The Mess Cafe in South Cambridgeshire

Such a good find on trip advisor , spotless , friendly staff and excellent food keenly priced , very close to IWM Dixford for our visit

Best breakfast I’ve had in SO long! I’m from America, so I love a big breakfast. Traveling through Europe, I found it hard to find anything more than a few pieces of meat and cheese and bread. But at The Mess Cafe, I got myself a big delicious plate full! in the coffee was also amazing! Also, the three women working here were super friendly. I came back three days in a row.

We were greeted with a friendly and pleasant welcome. The staff are lovely and helpful, and the food is varied and enjoyable.

Staff are very friendly and polite, great place to grab a bite and meet for business or if you are just passing by with friends/family.

Visited Friday 16th August as had seen reviews on here. Was unsure what time they opened so say outside for a while and went in at 8.30am. Was served by Mary who was attentive, very professional and chatty. Was greeted warmly and served a great breakfast. Highly recommended for an affordable breakfast or lunch if visiting Duxford as across the road from imperial War museum. Based in a historical building it should be visited for great, affordable food.

Called in for Breakfast before heading to IWM Duxford. Very nice breakfast, the ladies were so nice and helpful. Great start to the day!

Wonderful find - we'd no idea this cafe was here. Very clean, very quiet and extremely good service. Food tasty, fresh, and a generous portion. We had the quiche of the day with salad and wedges - highly recommended.

The freshly cooked quiches are the star of the menu, but the jacket potatoes are excellent too, as are the fish finger sandwiches on a Friday. The cafe is in walking distance of my work place, so we often have team lunches there, always enjoyable. The staff are lovely and work so hard to deliver good food at reasonable prices. Any chance of a new jacket potato topping please? Cheese with roasted vegetables is a great combo, and utilises what you have in stock regularly in the kitchen.

Fabulous setting, great welcoming staff and always go over and beyond whether it be breakfast, just a coffee or lunch! A hidden gem and well worth a visit.

Very nice food, great service. Been here a few times and have been served by the same young man each time, and every time he has been extremely polite and friendly. I definitely recommend the quiche! Very yummy!

Nice food , great staff nice place to have breakfast . Reasonable prices good choice on the menu ! Well done

Arrived 8 mins before end of breakfast. Asked for bacon sandwich. Bacon was reheated and chewy and not freshly cooked Disappointing.

The cafe really compliments the excellent business facilities at the Officers Mess. Staff are are always friendly and welcoming. There are enough hot and cold food choices to cater for most tastes with food to eat in or take away. This cafe is a great option for those working in and around the business center but also for anyone looking for somewhere new for breakfast or lunch. Parking is free and always space available.

The building is of historic interest but the inside has no trace of the original Mess apart from some pictures on the walls from WW2. The inside is an open bright modern spacious café and meeting area for the businesses around the site. Sadly the food from the small serving and kitchen area was poor and slow to produce. The bacon used in the two sandwiches ordered was not freshly cooked and clearly had had a long ‘hard’ life before it was added to two heavily buttered slices of thin white bread. Two sausage sandwiches were again in heavily buttered thin white bread with two bland looking sausages in each, cooked but colourless and looking like they had just left the packet. Micro-waved perhaps?

What a fantastic space this is ... modern, clean and bright, with a huge nod to the illustrious history of the site. The café has a limited menu but the basics are well provided for and very reasonably priced. You have to stop and read the picture boards which detail the war heroes who flew from this base and the sacrifices they made to their lives so we could enjoy a free and peaceful existence today. Words can't express our thanks.

Great place for breakfast or lunch when near Duxford. Just off M11 and better than service stations! Home made quiches and salads at lunch and great bacon butties for breakfast

The ladies in the cafe are lovely, as is the food! Lots of home cooked food and always a smiling face to serve you. Members of the general public can visit and eat here, currently seems to be a bit of a hidden secret at Duxford!

