absolutely amazing in every way. Gorgeous setting in which to enjoy the heavenly food, coffee, and atmosphere. Outstanding customer service, very reasonable prices, and sublime food. If you're anywhere in the vicinity, it's absolutely worth a visit.

Food was good, but I've had better tagines in the past. A must go though if in Frinton. Would return

Delicious food, friendly staff with lots of gluten free options

Oh my word. Food and service was 10/10. Today. We loved it. Fresh unique food. X

Went to this lovely restaurant for my birthday and it was absolutely wonderful staff are very polite and good service

Staff members were very welcoming and friendly, highly recommend the lamb tagine

We had lunch at The Hungry Bedouin. While the food was good, the service was very poor. We waited over an hour for our first dish to arrive then a further hour before all dishes had been delivered. None of our party were able to eat together. We were offered a free drink but not until we had waited over an hour, and we were not informed of any delay when we placed our order. I realise that Tapas often arrive spaced out - but this was taking that idea to the extreme. The restaurant staff refused to offer us any sort of discount on our meal claiming that they were "not allowed" (a very common tactic), and on contacting the owner they disputed our version of events and also refused to take any further action. Frinton has many excellent restaurants with fantastic customer service. In our opinion The Hungry Bedouin is not one of them and I would think very carefully before you decide to take your business there, as if anything goes wrong you will not be met with a friendly response.

Lovely place and staff but we waited an hour for them to tell us they ran out of our dish. They did take the starters off the bill though, which was nice

This restaurant is amazing! The food is out of this world and the staff are so lovely! My Great Aunt and I shared 4 starters between us which was presented lovely, we had the stuffed vine leaves on beetroot hummus, halloumi fries with labneh, ciabatta and hummus and a harissa potato dish with alioli which has a lovely kick to it 😋. The decor is beautiful and has lovely music on. Will definitely be returning more than a few times in future.

Great place for a coffee and a bite to eat.

Absolutely first class food and service. Thanks!!

This is the second time we have eaten here in Frinton and we have been impressed both times. Delightful food and great service. I had the Spanish style braised oxtail with padron peppers which was perfectly cooked and delicious. Highly recommend this restaurant on your visit to Frinton.

Excellent quality food made with a lot of love and expertise. Would highly recommend Moroccan sausage & mash - exquisite! Fabulous service too

Says you shut at 5pm on Google so we turned up at 4pm and we was turned away as they said they shut at 4pm. You might want to change your times on here then so people don’t get confused. Shame as the place looked nice and we wanted to try some gluten free food.

I visited Frinton with a friend Wednesday 27th December 2023, the in-between period just after Christmas, to have lunch together. As we walked along and almost passed by, thankfully we saw The Hungry Bedouin was open! Two young female customers exiting, said it was good, and recommended we go in and try! Well, what a lovely surprise! Slightly different deli decor, clean, fresh, well lit but not glaringly bright, so really pleasant. It was busy and had a 'bright' vibe, atmosphere, people, customers, happy to be in there. There seemed to be only three staff members: two females, one younger, the other older, and a younger male. Service was not fast, but at an understandable rate, hence still awarding you 5 stars. I had the lovely Halloumi fries, and 2x elderflower presse to drink, and my companion had the Bedouin Chicken Sandwich, with 2x glasses of red wine. They said it was so good - probably the best they had ever had anywhere - that they could have eaten the sandwich again! I really love Baklava, so I had to try the warmed Baklava - reviewing your menu: with lemon and pistachio ice-cream. (I don't recall any pistachios? Just flaked almonds on top.) The Baklava was not as sweet as I have often eaten in the past, but none the less, very enjoyable. All in all, we were very pleased to have stumbled upon an open The Hungry Bedouin, which allowed us to share such a positive and pleasant overall experience there together. Thank you. We hope to return again in the future :)

Not much chicken in the sandwich. Coffee was ok.

Love this cafe, it's the only one I go to in Frinton now. Decidedly cool, mellow music, plenty of wood for relaxed surroundings and, most importantly, great drinks and food. Inspired and inspiring, the menu offers something different, fresh cooked and authentic. There are always several dishes I would like so can try something different most times. We tried the Pear, walnut and Gorgonzola salad today, an old favourite of mine, and it was just so, just as it should be. Also tried today, a glass of white wine, Verdejo/ Macabeo/ Sauvignon, and it was excellent, nicely cold. The coffee (Latte today) is delicious and made properly, textured, velvety milk and just the right strength. A well made latte is not always so easy to find . . . There are delicious looking cakes too, I can recommend the fruit packed chunky cookie. Service is friendly, helpful, fuss free and quietly efficient, no clatter or hurry here but you are well attended to with hardly a wait. What more can I say? Can't fault it.

Had lunch here after reading good reviews, and the research paid off! On a cold, grey, drizzly day we were warmed by delicious shakshuka and a fabulous falafel sandwich. I was really impressed to receive a gluten free pitta with it that seemed to have been made in house. Lovely decor and friendly staff. Very impressed!

