The Little Book Cafe in Braintree

I have been to this Cafe a few times and it never dissapoints. Friendly lovely staff and my smashed avo with mushrooms was on point. I highly recommend!

This place is such a lovely spot for brunch, lunch or tea! With excellent food and a wide range of options to choose from, lovely staff and the cutest garden to sit in. The garden is dog friendly and roofed so you can even sit dry on a rainy day.

Always wonderful food and lovely friendly people who are happy to add to your meals to suit your preferences. Superb cakes! Whats not to love!

A welcome return to this lovely cafe. The food is superb and the staff are so friendly and helpful. We love the atmosphere and just wish we lived nearer. It’s the best cafe in Halstead and we cannot wait to return

Excellent staff, excellent food and drinks, beautiful setting and always consistent. Great specials too and the best cherry bakewell in the world.

We had an amazing afternoon tea for my mums 80th birthday, the hosts were so helpful, accommodating and friendly. The perfect venue for that special event… we will be back!!

Lovely atmosphere in this little cafe, nice varied menu. The staff go above and beyond to accommodate and are so friendly. The best breakfast around by far

The best sausage sandwich ever. A fantastic venue with a beautiful enclosed garden room and lovely and attentive staff. Highly recommend.

Excellent home made food, nice selection (including vegan and GF) in beautiful little cafe. Staff very friendly and accommodating. Would definitely visit again.

This is the best cafe in Halstead. The food is expertly cooked and seasoned, the staff are friendly and the setting is perfect. We visit most weekends and bring the dog and pram to sit in the covered back area. They serve a great full English breakfast and a vegetarian full English breakfast.

I can’t rate this highly enough. Breakfast options are all good. Our coffee was really good and the breakfast. Staff are extremely polite and friendly. 10/10

Highly recommend this café if you're looking for a superb afternoon tea. The staff were friendly from the moment you walked through the door and nothing was too much trouble. The food was beautifully presented and absolutely scrumptious! The sandwiches were lovely and fresh and I particularly liked that we could choose our own fillings in advance. The cheese and plain scones light and crumbly and still warm and the selection of cakes were delicious. In no way were my friend and I rushed to finish our tea. Actually it beat us and we were given boxes to take the remaining cake home. A lovely afternoon

Booked afternoon tea for a friends birthday treat, It was in a treat food outstanding, the service was exceptional and couldn't have asked for better experience.

I wish there were more places like this in the world. Lovely food, Lovely people. The home-made baked beans was the best.

This is a beautiful little cafe. I booked a table for myself, baby and my niece. The food is freshly made, tastes delicious and the staff are so welcoming and attentive.

What a hidden gem! Fabulous eggs benedict, beautifully cooked with high quality produce. Lovely relaxed ambience and friendly, attentive staff. Visited with a friend who was equally impressed and will definitely be back :)

Visited here after finding it on an Instagram page for Halstead recommendations! Very cute little place with a lovely vibe, love the idea all the books are for sale and the cakes were to die for! People were also lovely!

Delightful cafe tucked away at the top of Halstead, just off the high street. Lovely atmosphere and good hot drinks and snacks. Also a great selection of books to browse, borrow or buy, with a portion of the purchase price going to charity. Nice film star photos framed on the walls add to the ambiences.

Tried the Bagel with Swiss cheese and pastrami mmmmm. It’s soo good. Everything was great - the best pastrami - you’ve got to try it!

Back at our favourite haunt. This time we had a Reuben sandwich (think that’s what it was called) it was made with salt beef. It was delicious! Hope it’s still on the specials board the next time we go.

Little book cafe, big on friendliness and service. My family and I enjoyed our brunch and the staff were so helpful and attentive. I ordered the vegetarian option breakfast which was fabulous, it came with baked beans which weren’t the usual tinned variety that you often get, but home made. I can’t recommend this little gem of a café any higher.

I had the pleasure of having brunch at this amazing café. The staff's warmth and friendliness added to the overall pleasant experience. The décor blended historical elements with homey touches, creating a welcoming atmosphere. Moreover, the Eggs Royale, which I had, were incredibly flavourful and enjoyable. I recommend this establishment for a satisfying and enjoyable dining experience. Overall it was very good, well deserved rating, would come back here again.