What a lovely little cafe, serving up sandwiches, jacket potatoes and best of all the quiche, all beautifully handmade. The food is always fresh, made to order, and to top it off the staff are fantastic. Good value for money. A great find.

What a great cafe. My family and I had an appointment at the IWM and this cafe is across the road. Lovely sandwiches, pasties, salads quiche served by friendly cheerful staff.

Really nice lunch / coffee stop 1 min from Junction 10 M11. Nice cafe with homemade sandwiches and hot dishes. Only downside was that the parking spaces were nearly all taken. Maybe I called on a very busy lunchtime. Prices very reasonable.

Wanted somewhere for a group to have lunch after a visit to nearby Genome Campus in Hinxton. Interesting setting in old WW2 buildings was a little difficult to find but worth the effort. Hot food was good but limited in range and quantity available (the popular curry ran out but the quiche was very good. I believe it is primarily intended to provide the surrounding business park with breakfast, lunch and space for meeting clients etc. Well worth a visit if in the area or passing by on the nearby M11.

Excellent service and excellent food. Homemade quiches and soups, massive baked potatoes. Recommended.

Excellent homemade quiche, with a small salad and sauté potatoes. Very pleasant surroundings. I will definitely be coming back.

What a hidden treasure.... beautiful fresh food, very reasonable and lovely staff, 2 minutes off the M11. Well worth the stop

As you need to spend a few hours here it’s great to stop for lite refreshments. Prices are reasonable and great that they’ve tried to set it out as true army mess area. Have lots of picnic benches and seating outside, so if it’s sunny it’s nice to sit outside. Plenty of places to have a picnic if families want to keep the costs down but can top up with great cold or hot drinks.

My car is in for the day being repaired and instead of taking a courtesy car I thought I would try here. The staff are lovely, it's light, airy and just a lovely place to work from. Great bacon sandwich to start my day.

Friendly clean and good service. The menu was a bit limited and a bit expensive. The was three of us bill just under£40. We had burger x2 and pasta. With three teas. The food was hot and nicely presented.

Just across the road from the IWM staff entrance is the entrance to the Mess CafeSituated inside Duxford Officers Mess this is a real hidden gem.Good value breakfast and lunches are to be had at reasonable cost while enjoying the unique atmosphere of this ex RAF building. Shame it is only open during weekdays!

Light airy cafe with freshly prepared tasty sandwiches, soups and salads. Friendly smiling staff and relaxed atmosphere create a very pleasant experience.

The people at EMG motor group recommended this hidden gem to me. The 3 ladies that served me were very courteous, and the cafe is large bright and airy. All around the walls there is historic pictures with descriptions of the officers that served in Duxford. The wifi connection is good, and the food is 10/10 - I had a full English, with tea. They offered me a top up of my tea. 2 rashers, 1 sausage, 1 fried egg, 1 hash brown, lots of beans, mushrooms, and 2 slices of granary toast (other varieties available!). Right opposite Duxford Air museum in the old officers mess!

Nice bright clean cafe with plenty of parking. Tastefully refurbished with reflections of its former use. Staff very attentive and friendly, nice bacon sandwich and large mug of tea, throughly recommend

Superbly renovated, with reflections of its previous use, this cafe provides wholesome tasty breakfast and lunch or just go for the coffee and friendly service, either for self or ad hoc business meetings

Very nice and helpful friendly staff, very hard working. Area outside to use as well as inside. Clean tidy. Bit expensive.

The old Duxford officer’s mess has been beautifully refurbed as part of a business centre with a public cafe. Good food made on the premises and friendly staff, plentiful parking. Had an excellent veg frittata for lunch. Fully accessible and a variety of tables and meeting settings. An oasis of calm compared to the official M11 services, only 1 min off the Duxford junction. Open weekdays only.

I visiting the venue because it was hosting a training course that I was attending. Although it is small it has a nice lunch menu that covers all tastes. It also offers delicious cakes and coffee/tea.

Sensible price. Well prepared. Quick and very tasty food. We all were impressed with the place, would go again

Have been meaning to take my Dad here for ages. He is ex RAF but never went in the officers mess only the sargents mess! The staff were really friendly. Very tasty food and perfect portions. The cafe is so clean and bright

Delicious food, home cooked and locally sourced. Lovely friendly staff who are happy to help. Beautiful building and environment to relax in.

This cafe isopen Monday to Friday.Lots of space with a large menu i had an egg and bacon sandwich delicous .. When visiting go in the main entrance there is plenty of parking and the cafe is clearly signposted.

What a great find - quiet, lots of well-spaced tables, good quality food (great bacon sandwich on granary!), friendly service, delicious filter coffee. Not sure I want anyone else to find this.......

Lovely cafe spotlessly clean. Fast service we has lunch lovely bloomer sandwiches with hot drinks then an afternoon hot drink and cake delicious. We noticed this place was much cleaner than the other two places to eat they seemed very untidy with tables stacked with crockery.

A good choice of hot & cold snacks, also a good choice of drinks from tea , coffee etc to soft drinks & beer, wine etc.

I was here for work and we took a break for a mid morning snack after starting work at 5 am.

More than adequate lunch at an airfield. Reasonable price and choice s Including vegetarian options. Industrial canteen atmosphere but good enough. Tea excellent, alcohol is also available. We had fish an chips with all the usual , tartare sauce v good.

The Mess Cafe is situated in the famous old Officers Mess at RAF Duxford, a famous Battle of Britaoin airfield where Douglas Bader was an influential aviator. The Mess Cafe is friendly, welcoming and very well priced. You will feel a part of history.

As a volunteer at Duxford Imperial War Museum, this cafe "ticks all the boxes". Great setting, clean and smart, nicely prepared food at reasonable prices. Always a pleasure to visit and relax for a while with a coffee and tasty snacks.

Been there three times, food always good, staff very friendly and we will be back soon. Food is served quickly enough to enjoy and get back to work on time. Nice relaxed atmosphere.

A nice place to dine whilst at Duxford I.W.M. A good choice of Hot or Cold meals and ample outside seating on a warm day.

It is poorly signposted from the main road - and once off the main road (it is through Reception); car parking spaces were also at a premium today. Sadly the cafe lacks any ambience - it is part of reception/a much larger room; and my wife's hot chocolate was very poor (she didn't finish it - I tried it and it was very watery). The cakes etc. looked good - although not made on site. I wish it well - but it needs to compete with the best locally to attract people to it.

Located on the officers mess business Park opposite staff entrance to war museum. Lovely breakfast and tea for under £7 and we got free drinks refills. Clean, tidy and airy. Good service and very friendly. Thoroughly recommended.

The Mess cafe opposite Imperial War Museum Duxford is quite excellent for breakfast, brunch, lunch or cup of coffee and a snack . (It is not open in the evening). Specialises in snacks and sandwiches with a few daily specials. Food is fresh, well cooked and friendly service.

The entrance to The Mess Cafe is opposite the staff entrance to the Imperial War Museum on the A505. It is an impressive building with plenty of car parking space so also an ideal meeting point. There is plenty of space so you can talk in private. You can seat at tables or relax in sofa chairs. There is a good range of food and hot drinks which you can also take away. I always enjoy my English breakfast cooked using local produce at reasonable prices. You can also see the food being prepared and baked fresh every morning. The cafe is open Monday to Friday with complimentary papers to read if visit on your own or waiting for somebody.

Just off the A505 opposite the gatehouse and staff entrance to Imperial War Museum. Lovely looking building with plenty of free off road parking. Airy and spacious. Plenty of seating at tables or comfy sofa chairs. Counter service to order where you can also see the freshly baked scones, cakes and other food being prepared. Food is brought to your table. If you visit on your own or are waiting for someone there are complimentary newspapers to read. They serve a great breakfast. You can view pictures and read about its past. Only open Mondays to Fridays.