The Retreat Cafe in Ashford

The food was reasonably priced, and vegan. The service was quick. The victoria sponge and meringue tasted like the real thing. It was SO lovely having hens wandering around our feet.

We love this place and visit as often as we can. The food is great quality, fresh and delicious. Generous portions. Everyone is so friendly and helpful. It is located on an animal rescue sanctuary which is amazing..loads of beautiful rescued animals. Can stay in the large lodges. A gift shop. Thrift shop. A food shop and is also educational with great authors. Would thoroughly recommend..look forward to going back soon.

Very nice cafe, good choice of vegan dishes, food came freshly cooked and very tasty. Prices fine for generous portions. The tea was in huge mugs and nice and strong. It was funny to see the chickens wandering about inside. Definitely worth a visit.

Visited with my two teenage kids, was great to see the animals and I love the ethos and educational value of the retreat. Fantastic food, lovely shop and great thrift shop. Nice afternoon out.

We visited the Retreat Animal Rescue Centre and Cafe and had an amazing day. It was so lovely to see the wonderful work that is being done with the rescue animals and birds on the site. The cafe serves the most wonderful vegan food and it was so good to know that what we were eating did not involve any animal cruelty and suffering. We plan to be regular visitors.

My boyfriend and I visited The RETREAT and had the most wonderful day! Billy (the founder) is so personable and we had a great time hearing some of the stories of how the animals got to the sanctuary in the first place. We got up close with goats, cows, lambs for the first time - they reminded me why I went vegan in the first place. The food at the cafe was PERFECT - my boyfriend who still eats meat from time to time thought the "chicken" burger tasted amazing and the artisan coleslaw was a real treat!! Wish I got some food for dinner now. It was also lovely eating the food whilst there were chickens and dogs walking around - magical! Will most definitely be back.

This is a sanctuary with a cafe that puts its morals firmly on your plate .. 100% vegan with a good mix of amazing homemade food and cakes and proper junk food for when you want a burger or hotdog, all at excellent prices.. So good in fact I got some to take home for dinner!!!. Our first trip today with a young child and dogs and we couldn't have been made more welcome. A great family day out and well worth your time and donations. A word of warning though.... Wear wellies..

Wonderful day out for all the family. We have eaten here on many occasions and the food has always been superb. The vegan burgers are the best I have had anywhere. Staff & volunteers are such friendly people. Our grandchildren love being able to feed the animals...can't praise the Retreat enough.

Went there today and met some of the wonderful volunteers. All smiles and Welcomes. Saw the animals that are all happily milling around and particularly the chickens and ducks all wanting crumbs. The little shop has old and new items and sells bags of farm animals food for you to get down and dirty feeding pigs, cows, sheep, peacocks, titles and horses. But the Cafe excels itself... a well oiled group of ‘family’ that work quickly and efficiently passing out plates of delicious fresh homemade vegan food but you don’t miss out on anything as the burgers are meat substitute that you’d never know and the fish cakes are Devine. Wait til you try the cakes! The chef obviously takes great pride in what he puts on a plate and it’s worth every penny. In fact leave more ....they so deserve it!

I have long wanted to visit the Retreat and I was not disappointed! I visited with my partner (a part time vegan and my French bulldog, Babs) and we all had such a warm welcome and an unforgettable experience. The Retreat is an utterly amazing place. It is nothing short of a rite of passage for any vegan. Beautiful animals, who are loved and cared for and who all rightly get to spend their lives being loved and treated the way that sadly many of them have been denied.All the volunteers were such wonderful, friendly people and their passion and dedication for the welfare of the animals that call this sensational place home is undeniably. As a vegan myself, I can't deny that another huge draw of visiting The Retreat, was the vegan cafe. Again, I was not disappointed! The food was great! So much choice and such great quality, which is made all the more delicious by knowing that you’re eating from a cruelty free kitchen, surrounded by the very animals who ultimately benefit.I truly cannot recommend The Retreat enough. It is an absolute MUST for any vegan (or vegetarian considering a vegan lifestyle), but also for anyone who simply wants a great day out for the family and can leave with learning that little bit more about how warm, loving and inclusive the vegan community really is.

Amazing day out - EditWe stayed for a night in one of the lodges which is a great idea to capture the sanctuary at all hours. It really is a hive of activity and billy and his helpers do not stop.The relaxed atmosphere was lovely to behold and we got to stroll around the place in the evening saying hello to all the residents. The lack of WiFi and tv was a bonus.The next day we got to experience the public experience and I can wholeheartedly recommend it. It’s a great day out for adults and children alike. The fact that it is free speaks of the generous nature of Billy.The cafe is a must, obviously all vegan with great selection and huge portions. Plenty of snacks to take away also if you have no room left.We will definitely be back to support this wonderful cause

A great place to visit for all age groups, a wonderful sanctuary where the animals are all clearly enjoying being in a well loved and looked after environment well away from potential harm. Make sure you buy a big bag of animal feed from the shop as the goats soon demolish it! Helpful volunteers and staff and a cafe that I will be visiting again very soon, lovely food well priced and all fresh I will be back shortly for the mountain burger!

We visited The Retreat last year on their last open days, with our two children and grandparents and our little dog Peppa. What a fantastic day we had! They took us on a tour of the animals, we could feed and pet them, and the young man who took us on the tour, Alfie, knew so much about them all. There was a super cafe, where we had a Vegan lunch, and a little charity shop with mountains of treasures! The whole farm was beautifully clean and all the staff were so nice. We look forward to our next visit. What a fab day out and what a magic place! The Fuller Family, Amersham, Bucks The

Any animal which finds itself here is very lucky indeed. The place is full of wonderful rescue animals, lovely staff and with a lovely cafe. The food was fantastic, everything is Vegan. You don't have to be vegan to enjoy it but hopefully it will make people who aren't realise that you can enjoy fabulous food without cruelty.

Had a huge vegan sausage roll here, good value and very tasty! The cafe has 5 star hygiene rating! It’s so good to know that the delicious food you’re buying is going to a very worthy cause! And watching all the animals roam free whilst enjoying your food and drink only adds to the experience.

We had the best vegan burger ever today... fast service lots of food and really good quality. Brilliant vegan ice cream and sadly no room for the cakes, but they looked fabulous.The real magic of this place is the animals living happy safe lives full of love from the wonderful people at The Retreat. I totally adore this place.xx

We visited here for the first time the other day.The 4 of us absolutely loved it. So many animals that you can look at, interact with and even adopt/sponsor!It was amazing getting up close to so many animals that people so often ignore.The staff there are amazing and you can really tell they care about the animals.The cafe is absolutely first class with fantastic food.I love the fact that you are not allowed to consume any animal products on the property (that includes dairy and egg products!)Even if you are not vegan, do visit here because it really opens your eyes (Some of the back stories to the animals are heart breaking) and you will also find that eating in the cafe, that NON animal products are actually nice too!!!The food was amazing and the surrounding was so nice.Wonderful place and amazing staff!I look forward to adopting an animal and being a regular here!

My friend and I visited here on Saturday 7 th July, after we had seen a post on FB about it. It is a truly wonderful retreat for all the rescued creatures. Most roam around freely and all now just get to enjoy life. The food available in the cafe is of course all vegan and delicious. I can recommend the coconut and lime sponge cake. The staff are friendly and at 1pm we went on the tour of the retreat and met some magnificent animals.

A little rustic vegan café tucked away within an animal sanctuary. Serving things from toasties, jacket potatoes, burgers and chips and daily specials. We had a generous slice of ginger cake and chocolate cake and both were lovely, washed down with a cappuccino! All the seating is outside, but there is a marque area with table and chairs to give shelter if the weathers not so good. Dogs are welcome. There are chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys wandering around, goats, horses, cows, pigs, sheep…..are in paddocks nearby, a chap was taking people round for tours while we were there, so we learnt a lot about the retreat and the animals. All the animals are rescued and are obviously well looked after. There is also a little shop next to the café area, selling cards and second-hand bits and pieces. All the staff/volunteers that we met were extremely cheerful and friendly. We will be going back!