Fabulous food, very friendly staff and love the atmosphere. Best place in Frinton

Great food and lots of gluten free options

Fantastic breakfast with amazing lamb sausages, this isn't your usual fry up quality ingredients with wild mushrooms served on a flat bread with 2 eggs, beans, cherry tomatoes and halloumi. I had breakfast here twice in 2 days as its so nice.

Went in for coffee and cake Sunday afternoon, which was lovely. I ordered another coffee but hadn't arrived after 25 minutes. But we realised the young man serving poured himself a glass of wine and sat down with his friends for lunch. I went up to the till to ask bout it and requested a refund as we were going, to which himself and his friends just laughed. At this point there was only 2 other people in there and was very quiet

Lovely place, great coffee ☕️ Going again very soon !

Food is exquisite, staff is very welcoming and friendly.

Went with the in-laws to have some brunch. The four of us waited over an hour for the food to arrive, however only the three of us actually got our food. There was no apology for why it took so long or when the fourth order would arrive. Eggs were over cooked, the halloumi straight out of the packet without being cooked, the food was cold and inedible. There only seemed to be one person in the kitchen and half way through waiting, he left to get more eggs. Also important to note, we weren't the only ones waiting, no one in the place actually got their order. I'm very shocked at how this place has 4.6 stars, the food is not good.

Very expensive considering the size of the portions, nothing special really, expected decent portion for the price and for it to have some flavour. Food took a long time to arrive considering we both ordered salads, disappointing.

Every visit consistently welcoming, friendly service.

The food was absolutely delicious, I didn’t want it to end. The flavours were amazing. You must go there as we need this place to do well. The service was first class too. Will definitely be back. Fantastic!

The service at this restaurant was very slow, the order took almost an hour to arrive. The lamb tagine with couscous was bland and luke warm. The portions were small. My brother ordered the spaghetti and sea-food, one of the mussels was unopened and again it was a small portion. The food was very overpriced. The staff were pleasant but rather nervous and did not appear to be very competent. Overall an extremely disappointing experience.

Well decorated place with good food and coffee

Served by Kiera she was so lovely , definitely be back , thanks again xx

A great restaurant with lovely food. Keira is an excellent server and lovely to deal with. High recommend

We had a lovely meal at this restaurant and will definitely return again. Highly recommended.

Sadly we didn't have the greatest experience here. The food was very tasty but we had the chicken sandwich and the flatbread was not cooked properly and was very doughy in the middle. The portions were tiny. When we had finished we offered our opinions to the owner and he really couldn't have been less interested and all he had to say was that is how they do it here. The waitresses were friendly enough and the place was nicely done out but not good value for money and its not somewhere I would go again. There are much nicer places in Frinton, where they value their customers

We ordered 2 glasses of wine, after waiting over 20 mins for our order and having 3 customers who came in well after us have their order served to them my partner went in to see where our order was. There was no apology but was told they would do it once they finished the order they were doing. This was for a customer that came in after us. We waited another 10mins, still no drinks served to us. I went in and asked if our order was being done to be met with no apology and an extremely rude young girl telling me they are doing the best they can and they will get to it when they get to it. I explained that we had been waiting ages and customers that came in afterwards had been served. Again, she was extremely rude and said they doing the best they can I explained that wasn't in question and I didn't appreciate the rude response. Another waitress came up and started being extremely rude to me. I went and waited outside for our order. Eventually this came but one of the glasses had lipstick mark on it. I asked for it to be changed. The waitress said, it's not dirty it's just water mark. I insisted it was changed, she stomped off, brought the same glass back, still dirty and slammed it on the table. Never had such rude treatment as a customer. ,

Attractive garden area and the 'small plates' we had were good, but the desserts were dramatically overpriced, hence the 3 stars. I had ordered the warm bakewell tart, and was expecting something quite special for £9. What arrived was the smallest piece of tart I've ever seen in a cafe or restaurant; tasty but should have been more like £4.95. My wife's frozen berry eton mess was also overpriced. A pity. Will not be returning.

A very nice place to eat! We were 100% satisfied with our meal and service! We'll be back

Absolutely superb food at this delightful restaurant in Frinton. We had prawns in a superbly garlicky sauce, the chicken sandwich on homemade flatbread, heavenly truffle arancini, and grilled halloumi salad. All beautifully cooked and presented, the arancini particularly delicious. Really one of the best suppers we've had for some time, with enthusiastic, knowledgeable waitresses. Highly recommended.

We visited last night as part of the pre theatre menu as a party of 6....and wow we all couldn't fault it... the food was delicious 😋 we went with two large plates and some small plates tapas syleee ...and oh my ....delicious...drinks wise i would definitely reccomend strawberry daiquiri as also very yummy ....don't miss out on having dessert either ...the hot baklava is tooo delicious tooo miss...staff where super attentive and couldn't do enough for us .....Will I eat here again toooo right ...already planing my next visit..seee you soon x

Amazing food, atmosphere and a fantastic lunch… can’t wait to come back…

The food was good. The portions were small for the price of each dish. The service was slow. The atmosphere was nice. It's an enjoyable place to eat and drink, but the quality and serving does not meet the prices. For example, the falafel plate (4 mini balls) is pushing it for the price (£8.50).

WHAT A LET DOWN!!..ok but not great....service very patchy..food a bit hit and miss..spicy but not much flavour..very small portions even tapas/meze is bigger..desserts were nice but wouldn't go back!

Popped in on a whim, and I was really glad I did. Looking forward to my next visit so I can try something else.

Lovely food, service was a little chaotic but we could see they were busy. It's a shame the tables couldn't have been pushed together for our family to sit next to one another but we made it work ☺️ will definitely be returning.

Officially my new favourite food spot in Frinton and probably Essex! Since I came here a few weeks ago I have been desperate to return, the food is delicious and truly authentic. The cocktails are decently priced as is the food, the staff are helpful and friendly and the atmosphere is lovely being able to sit and people watch. I'd highly recommend if you are looking for something a bit different to try

What a gem! Will definitely be returning, lovely food, great atmosphere!

Absolutely amazing food and amazing service, great atmosphere and by far one of the best places to dine. It is our new favourite.

Excellent food and really good gluten free selection as well.

Lovely little find in Frinton. Absolutely delicious food, and really friendly staff 😋

Best meal I have had in Frinton in 55 years. Delicious food , lovely lovely staff - a real Winner

Lovely range of food and drinks, and very friendly staff!

Beautifully presented and delicious food, the coffe was amazing too.. would definitely recommend.

This could have been a five star review -- the food is tasty and well presented. I've taken three stars off for telling us the cheese on our salad was vegetarian when it almost certainly wasn't. Gorgonzola is usually made using animal rennet.

Had the goat and fig tagine, was the best meal I’ve eaten in Frinton for sure, so tasty, aromatic, highly recommend. The couscous was so light and fluffy, it was like eating clouds, all awesome!

The aroma outside this restaurant was incredible so we popped in to see if there was any chance of a table for two. Luckily plenty of room. The young lady explained the menu and we went for three of the tapas type dishes to have a light lunch. The flavours were exceptional. Would definitely use again next time I'm in Frinton

The most incredible, inspiring, tasty, food - worth every penny. Lovely ambiance, delightful staff. Treat yourselves!

Nipped in today with a friend for small plates to share. Wonderful food so tasty would definitely go back. Staff incredibly helpful as was the chef, I now know how to make a proper Aioli. Marguez sausages are a real treat.

Lovely food and wonderful staff who were attentive and warm. The lovely vibe was temporarily spoilt by a very rude man and his wife who spoke to the young waitresses awfully and then became aggressive when they calmly asked him to leave. I don’t understand people like this it’s just so unnecessary! Other than that we thoroughly enjoyed our first lunch here 😊

Great place for lunch, best coffee in Frinton, nice cakes awesome decor and atmosphere :)

Exceptional food, top service!!!

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at The Hungry Bedouin today and it was our first experience of Moroccan food. What a revelation! The tapas style food was absolutely delicious. It was beautifully spiced and everything was of excellent quality. On arrival we were welcomed immediately. The ambiance is warm and comfortable. The very pleasant owner / chef was very helpful with our order. The service was warm and efficient. We felt it was reasonably priced and we will have no hesitation in returning. It’s definitely on our favourite list of restaurants.

The coffe was amazing! Friend staff and a really cool vibe! Avo on sourdough is a winner! Can't wait to go back!

I had an amazing time at the hungry bedouin! with great atmosphere and delicious food!! Will definitely come back here again as it was a very enjoyable experience.

Three of us had lunch here yesterday. The general ambience of the cafe is really lovely. The staff attitude and service were excellent. The simple lunch and drinks we had were really, really tasty and so enjoyable. Full marks. This is a gem.

Food was really delicious, between the five in our party we covered most of the menu and everyone was delighted with their choices. The Moroccan wine was also great. The staff were wonderfully friendly and atmosphere welcoming. The only comments we have which would have improved our experience would be complimentary bread on the table, particularly as some of the main courses were very 'juicy' and it was a shame not to have something to mop up with! Maybe the portions could be a little more generous for the price paid, particularly as we needed to pay extra for sides. Having said that we would have no hesitation in returning for more delicious dishes.

Had a delicious shahshuka on the Sunday brunch menu. Lovely staff, met the chef, had time to have a quick chat, which was great. They also have some very interesting wines to purchase and good small deli section for spices. Will definitely be coming back, hopefully get seats for a supper club event

Lovely coffee and fabulous staff. Menu is a bit limited with quite high prices but would definitely say its worth a visit