I coordinate a creative writing group and we have held our monthly meetings at the LBC for the past ten years. Business partners Frank and Jacquie have owned the cafe for several years now and it has gone from strength to strength. The staff are amazing - friendly and welcoming to all the customers and always attentive. The main menu has a good variety of dishes, supplemented by daily specials and an additional menu of dishes that is changed every few weeks. This is not a greasy spoon, so don't expect grills and pub type classics. The food is cooked fresh to order using many locally sourced products. If you want a snack, I can highly recommend their bacon sandwich - at least six rashers of crispy bacon in a doorstep! The LBC breakfast is really tastly and Frank even makes his own baked beans. Theres plenty on offer for veggies and vegans too. I know I'm slightly biased, but there's a good reason why we've been going to the LBC for all these years...the food, that staff and the atmosphere to name just three. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

What lovely staff , despite some minor confusion with our booking, we were immediately made to feel welcome, the best cup of tea out I've had, and if you go for the apple and cider cake, I'd say have it hot with a dollop of cream. We were all satisfied with our lunch, a gorgeous array of freshly made sandwiches, and freshly cooked breakfasts, the menus varied and plentiful, but save room for cake!. A great place to meet old friends, had a lovely time. Thanks again to the fantastic staff.

I can honestly having frequented the cafe on a regular basis I was exceptionally disappointed. There were 5 of us sat outside with no blankets or heating. Incidentally dogs had blankets provided by the cafe. There was room inside as it was not that busy . Service was slow and the owner did come out and strongly hint for us to depart. I asked poached eggs florentine with extra spinach as I was not having an English muffin. Paying £8 + was not in my opinion good value for money. I certainly won't be visiting again.

Amazing afternoon tea to celebrate my nans birthday, wonderful sandwiches and a great choice of fillings, cakes and both savoury and sweet scones that were so yummy. The cafe has a lovely atmosphere and is very inviting, staff are friendly and attentive. We will definitely recommend and will be returning soon. Thank you

We visited here as a family of 6 + dog . They weren’t able to sit us all together sadly as they only have tables of 4 unless you sit outside. So we sat on two tables which was absolutely fine. The food and drinks were absolutely amazing and the staff were super friendly and helpful. We will definitely be returning again. Thank you 😊

Amazing light lunch, exceptional cake afterwards too 😋 experienced and friendly staff, prices very good 👍very clean establishment and i even bought 2 books 📚 Will definitely be returning 10/10

This was the best café I eaten at! The staff where excellent and the food was lovely and was the best tasting of all.

The LB is now a locked in favourite of mine and my lovely friend, we can’t go anywhere else. Our favourites are the Eggs Benedict, Royale and Florentines. However we’ve tried the all-day breakfast and the “specials”. Frank never lets us down. I regularly take cake away for my son (I’ve got to think of my hips!) and he especially likes the Bakewell. The LB is a treasure.

This is a great place for a light lunch or coffee and cake. The food is consistently good, the staff are very pleasant and the building itself is quaint. I would not hesitate to recommend it.

This cosy café is our go-to place for a hearty cooked breakfast. Staff are always friendly and welcoming and Frank and Jackie offer a selection of delicious breakfasts, lunches and cakes, with vegetarian and vegan options. They do a great Full English and the vegetarian breakfast, with halloumi and spinach, makes a tasty change from the usual veggie sausages! There's also a covered courtyard, ideal on a summer's day or if you're bringing our dog (water bowls are provided). Definitely worth visiting next time you're in Halstead.

Excellent lunch, fantastic service, lovely staff....... and we came away with two books each! Always a lovely welcoming atmosphere.

Cosy and friendly little cafe with a great supply of pre-read books, I make a point of going there whenever I'm in Halstead. Two weeks ago I had their cherry bakewell sponge, which was beautifully rich and delicious. I can also highly recommend the Welsh rarebit. Not good for my wasitline, but crikey it's delicious!

Outstanding service and extremely polite staff can’t praise them enough, the food was excellent served rapidly which suited my time frame, will visit again asap

The food was very palatable its a pity the staff were off hand immediately we walked in. I overheard one of the staff in discussion with a customer accusing us of "doing a runner" which was absolute nonsense as I had already paid. Never again!!!

Met a friend who I hadn’t seen for more than 30 years - we met for coffee and stayed for lunch and were made very welcome. The LBC salad was absolutely delicious.

This cafe is probably the best little cafe we have ever been to. The breakfast is OUTSTANDING! I am struggling to put into words just how good it is. Every part of it was perfection. Coffee delicious and staff are just lovely. Cannot recommend enough!

We popped in for a pot of tea & had a chicken, bacon and avocado bagel and a sausage with red onion chutney sandwich. Everything was absolutely scrumptious and my husband said his sausage sandwich was ‘the best’ he’s ever had! The ambience was also wonderful with characterful beamed ceiling and twinkling lights. Just perfect and we’d thoroughly recommend a visit! 😊

We came across this lovely, special cafe by chance a few weeks ago and returned for breakfast with friends this morning. Frank and Jackie are amazing, nothing was too much trouble (including our demanding dietary requirements, vegan, gluten free etc.), the food is incredible and...

What a lovely cafe. We went for afternoon tea here today and it was superb. The food was lovely and the staff fantastic. Go visit! You won’t regret it x

A really quaint, cute venue with an added light airy conservatory . Food freshly prepared so if you have allergies or preferences they an be catered for. Lots of nice touches like homemade baked beans, Stokes sauces, perfectly steamed spinach, enormous hot chocolate made with...

What a fab find! This is a lovely cafe, we had a great breakfast there and took some delicious cheese scones away with us to have for lunch! The staff are all really friendly with excellent customer service. Highly recommend this cafe if you're in...

Visited today for brunch. Cappuccino was lovely as was the bacon sandwich. My friend had a toasted teacake and that disappeared quickly... Absolutely lovely little building inside and out. Staff very friendly too. Definitely be back.

We both amazing breakfast here today ...food very tasty and well presented. We sat in courtyard ( under cover)...pleasant staff....very enjoyable experience ....

Great breakfasts. Not been here for lunch yet but always seems busy. Nice environment especially in the little courtyard and being surrounded by books is always a plus in my opinion!

Went here for breakfast as a last minute thing, having not visited before! Great decision! It's a cafe with a quirky twist of selling books as well, secondhand for charity as far as I could tell. The atmosphere and decor is charming and inticing, the...

Best place to eat I have come across anywhere. The food is outstanding and you can tell it is prepared with genuine care and pride. The staff are wonderful and friendly and will always try to get you a table, even on exceptionally busy days....

Always so so lovely at Little Book Cafe. All staff very welcoming and warm. Food absolutely delicious, menu choices are spot on, best oat milk cappuccino I’ve had in forever!! I think Lucia was last serving us she’s an asset to the business with her...

I wanted to visit somewhere different for lunch, whilst browsing TripAdvisor I stumbled across the Little Book Cafe, and decided to head there one Saturday afternoon with the family. This is such a cute little quirky cafe.. Staff are very friendly and welcoming, service was...

I went in to this shop on 28/04/21 around 11ish and had a cappuccino and a mushroom,cheese toasties. Absolutely gorgeous and a nice side of chips. It smelt and tasted fresh and really loved it. Unfortunately I wanted to sit inside but there wasn't room,...

The Little Book Cafe is a true gem, we popped in for lunch and what an absolute delight, sat in the courtyard on a beautiful day, the food and service were just plain great, cannot rate it highly enough, The Smashed Avo we had we...

We’d been to the little book cafe lots of times before but never had the afternoon tea. This time we visited we had the afternoon tea to use vouchers from Christmas. It was the best afternoon tea we’ve ever had! Everything was so so fresh...

Friendly staff, lovely quality food, cosy. Lots of character. We had the breakfast which was excellent, friend had the Bagel special that they thought was very tasty. Parking can be tricky. Dogs allowed at the back. They take reservations. Definitely be going back.

Lovely food, great coffee and genuinely lovely staff. Love it out back, it’s a really quirky and homely cafe in Halstead. Not easy to find for the average visitor, there is a small car park opposite, and a pub almost next door one might park...

Visited here with my girls, the food, drinks and service are all so lovely. We can’t wait to return!

Great place for a nice full English breakfast or coffee and cake with a friend. Lovely atmosphere and excellent service. Really love the place.

Visited with 3 friends for a booked afternoon tea. The quantity, quality and service were all first class, and I can honestly say this is the best afternoon tea I’ve ever had. On booking you’re given a choice of 2 sandwiches out of 9 fillings...

Outstanding! What a gem and an absolute asset to Halstead! We stopped off for lunch after passing by several times before. During covid we made the decision to support local cafés from now on and wow! The food was first class and the service was...

What a fantastic little cafe… we went there for breakfast. Great choices on the menu and the food was superb. We sat in the courtyard and it was so lovely.. as it was a warm day it was like being in the Mediterranean 😎 We...

After the disappointment of the Cafe at Hedingham Castle we flipped open TripAdvisor and looked for somewhere nearby. The Little Book Cafe was perfect, and clearly the place all the locals prefer to come. Everything is home made, and if you are alone there are...

The Egg in a Hole is phenomenal!! Great place. Lovely atmosphere. Friendly staff. Fabulous food. Not sure what else I can say…. Go check it out for yourself.

Fantastic food and friendly staff. The food was lush and the milkshakes were better than McDonald's. Will definitely go back again.

Absolutely fantastic little Cafe tucked away, but worth the look. Extremely friendly and lovely food, but you must book!

Great little gem of a cafe/restaurant food fabulous and lovely friendly service - highly recommended

Excellent food and service as always - the arancini special was a lovely treat Delicious cakes and a coffee. Highly recommend the three cheese toastie

Perfect little cafe. You can feel the heart of this little gem as soon as you enter. Genuine hospitality, superb grub and delightful atmosphere. We loved this place. Now... stop reading and go visit them.

Lovely little cafe on the north side of Halstead, walk there if you’re local or park in one of the supermarket car parks. Covered back terrace, enjoy!

Tiny cafe, hugely welcoming. Proper sized pot of tea, excellent soup and sandwich as well as a first rate ploughman’s lunch. My wife was torn between two choices so the waitress suggested a combining of the two something that many places a reluctant to do....

Love this place. A little Halstead gem. Great food, staff and ambience. Books, books and more books. Shh don’t tell everyone !

Small and cozy but perfectly socially distanced tables. Staff are lovely and very accommodating for those with allergies. Food is fresh and delicious! We will certainly be going back.

Went for lunch great food excellent coffee and Frank the owner made us feel very welcome .highly recommend a visit

Visited for lunch with friends. Lovely little coffee shop with a good choice of food although not extensive and very good. Limited choice of cake. Service was excellent. Well organised for covid secure arrangements.

A charming cuppa and snack today. Lovely setting and a place I could chill out all day in and drink coffee.

Popped in for lunch what a lovely little place. Service was amazing lovely friendly staff Jackie was lovely nothing to much trouble. Lunch menu fabulous caters for all and was delicious. Cakes..home made and to die for...even took seconds home. Felt very safe social distanced and fabulous experience a must do. Thankyou loved it

We found this little gem when passing through Halstead so thought we'd stop for lunch. I mean, food and books, what's not to love! Well we were not dissapointed! The food is fresh and very tasty, and the service was warm, welcoming and genuine. They also have a good system in place adhering to the new "covid" way of eating out. I can highly recommend this little cafe. Myself and partner are already considering when we can return for more!

I popped in here to find sanctuary with my two small people and I found exactly that. Lovely space with courtyard with lovingly tendered flowers at the back. Great cup of tea and really friendly staff. Very impressed by all their adherence to guidelines as well with track and trace, social distancing, one way and lovely clean toilets. Shows what can be done when staff make an effort. We didn’t eat as had just had breakfast but menu looked amazing so we will be back!

We had a lovely lunch, perfectly cooked and preseted by the really friendly staff. I love the surroundings and the feel of history. And they put a polar bear's face into the froth on my flat white.I I understand it's relatively new management. I Just hope they don't suffer during the crisis, they deserve to thrive.

I visited this wonderful cafe recently and had an amazing breakfast. The coffee is delicious and the staff are welcoming and friendly.

This is a lovely little cafe, good food and always a warm friendly welcome. Due it's limited space the tables are very close together so it does feel cramped.

Every time I go to Halstead, I go to the Little Book Cafe. I find the combination of delicious, homecooked food and the friendly, unhurried atmosphere unbeatable. My favourite item on the menu? The deliciously cheesy Welsh rarebit. Not good for the waistline though!

I hadn't been here in a little while even though I live down the road. I think it has changed hands. I have been here twice in the last week and been seriously disappointed on both occasions. I hesitated before writing this review but decided to leave it as (hopefully helpful) feedback. The first visit I was on my own. Changes I immediately noticed were that the orange juice had a weird sweet taste, the staff seemed more interested in their own internal politics than customer service and the server didn't listen to me. I heard her tell the kitchen the wrong order twice before calling out to correct her. Also the food wasn't cooked properly. My fried egg was finished off in the microwave. Anyone who has ever done that knows how disgusting that is. While I sat eating the staff talked non stop behind the counter about how they were going to give the staff on Saturday a good talking to about not neglecting customers (ironic). When I left a man had come out of the kitchen and said "was that okay darling?" - I don't enjoy being spoken to like that by somebody I have never met. Second visit I went with my friends, one of whom is vegan. I asked the (very surly) server for a vegan menu and she said "I don't understand what you mean, what do you want?" In the end she brought us the vegan menu. I ordered a soy latte which was not a latte. It was a white coffee with a bitter taste and the milk had not been frothed. We waited a very long time for our food, the server came to us twice in about 30 minutes but ignored the latte that had gone cold virtually untouched. We didn't mind the wait but when the food arrived my friend's vegan food had mozzarella in it. The server took it back but we heard the kitchen loudly ask if we had actually asked for the vegan version (yes, we repeatedly asked for the separate menu and ordered from the green menu they gave us - we even tried to have a discussion about which vegan dish to try to which the server replied "dunno, I haven't eaten either of them.") We got a replacement and they were very apologetic. The food was nice enough just nowhere near as nice as it used to be. The homemade beans were disappointing and the bread was cheaper and thinner than before. We were totally ignored once we finished and had the dirty plates (and cold latte) on the tables. We left and paid. However when we paid one of the servers made a mistake keying in the amount we gave her. The other pointed it out and the first one could barely contain her rage. She was so angry that she could not speak. There was huge tension between the two of them because they now had to do a calculation and they couldn't remember the bill total. We reminded them and told them how much change we needed but they continued to slowly press calculator buttons while one boiled with rage and the other passively aggressively rolled her eyes. I've written a lot because I absolutely loved this place. I hadn't tried many other places in Halstead the last few years because Little Book was so good and just a few doors down from me. However, while I might give Little Book another chance, I will probably try out all the other cafes in town first. And to the Little book staff - we don't want to hear you talk while we eat. We love friendliness and chit chat (which we did mostly get) but we don't want to hear about your staffing issues. We also don't want to be puppets in your dramas and we don't want to be called diminutive names by somebody we have never spoken to. We also don't want microwaved eggs (seriously!!) and cheap bread. And please train your staff how to make coffees. To end on some positives, the place was still very clean and the food was nice,

I have been visiting the Little Book Cafe numerous times over the last few years. Nice interior and courtyard. Very good breakfast and lunch. Under new management but still the same great atmosphere and food. If ever you are in the Colne Valley, then it worth a try.

Had a wonderful experience in the little book cafe. Lovely food, amazing service and great atmosphere. Will be returning.

We'd heard good things so came for breakfast. Excellent, good food and friendly efficient service. The home made baked beans are very special.We will be back, but we will phone ahead and reserve a table.

My daughter had wanted to take me here for some time but when we arrived at 1210 it was full with every table occupied. My somewhat fluid timetable had meant that she hadn’t been able to reserve a table so despite the chill in the air we said we’d sit outside if they would call us when an inside table became free, but we were advised that was unlikely as they had lots of reservations. That was good to hear but didn’t help us much.I felt guilty that I hadn’t been more precise with my arrival time but daughter was happy to brave the elements so we ventured through the crowded tables out to the back. She knew that it was under cover, there were blankets available on the chairs and heaters on the wall and as we both had winter coats on so she deemed that we were suitably dressed for the occasion.Possibly with prior knowledge she chose the home made baked beans but they didn’t appeal to me and I was initially tempted by the all day breakfast that sailed past on the way to another table but in the end decided upon the Eggs Benedict, one of my favourite breakfasts (when served with smoked salmon). This one however would come with smoked ham, but no problem there. When it arrived served up on the plate it reminded me of a bow tie for some reason. Notwithstanding, the poached eggs were nice and soft, the hollandaise thick and tasty (and undoubtedly home made) both on a bed of ham on a toasted muffinWe couldn’t let lunch pass without a dessert and for that didn’t venture further than the specials board. My girl had Lemon Drizzle cake whereas I wanted the Bakewell tart and very soft and spongy it was too. During this we had asked for a pot of tea and although the cups were a little on the small side the pot did give the impression of being bottomless as we both poured seemingly endless cups.Because the Cafe was so crowded both when we arrived and when we left I never got a chance to explore the range of books that were dotted around as I understood one could read one over a meal, borrow or even buy one, still on another occasion perhaps?Some observations, when I first looked at the menu I thought it a little pricey for what it was but the dessert specials were a ‘steal’ and more than made up for it. I also found it a little perverse that although there were eco slogans on the serviettes they had 2 wall mounted 2 bar electric fires to try and heat the outside area. I am always bemused when places try to heat outdoor spaces, because although it was an enterprising use of the area to expand the restricted seating indoors it is far from being environmentally sound. Why not fully enclose it with a door and put a different roof on, then put radiators in? That said I found it both cosy and quaint and the service was efficient and friendly and it is certainly worth going back to, with a reservation next time!

Absolutely delicious home cooked food, wonderful staff, great selection on the menu. All great reasons I gave it 5/5 and also because of the books available to read and beautiful decor and relaxing ambiance. Tea served in a china teacup and saucer, chilled music to take away the stresses of the day.

Superb, outstanding no doubt one of the best In Halsted . Try it at least one times , highly recommended

This was a very last minute choice as we were only in the area for a short time however we were so glad we chose The Little Book Cafe. The staff were so welcoming, the cafe had a great aesthetic & it also had an outside seating area with heaters & blankets which was a nice touch!

We were looking for an early lunch and wanted something a little different but good quality food. Well we found it and more! My wife and I decided to have a “breakfast”. While I like good quality coffee my wife likes STRONG tea. Not only did my wife get strong tea but was offered an extra teabag on the side (3 in all) so it was one of the best teas she has had away from home.

The only reason for 4 starts is that there's no parking and I'm disabled. But if you're able to, definitely worth a visit, great food, drinks and atmosphere.

Had a great little lunchtime meal,service was excellent and the price very good...A busy little cafe that serves up top food!

This place provides great grub and delicious drinks. The staff are very friendly and approachable and we will definitely visit again, but they are closed on Mondays...

I went there on my birthday with my husband for a late lunch - it was really cold outside and we had a beautiful hot chocolate to warm us up! Then had Eggs Florentine which were the best that we'd had in ages. Lots of spinach and the eggs were perfectly cooked. We had been meaning to go there for a long time - the other times that we'd tried, they had either been booked out or closed. So we are really happy that we finally got there and will definitely be returning. Thoroughly recommend this place - the food, atmosphere and friendliness of the staff were all top notch.

we struggled uphill to this wonderful cafe as it was recommended to me. it was well worth the walk.

Have been numerous times with friends and family. Always a very nice atmosphere and first class service. Quality of food is always excellent.

The Little Book Cafe is a lovely little place just off the main high road.. once inside the seating area is far bigger than I expected it to be and you are greeted by a lovely member of staff who will show you to your table and then take any drinks orders you are ready to order or they are happy to leave you to look at the drinks menu further .. once you have ordered your drinks and food I was delighted at the time it had taken to cook my order , in many places I have waited well over 30 minutes for my food to arrive but I was handed my food with 15 minutes it was served exactly how it’s been served to me before the new owners took over this cafe I’m assuming this was due to both parties working very closely together towards the end so any regulars would agree that the food has continued to stay just as wonderful as it was before

One of my favourite places to eat. It has just changed hands so was a little bit nervous that things might be different but was not disappointed. My Welsh rarebit was as good as ever and still the same friendly staff and environment. Keep it up.

Passed this cafe many times but this time we decided to visit and were very pleased. The waffles and bacon were lovely but I do think the peanut sauce should have been on the side like the maple syrup, however it was delicious. My partner ordered Eggs Florentine which was even better!

Had a great breakfast and the staff were very friendly & provided an excellent service would certainly recommend.