Zest Cafe in East Devon

We often stop at this cafe on our way to Devon or Cornwall. The food is excellent and the Staff are friendly. It gets quite busy, so apparently you need to book for Sunday lunch.

We visited Honiton today to do some errands and decided to have lunch in Zest for the 1st time to be truthful Wetherspoons kitchen was closed so we plumped for Zest and what a good decision I had the chicken curry with rice and poppadom and my husband had the steak and kidney pie with mash and veg both were delicious home cooked and so tasty we will definitely be revisiting. The staff and owner were very friendly. The cafe looked very trendy and clean and it looked like a popular place. Thank you.

We visited Honiton today to do some errands and decided to have lunch in Zest for the 1st time to be truthful Wetherspoons kitchen was closed so we plumped for Zest and what a good decision I had the chicken curry with rice and poppadom and my husband had the steak and kidney pie with mash and veg both were delicious home cooked and so tasty we will definitely be revisiting. The staff and owner were very friendly. The cafe looked very trendy and clean and it looked like a popular place. Thank you.

Bella scoperta, davvero una scoperta. Ho avuto occasione di visitare lo Zest Cafè durante un viaggio di lavoro e come spesso accade non sapevo dove andare. Da provare, super consigliato.

The food is exceptional, the ladies are very friendly and warm and treated myself and my son really well. Would definitely recommend a visit.

The food is exceptional, the ladies are very friendly and warm and treated myself and my son really well. Would definitely recommend a visit.

Beautiful food and great service. Please support this independent local business, you won't be disappointed

We had a lovely, reasonably priced lunch at Zest on our way to Dorset. My fish pie was tasty and contained a hearty portion of fish. The potato was soft & fluffy with a nice cheese topping. My husband had steak & kidney pie, also full of meat, with a good selection of vegetables. The service was excellent & the waitress very welcoming. We will definitely call in again when passing through Honiton and would recommend it to others.

Good spot to recharge batteries with brunch on way home. Nice staff and decent food and drink. Pleasant place inside a small arcade, so sheltered from sun

Myself and a friend have travelled around Devon and Somerset testing breakfasts . We met today 4.6.24. At Zest . Without doubt the breakfast is a10+ for presentation , quality and taste. The bacon and sausage were the most delicious we have tasted . Meaty sausages and non salty bacon . The rest of the breakfast was delicious. Thick slices of toast with large slab of butter. Definitely recommend this establishment. One with beans and one without but with an extra hash brown. Excellent, friendly and efficient service to top it all!. We will travel here again, one of us from Teignmouth,Devon and the other Ilminster, Somerset

Couldn’t be better. Lovely staff Great food and just a really warm vibe

Food good, coffee (latte) was too hot. Service was excellent, price was reasonable.

We were here today for a baby shower- very friendly staff who closed the calf early for us and proi loads of good quality food, such great value! ♥️

This is a lovely cafe. Good service and friendly. Excellent breakfast. Always stop here when travelling west.

Lovely cafe, had mini breakfast which was delicious, dog friendly, Kate was welcoming and friendly and brought over a dish of water for our dog. Lovely people frequent the cafe and speak to you. Love it here.

Lovely place, so glad we saw the trip advisor reviews as we would never have come here otherwise. Great place to stop off for lunch when travelling through.

Wow. What a wonderful find, just off the high street down a little alleyway. The service from Kate was exemplary, she was extremely attentive, friendly and welcoming. Our food was absolutely delicious, homemade and comforting. There were lots of locals who the staff knew by name, that speaks volumes too. We would highly recommend this little cafe, looking forward to returning again soon.

What a find, lovely cafe run by lovely people serving great food and good value. We will be coming back.

What a great find, lovely cafe with great staff serving fantastic food, we will definitely be going back. I had the children wrap which was full of delicious chicken and fresh salad and my wife had eggs and beans on toast.

Lovely hot good quality breakfast. Nice coffee. Friendly staff.

Popped in a couple of times for a quick breakfast or lunch and always good food and friendly staff. Nothing is too much trouble.

Started my Christmas dinner with soup… soup was delicious but had to remind them that I needed a spoon. The turkey meal was served smothered in gravy that was so salty that I couldn’t eat it. Mentioned to serving staff who asked if I had put salt on it (no, I had not) and then told that they tasted the gravy and it was fine. Hours later and I’m still trying to get rid of the salty, metallic taste in my mouth. Eat there if you like salt.

My wife and I had two mini breakfast,s but there was loads ! The service was fantastic! The atmosphere was great too ! Def go again!

I had a lovely Christmas dinner but they forgot to put my pig in blanket and stuffing on the plate. For some reason will was given a mince pie with our coffee which was part of our menus. This won’t stop me going back to them

Lovely staff and welcome! Recommend the apple crumble cake!

Zest Cafe is well known for serving generous good quality food at very affordable prices. The Zest Christmas Meal has to be the Bargain of the year! We thoroughly enjoyed our 3 Courses for £21.95 on Saturday night, (2 Courses are available for £15.95,) both prices include a Hot Drink & Mince Pie to follow. Such a good Christmas Meal is very hard to find in Honiton these days. The Restaurant was warm and comfortably bright. The food was well cooked, in generous portions, of good quality and served nice & hot, despite the howling winds outside. Our young blond waitress was excellent, she allowed us resting time between Courses, and even managed to find us some more Gravy for our Roast Turkey, which came complete with Bacon-wrapped Stuffing and a Large Pig in a Blanket. We particularly enjoyed our Retro Prawn Cocktails. You take your own Alcoholic Drinks to Zest, which really helps to keep the cost down. We were much too full to eat our Mince Pies, so they gave them to us in a bag to take home. It's easy to see why Zest won the Pride of Honiton Awards. Zest is located in Black Lion Court, just off the High Street, and very easy to find. Highly Recommended

Zest Cafe is well known for serving generous good quality food at very affordable prices. The Zest Christmas Meal has to be the bargain of the year! We had our 3 Courses for £21.95 on Saturday night, (2 Courses are available for £15.95) both prices include a Hot Drink & Mince Pie to follow. Such a good Christmas Meal is very hard to find in Honiton these days. The Restaurant was warm and comfortably bright. The food was well cooked, in generous portions, of good quality and served nice & hot, despite the howling winds outside. Our young blond waitress was excellent, she allowed us resting time between Courses, and even managed to find us some more Gravy for our Roast Turkey, which came complete with. Bacon-wrapped Stuffing and a Large Pig in a Blanket. We particularly enjoyed our Retro Prawn Cocktails. You take your own Alcoholic Drinks to Zest, which really helps to keep the cost down. We were much too full to eat our Mince Pies, so they gave them to us in a bag to take home. It's easy to see why Zest won the Pride of Honiton Awards. Zest is located in Black Lion Court, just off the High Street, and very easy to find. Highly Recommended

Visited for breakfast with a friend, I had the loaded bap and she had the full English. Both very happy with the food, service and pricing. It was a lovely place to sit and relax and catch up on life, over a cuppa!

On every occasion we have visited we have been asked to move to a different table. I have two dogs who I like to keep out of a busy area . My two and a half year old great grandson was told to use a high chair which he became distressed about. The only menus were on a board with limited choice. Today I ordered a omelette which was over cooked and tasteless. The fries had an unpleasant coating on them.

Delicious take away breakfast sandwiches. One was gluten free and was delicious. Thanks Zest. We’ll be back!

It was a lovely breakfast as you can tell from photo. Only issues were tomatoes were very acidic almost like they were on the turn and the waitresses forgot the extra hash brown for my mum. No sauces weren't offered or salt / pepper we had to ask. When when we asked for another pot of boiling water it was like warm . Lovely produce though and nice music being played even outside so it was a nice atmosphere. Overall very good food though

What a find! We vacated a well known pub brand up the road after they had none of the items on their huge menu available...to find this delightful cafe tucked away with a small menu of excellent and available food at reasonable prices. Will return.

Outstanding food, excellent presentation. Such a friendly, warming cafe. Definitely do the best milkshakes

Arrived a bit early after a long bike ride. They opened up for me anyway and allowed me to put my bike inside. I had the full English which was huge. The ingredients were top quality. Quality butter and sausages. Lovely staff and food. Reccomend wholeheartedly

Excellent breakfast Very friendly Fast service Dogs welcome We’ll be back

Lovely food lovely friendly staff! Will definitely be back 😋 In fact we plan to in again on our way back from Devon.

Last week I joined my wife in being diagnosed with Coeliac Disease, basically meaning that gluten is causing damage to my digestive system. Today was the first time I had ordered gluten free food in a catering establishment and I’m pleased to say that Zest “came up trumps” (if you excuse the phrase). We both ate a toasted bacon and Brie toasted sandwich, with a salad garnish and gluten free crisps. Plenty of it and tasty too. Well done Zest.

We came to this café early July and we had a great experience, warm welcome and friendly staff. The young waitress took our order very quickly, and brought out good tasting and well made coffee, and the food we ordered was also very tasty and homemade! However, we returned last week, expecting the same good food and service as the last time and we were disappointed. It took a while after we had sat to have our order taken, and the waitress seemed to not know how the coffee machine worked, as a result we ended up with weak cappacinnos that tasted like warm milk. We found the welcome to be quite cold (no smiles) and this time the food was bland...the "creamy mash" was not creamy, but instead tasted like magic mash from a box (definitely not homemade). Me and my wife were just really dissapointed as we'd hoped to make this place one of our regular stop offs in Honiton. Unfortunately it seems there has been staff turnover, and not much training given to the new members. Such a shame

Worth a visit, food good and reasonably priced.

Delicious and affordable breakfast. Friendly staff.

We were asked to move as soon as we sat down, my green tea was served in a mug and was stewed by the time it arrived. When my husband asked for a brown sugar for his coffee the Waitress produced one packet of white sugar from a pocket in her apron. Meanwhile the couple on the next table sent their coffees and milk back as the milk had gone off, when they had fresh coffee given the lady said to her husband , the milk jug is filthy and picked off crusty bits of something off the rim. This put me off my food before it arrived. When it came, the breakfast was ok but this is not somewhere we will be returning to. A shame as we used to love coming here before it was taken over.

Clean and comfortable. Staff great. Food hot and tasty. Coffee was delicious, best breakfast we've had for a long time.

What a find. First time at this cafe & it will not be our last. We had homemade cheese & onion pie, salad & chips and it was delicious and filling, the premises were lovely & clean and the staff really nice. Prices very reasonable, what a Gem.

Very nice staff and delicious coffee 😃

Enjoyed the breakfast bap today. Absolutely delicious and really good value. Highly recommend.

If you ever want a fantastic roast dinner. Go here..... Best roast lamb i have ever had. It was absolutely delicious!

Nice café with good atmosphere. The staff are very friendly and helpful and food/coffee excellent.

Excellent quality food and service.

Great food, such a lovely cafe, off the main road, will call again.

Struggled to locate a local cafe that was open on Sunday which is very sad really - lots of cafes but most of them closed Just about to give up when we stumbled across this charming little place Eggcellent selection, great food attentive staff which these days is hard to find! Thank you Zest Highly recommend!!

Lovely food great service and clean .

Staff friendly. This is a dog friendly cafe. Unfortunately my granddaughters onion soup was inedible because of the excessive amount of salt. Waitress didn’t seem concerned.

Went for lunch with my family the older lady serving got the order wrong which she sorted but her attitude is absolutely disgusting ruined our morning very vile lady shouldn’t be working in that industry used to be a regular but won’t be returning can now see why they had a very high turnover of staff not a friendly place to go

Lovely little Café, hidden in a cute courtyard. The staff is very friendly and food is good. We will be back!

Good. Thankyou. I had a fruit scone and pot of tea.

Great service but food not very hot.

Fabulous cafe with great food and a warm welcome

Really friendly staff and very tasty food. Recommended!

Had a family Sunday roast dinner , 9 people all came away stuffed . The food was great and plentiful The staff were very polite and helpful Value very good 👍 Wel done Zest

Very friendly staff willing to cater whatever your choice. Fast efficient spotlessly clean. Roast din ers best ever.

Very hospitable.was closing but stayed open as my son took me for for mother's day, lovely roast lamb very kind friendly staff x

Great atmosphere and great hospitality

Lovely breakfast. Staff very welcoming & friendly.

Absolutely brilliant food, very friendly staff and good hygiene on tables and chairs etc. Would highly recommend.

Nice coffee served by pleasant staff.

Very fast service fabulous food and a great experience defo recommend this place

Great little Café. Lovely staff, really friendly and welcoming. Treated our pooch to some gravy bone dog treats and a fresh bowl of water. I had the Sausage, Red Leicester and Caramelised Onion toasted sandwich which was heavenly. Will be back to try some more of the menu on our next visit to Honiton

Very good for most persons lunch or breakfast, which we ordered. Staff were lovely and food came up hot and plentiful.

I have been to Zest a couple of times before the last lockdown and the food has always been lovely and today was no exception. I had a toasted sausage sandwich and my daughter chose the fritatta. Everything was fresh and brought to our table by a very friendly welcoming lady. It was heartening to see the place so busy, with safety measures out in place. I will be back without a doubt.

We all had ad a lovely lunch at zest today, first time visiting and I have to say I had such an amazing Bacon,Brie and Cranberry wrap, it was presented well and came with a lovely little salad and crisps.Nothing was to much trouble and the service was excellent, we will be visiting again and would be happy to recommend.Well done from three very happy customers X

Very surprised with the quality of the food. Very accommodating staff. Clean and good covid practice. Highly recommended for a snack or a main meal.

Great little clean cafe. I believe now under new management, the staff are very helpful and happy. As everywhere else, it is the courtesy and common sense of both patrons and providers that make a good, safe, and happy environment. Honiton people both old and young appear sympathetic to strangers and each other.

Cold inside, disappointing toastie.

Fantastic milk shakes, nice coffee, helpfull staff and friendly, well worth a visit

Had a Xmas platter at zest today , absolutely delicious, plenty of food , presentation wonderful , kind friendly staff , well worth the money . Do go and try it . Staff went to great lengths in practicing all COVID measures. Brilliant. !!!! Well done zest .

We booked a table of four at Zest this afternoon for lunch. I had the homemade fish pie, which was absolutely delicious. The rest of my party were also very satisfied with their meals. The service was good, the staff are all friendly and very happy to adhere to our needs. Very COVID friendly, tables were wiped consistently, and masks were in place throughout. Will definitely be coming back, I’m shocked to see the previous review after such a great experience, they must have got mixed up!

Zest is hidden away in Black Lion Court, