Waterfront Cafe in Mid Suffolk

First time visiting, lovely cooked breakfast we went for small and it was huge! Cooked really well and served quickly, lovely and hot. We will definitely be visiting again one day.

Came for breakfast, amazing service and breakfast, worth the wait! shame the miserable owner at the shop next door came out of her way to tell everyone with dogs they weren’t allowed to return considering they were all well behaved on leashes and weren’t causing any problems

Came today for a breakfast, as usual top quality lovely breakfast. Cafe is spotless and in a lovely location. Only thing letting this place down is the very rude waitress.

gorgeous breakfast 10/10 lovely customer service good quality food! good prices too cant wait to eat here again in the future

I went to the Water Park with a couple of friends two weeks ago and was so impressed with their Covid precautions. Waiting outside till they call you in, having temperature taken and the app ready to scan. Then you order and pay at the till before sitting down. The meals were wonderful, hot and very tasty. Well done to everyone and thank you for an enjoyable experience.

Visited today for the first time in a while. The breakfast is still the best around. Reduced capacity due to Covid, but this place could teach much bigger businesses how to look after people. Sanitiser, temperature checks, clean tables, single serve sauces. They are really doing a great job. Great food, great location, well run. Felt safe. What more do you need

On Suffolk Water Park, Bramford.We went here to see if it's as good as it was when I last went about 20 odd years ago....It was better, and they were right on it with covid regs, I'm gonna give the breakfast a 9 out of 10, and most of you know I don't give high scores easily, for a perfect 10, I would have liked to have seen a fresh tomato, although the tinned plum ones are actually more healthy for you because of the concentrated juice there in, but a fresh one has more flavour, and I would also have liked to have had a slightly better quality bread, rather than cheap mass produced stuff that's kneaded on quick machines, not only would it have had more flavour, it would also be a better texture, but these are just small things, for everything else it was perfect, and just as I would have cooked it all at home, decent ingredients as well, that were full of flavour, not cheap and cheerful stuff you get for the same, or even a higher price at other places, this was all bang on, covid spacing was good, masks needed to enter unless you had a valid reason for not wearing one, there was even someone standing at a table behind me, and the boss came over and asked him to please take a seat back at his table, hand sanitisers at each door.This is how a place should be run, front and back, it was the most perfect place I've been to in a long time, even the toilets were spotless and smelled nice, something a lot of "Posh" places aren't up to spec on. just the little niggles about the bread and tom, or I think it would have been my first 10 out 10 rating ever. Well done to everyone there, what a great team, keep up the good work.

Breakfast was great. Excellent value for money! Good covid precautions (hand sanitizer and temp taken on arrival) and great service!

One of the finest eating establishments we have ever been to. Their level of cleaning and customer management is an object lesson in how to run a cafe. The waitress, indeed all the staff are as good as we have seen anywhere. The organisation is wonderful the food excellant and the prices spot on. We went here three days for breakfast and we never keep returning normally to the same venue.

First visit for a while but decided to treat my son and I to a hearty breakfast. We certainly were not disappointed. On arrival it was very busy with large queue but we were served very quickly and didn’t have to wait long for our food. But it was worth every minute. Delicious, generous breakfast and cooked to perfection. These guys have it off to a fine art. Won’t leave it so long until our next visit.

Beautiful location, clean cafe. We had a small breakfast which wasn’t small. Very nice breakfast and efficient waiting staffIf I could find a fault then it would be......ask the lady on the till to at least pretend to be happy while at work.Also very good prices

After surviving a force 9 storm on the ferry coming over from The Netherlands, the natural choice was a Waterfront breakfast! Always greeted with a smile and friendly service, a hearty mug of tea or coffee and of course the famous breakfast! Yum yum. Never disappoints- even after 14 years of coming here for the first time.

Absolutely lovely breakfast. It was perfectly cooked, clean looking, tasty and very generous portions. Very very good value - best breakfast anywhere (except the one my Missus makes)

Been several times we always enjoy the food. On Sunday 2Feb we took our grandson, don’t know the name of the lady on the till but she was extremely rude and grumpy she never smiles. My grandson who’s 20 is autistic and didn’t like the way he was spoken too

A very well managed and clean café. It’s impossible to not give them a tip the workers are amazing and will go above and beyond for you! Visited for lunch with my dad, the food was beautiful and the views of the lake were lovely! 100% would recommend! We look forward to visiting in the future :)

Love my cod n chip's and currently this is the place to beat. Friendly and very helpful staff to. Also like there breakfasts which my wife really enjoys'

This cafe is amazing ! Excellent food ! excellent service & excellent value for money ! Would definitely recommend To family & friends !

Whenever we pass we call in for breakfast this time bringing some friends along from Felixstowe Suffolk for the best breakfast around

Best place to go for breakfast by far and very well priced with friendly staff If anyone asks me where to go I always recommend this place

The food is always excellent. I have been coming here for over four years & it goes from strength to strength. It fills you up for the day. Keep up the good work

Can't find a better one for quality and value anywhere, having ordered a short wait and your meal is delivered nice and hot with a smile.

Heard that the Waterfront Diner did a good breakfast so came here with my wife and her nonagenarian mother for brunch. It was about 10:30 am on a Friday morning and as we pulled in we thought there maybe a function on as the car park was really full. Inside it was heaving to the extent we had great difficulty finding 3 seats and had to share a table with a gentleman who was almost half way through a large breakfast.

Unfortunately after all these years the waterfront cafe are now serving cheap supermarket style sausages instead of the proper butcher sausages they’ve always served. Going downhill fast. You can get food like this anywhere.

The first thing a cafe has to have is a decent coffee! This was the worse coffee I have tasted this year ! Was just instant ! No Americarno coffee here ! So I bought some orange juice instead. Food was good but nothing special just your normal cafe food. There was a nice selection on menu. Nice location and Friendly staff. But would not go back as no real coffee!

This place does the best breakfast, bar none. This place does the best breakfast because they include tea and toast. This place does the best breakfast, because the ketchup and brown sauce is in bottles.

An early breakfast, in the sunshine, overlooking the wonderful lakes; nothing to beat it! We had a great breakfast here with a 10 year old in tow who enjoyed a very hearty meal and pronounced the food to be excellent. A good old fashioned cafe with friendly staff.

Been here several times now following a recommendation,A great breakfast,reasonably priced.Nice to have decent sausage not cheap catering rubbish!.Good selection of main meals all with decent size portions.all set in nice surroundings so will always revisit when in the vicinity.

Wow what a lovely meal and very friendly staff. Made to feel to welcome and made the kids laugh throughout the meal. Highly recommended

This was our first visit and I couldn't be more impressed, friendly staff, great food served quickly and freshly prepared. The cafe itself is very clean and bright and situated next to a lake with lovely views. The only bad thing I could bring myself to say about this place is that one of our pieces of toast wasn't cut perfectly from corner to corner. Very impressed.

Superb fry up - not too greasy, delicious and fairly cheap too. Ingredients pretty good but would much rather have hash browns as opposed to saute potatoes - they're not really 'breakfasty'. It's very basic, could do with some more tables but the food more than makes up for it. Great little breaky before golf!

Clean and tidy restaurant. Excellent and friendly staff but most of all one of the best fry ups I've had in a very long time. Good quality sausage. Non greasy fried bread. Perfect eggs. A real treat on a hungover Sunday. Well done.

Recently had occasion to visit Waterfront Diner for 3 morning breakfast around 0845 hrs to 0915hrs each day.

I Live in colchester and do the drive up the a12 bypassing the jubilee cafe to come here . Never dissapoints.good portions food is fresh and with butcher's sausages .friendly staff and fair price good job guys .

First class nosh breakfast is in a league of its own and plenty on your plate, well worth a visit. You will not be disappointed.

I need to give praise where it's due, you guys tick all the boxes. From 10 star food, to pricing, to nice staff and to ultra clean. I would eat here every day

Been here a few times over the years, seems to be getting more and more popular all the time, popped in mid Friday morning and almost every table was taken, had the big breakfast, very nice, I for 1 prefer the tinned tomatoes to grilled ones,, decent price, and although cold and frosty outside still some nice views to be had

The Waterfront isn't salubrious but what a find !!! In its class its an excellent breakfast using good quality ingredients. We will definitely return when we are next in the area

As always it’s top quality food and service , it’s always packed and today had to wait for seat ... but it’s worth the wait food always hot hot and cooked for you .. great team of people with good food would recommend this as being one of the best places to go for breakfast in Suffolk

This place is one of my best the staff are great the foods great and the location,I always leave here very full money well spent. Would defo recommend nice vibe well done guys good job. And to the short blonde hair lady your work doesn't go unnoticed thanks.

The breakfast will drive someone to an early grave. There is too much food. At least add a small breakfast to the belly buster. Your food is ok but are you making anything? Doesn't it disappoint to see every table leaving food and sending the food to the bin.

After a long spell of not ordering fish and chips, were back to really enjoying our cod and chips. Fish is really good, and chip's ain't bad either. Well done Patrick.

This is the destination of half the population of Ipswich come Saturday/Sunday morning.

Back again for the best breakfast in the area so no wonder the place was full at 08.00. We sat outside in the sun with a beautiful view of the lake a Canada geese. Plenty of parking and the meals are priced very reasonably.

A wonderful breakfast at a wonderful price. The best breakfast around. The service is quick and the staff friendly. With such beautiful surroundings too, of the lake. Plenty of parking.

Visited on Wednesday with family members and again it did not fail to excel. One had a breakfast two had cottage pie and the other had chicken wrap. Without going into detail all the meals were served in double quick time and were piping hot and generous portions as ever. Couple that with first class customer focussed staff - including a bit of banter with the Cod Father - it was memorable and would recommend this cafe to everyone.

me and my partner were here for lunch my partner had the breakfast and I had sausage and onion pie chips and peas and carrots.and we both had the refills for tea.as always cooked to perfection.nice clean place.and the toilets are always spotless as well.great service and great food as well as the prices.go on people give it a try you won't be disappointed.

good clean café,good size breakfast and reasonably priced! very busy but quick service and pleasant surroundings

This Waterside Cafe only gets better! I still say that the breakfasts served here are the best you can buy in Ipswich as well as being the best in terms of value for money.

We stopped and had lunch at this location. The food was very good and the view was even better of the harbor.

Stopped on the ofchance for a light lunch,and it was very nice, toasted sandwich came with salad, a nice cuppa & good service

Stopped for a Saturday morning breakfast with my daughters and my girlfriend, it was our first visit so had no idea what to expect. We were blown away as the food was great, we all had a small fry up but there was a lot! Service pretty good just don’t expect table serve or a credit/debit card machine. We will definitely be back.

Me and my boyfriend try and come here every weekend(depends on my shifts at work) we absolutely love it! Never had a problem, the breakfasts are always wonderfully cooked, credit to Adam the chef! Never even heard anyone else complain! Always very welcoming! Staff are amazing! Great job guys!!

Brilliant breakfast and very reasonably priced. Didn't have to wait long for the food and lovely outlook.

I regularly come here for a great value amd good quality breakfast . Service isnt great but a typical cafe enviroment . Great veiws espcially in this weather. They were really busy so tables were not getring cleared as quickly as normal. Value for money

Can’t comment on food as got there and sign up to say cash only. Why a business in this day and age doesn’t take card is beyond me!

Me and my partner were here for a fry up two sausage two eggs beans fryed bread mushrooms.and a hash brown and a cup of tea refill. As always the food was cooked to perfection.the staff are very good at what they do. And very friendly. And at only £6.95 each.great food at great prices what more could you ask for.

Really good value quality basic food overlooking a lake. Ample parking, too. Only drawbacks are a confusing pricing on menu re sides, food delivery system that relies on customers actually listening for their orders (there's the BIG flaw!) and geese that have been encouraged by some customers to be a bit greedy and demanding.

Large car park. Some tables outside with great view of the lake. Fantastic cooked breakfast menu. We had to queue for about 10 minutes to order, but this is a very popular place! Food was great and good value. Will definitely come again!

Went to the Waterside Cafe for a spot of lunch . It’s got a great view of the lake , plenty of parking , tables inside and out . Had the big breakfast which was as the name suggests BIG ! 2 eggs, bacon, beans,2 ,sausages ,fried potato’s, 2 toast,2 fried , tomatoes, mushrooms bread washed down with a nice cup of tea . All was of good quality and cooked to perfection. They had a good selection of food on menu to cater for all tastes . Toilets very clean . Would go again.

We visit only once a month to sample the English breakfast and would recommend it especially the large one.

This is definitely the best breakfast I've had for a long time .Service was fast and with a smile, a really big and tasty breakfast followed shortly after ordering . Cannot fault this place I only wish i lived nearer.

visited here and they have had a refit which looks fantastic. it wad quiet when we went so our food arrived quite quickly. Food and service was good. However, if you are going to eat outside, prepare to be hounded for food by ducks!

Visited with family on a Saturday afternoon for some lunch. Was disappointed with the food and service. I had a tuna mayo baguette which was lacking in filling. One of our dishes came by the time we had all finished our meals, luckily it was a side order and they did apologies but this was also disappointing. The food quality was good for the price and the outside seating areas are ideal on a sunny day! Overall good price but lacking in quality.

You can't beat this place for a good breakfast and a lot of people agree as its always busy so advice is to get there early. However even if you get there at rush time the service and food are great really can't fault it at all

What a treat a friend told me I should try it out and we did. The breakfast was huge with lots of lovely selection of foods on the plate. The eggs were cooked to perfection, so smooth. Would heartily recommend. I would probably go for the smaller breakfast next time but my husband will definitely stay with the big one! Also the waitress lady with blonde pony tail was an asset to the company, very kind welcoming and most obliging.

Now I’m not normally a fan of a breakfast meeting but this was my exception and god was it worth it.

A lovely breakfast. Lovely staff too. We will be back. Very good price as well. The drink is included in the price of the breakfast.

First visit and we were not disappointed

We came here again with my cousin from Toronto. Great veggie breakfast . He had the full English. Very reasonable and extremely filling breakfast to the extent I could not face eating until the evening ! Recommend it for breakfast if you are staying in Ipswich or stowmarket area.

My husband and I called at the cafe on 20.12.17. We ordered a Christmas dinner, which was superblying good, pleasure to eat, can not prise this venue enough the meals are always excellent, and the staff are tidy, clean, well mannered and very efficient. Very well done.

Eat there regular when I am up that way. Well cooked breakfast and plenty of it. Can get very busy...

This is only my second visit to this cafe but I can honestly say it is already a firm favourite....

Arrived at around 10:45 and it was very busy, ordered a big breakfast and a small. The breakfasts were lovely...

The Waterfront was recommended and we were not disappointed. The car park was pretty full with VW van convention, so...

if you haven't tried yet its a must a good old breakfast and a cuppa get there early if you...

Arrived at 10am on a Thursday morning. There was a queue and virtually every table was taken. Very popular with many white vans outside. Fortunately being a sunny day, many people were sitting outside and we managed to find a table.

Visited with a friend following recommendations. So pleased I went and will definitely return. Very friendly welcome, great home cooked food, excellent quality and a real plate full. My friend had the all day breakfast (best I've seen) and I had the shepherds Pie with vegetables (really nice). Great value for money at around £17 for the 2 of us with coffee. All puddings less than £3. Looked great but just couldn't manage one. Well recommended .

Use this cafe regularly for both breakfasts and midday meals. Friendly staff take your order and as I am a regular friendly banter takes place sometimes to the amusement of others who are waiting. Fantastic value for money and food is always of the highest order and piping hot. Free drinks refills add to the value for money. There is a total eclectic mix of customers that use and enjoy this little gem. Keep up the good work.

What a better way to start a bank holiday Monday than eating a full English breakfast outside with a superb view of a make? The food is simple but very good. Don't come if you're not hungry as the portions are extra generous. The price is very reasonable. Certainly a place I will visit again.

My wife and i have been going to the waterfront cafe for several years and by and large have had good food and service. However we went last friday, waited 20 min's in queue,[no complaining as it was busy], ordered and sat down. We waited and waited and waited while every single table in the cafe got there meal's ahead of us with some of the tables changing twice and still getting there meals and leaving before ours arrived 1hour and 20min's after sitting down. I feel agrieved at this, and at the time vowed i would never go again. I don't know of another eatery locally that would treat there customers like this. Most serve orders in rotation in a fair and orderly way.

My second review just to confirm that the Waterfront remains a great, unpretentious diner. Clean environment with ultra fast, friendly service and great food. Our haddocks were large, beautiful and cooked to perfection. Value for money? Six out of five!

Four of us ate big breakfasts. Very filling and well cooked. Food came out quickly and staff were friendly. Recommended.

After visiting the Suffolk waterfront cafe today, I thought I would write a review on it.Myself and 5 others attended this establishment for breakfast. I was unsure whether the visit was going to be a pleasant one, based on some of the reviews on here.We arrived just after 9am and took a seat inside. The cafe/restaurant is obviously a very popular place and we were fortunate enough to get there before the ques for ordering built up. After placing our order, we waited no longer than 10 mins before our food arrived. We ordered 4 large breakfasts and 2 small ones, so was very pleased with the swift delivery of our food.The food was freshly made and very tasty. There was plenty there, so we certainly didn't go hungry. The staff serving were excellent, very friendly and efficient...I would recommend the Waterfront cafe at Suffolk water park.

Full English, well cooked, plenty of it, brought to your table..........and you can sit outside and watch the ducks (weather permitting) A great place to come for breakfast or lunch if you are a large group of people and the weather allows you to sit outside.Be warned - it closes at 3 pm!

Let's start off with the food. You can't fault it, they do a great breakfast here. The problems start when you walk in the door. You queue up to order where a less than friendly lady takes your order without uttering a word to you, simply reaching out for your money. You get your hot drink when you order and then have to find a table which in itself is a mission. This place is always packed so you spend 15 minutes milling awkwardly around by the counter, getting in people's way until a table becomes available. The plates of the person before you will be cleared away (if you're lucky) but the table will not be cleaned and the sticky leftovers of the previous people will still be there. You then wait about an hour for food to arrive (currently at 55 minutes as I write this and still no food) whilst you either drink your hot drink or let it get stone cold waiting for your food to arrive. The chap running plates about is friendly enough but nothing about this place is worth waiting an hour plus for food to arrive.Such a shame as with better management this place could be perfect.

Been numerous times with friends and family. Great breakfast and brilliant other meals too - love the mince and onion pie. Note shuts at 2pm! Yummy grub and decent prices - what's nit to like?!

First class breakfast been there many times great nosh, plenty parking and grub prices very reasonable...

In britischer Tradition wird hier in einer Art Kantine alles serviert, was fettig und ungesund ist. Man hat das Gefühl, dass man allein vom Hinschauen schon zunimmt. Hier gibt es fettige Würstchen, fetttriefende Eier und den Kaffee sollte man definitiv nicht probieren. Dieses Café verkörpert alles, was an Großbritannien abartig ist, also in kulinarischer Hinsicht. Gäste wie Angestellte sind einfach gestrickt aber herzlich. Was das Café gerade noch akzeptabel macht, ist der Freisitz mit Blick über den See. Die Autos, die die A14 runterdonnern, hört man nur von fern, aber man hört sie. Außer man möchte die Seen befischen oder man möchte sich das andere England mal geben, sollte man diese Location meiden.

My partner and I drove here from outside of Ipswich with very high expectations. We checked the website and it said nothing about needing cash and so off we went. When we arrived it was jam packed and we queued for approximately twenty minutes- not a bad start. When we got to the front of the queue the lady told us that it was cash only. I explained that we only had cards and that there was nothing on the website about this and if it were cash only it should be advertised. She shrugged and said, quite rudely, "There is a sign on the door." Naturally this irritated me even further as her attitude was so poor and I explained that having not been here before and seeing nothing on the website... what good is a sign on the door? Thankfully my partner was kind enough to drive to the nearest cash point but still, it delayed us by another twenty minutes. We sat down and managed to get our food in good time, but the attitude of the lady at the till and the rudeness ruined what good have been a lovely trip. We were very polite and did not expect to be treated in that way.

We had the most lovely breakfast and cup of tea here and it comes highly recommended. Great surroundings, service and food and we will definitely be back.

Stopped here today and wasn't disappointed with the Waterpark the food was excellent and the staff were also great and what a scenery to have a bite to eat . Car park plenty of space

We stopped here on 22nd May for lunch and had a wonderful plate of food. Could not fault the menu varierty, size of meal and cleanliness of this establishment and even if you have to wait a little bit at weekends especially it is well worth it. Well done and many thanks.

Went with 3 other people 3 ordered big breakfast and one ordered a small breakfast was very busy 3 big breakfasts came but no small breakfast we tucked into ours whilst our friend waited and waited whilst watching other breakfasts come out.when we asked about small breakfast was told it was now coming asked why others had came out which ordered after us was told not all breakfasts are the same now I can understand that but the point was I ordered everyone's and paid for them expected to eat together not in relay was not even offered an apology have used this place lots I would say once a week for the last 3 years not no more sorry

Have used this cafe for years and can never fault the food or the staff. Always great quality food, reasonably priced and served by friendly staff.

I visited with my friend having not been there for quite some time. We joined the long queue to order at the counter. It shows how popular this place is by how busy it was. My friend has a walking stick and finds standing for long periods a problem, she asked a man who was clearing the tables whether she could sit at a vacant table and wait for me to order her breakfast. He said customers were not allowed to sit at a table just to reserve it, this was despite the fact he could see she was having difficulty. She joined me in the queue just as a man with a walking stick came in the door and went straight to a vacant table leaving his friend to order food followed by a girl behind us who also sat at a table while her husband ordered their food ! The staff were grumpy and especially this guy clearing the tables. The waitress who brought the food over was friendly and lovely, its a shame the rest of the staff are not like her. The food was delicious. Would we go again ? probably not due to the staff.

I have been coming here for years and the building may have changed for the better the food hasn't. It is well priced well presented and tastes amazing. The staff are great. It is busy as very popular but as I come here every week I have never found that I have no where to sit after I have ordered my food. This customer will still be coming in the years to come

Came here for breakfast. Fairly busy inside. Chose the big breakfast. Basic seating but with nice views across the lake. Some outside seating which would be nice on a sunny day. Breakfast arrived fairly quickly, served by a very hard working and friendly waiter. The food was superb and ranks as one of the best ever. Good friendly service, reasonably priced food, lovely location. We loved it and would definitely return. I highly recommend a visit.

The first time we visited, on the search for somewhere new to go, we cut it fine time-wise as having been open from an early hour they close at 3. We planned to have the breakfast, but arriving with about 30 minutes to go meant some features of the breakfast had run out. No matter, we were offerred a generous alternative to those and ended up having a great meal. On this occasion the weather was atrocious but we chose a table by the windows and were still afforded a nice view over the lake and watched the ducks happily strolling about on the other side of the glass. On our second visit we were much earlier which meant the place was much busier, though this didn't impact on anything at all. The clientelle were a real mix, including a woman with her frail father in a large wheelchair who was catered for perfectly. Several people finished their meals and went outside with coffees to enjpy the sunshine (far better weather this time.) The staff were busy but friendly, the place was spotless on both occasions and the food was faultless. We again had gone for the all-day breakfast but having seen the meals coming out of the kitchen for other diners I know I'll be choosing something else from the choices that are available. Because we WILL be back, no doubt about that.

Don't dress up. Don't expect white linen tablecloths and silver service. This is not a restaurant with pretensions - just an honest diner/cafe serving excellent food in generous portions! (Our fish and chips were cooked to perfection.) The atmosphere is buzzing and the staff are friendly and efficient. The location alongside the fishing lake is great and when the weather is warm you can eat outside. Originally designed to cater mainly for those fishing the lake, the Waterside now attracts locals 'in the know' - especially for its legendary breakfasts. We left with smiles on our faces...

Met up with a friend of mine for a catch up on Monday. We were not sure where to go but after looking at all the menus of the restaurants on the dock we decided on the waterfront as their set menu seemed quite tasty and varied at a good price . Now I have been to the waterfront on numerous occasions over the years and always choose my favourites but I decided I was going to have some different dishes and I'm glad I did. The starter I had was really tasty and a light way to start the meal 'scallops, haddock and prawns gratin with bechamel and gruyere cheese ( only problem was there were 3 bones and I nearly swallowed them but realised before I did . The main was ok tasty enough but I would not have it again gnocchi with leek butternut squash cumin cream and mozzarella and a side salad.The gnocchi was not to my taste as I make it at home regularly and i felt it was rather heavy . For dessert I went off the set menu . Snickers cheesecake with ice cream mmm yummy ! I will definitely have that again ! The atmosphere and service was good . A lovely evening out catching up with some good food a a good friend .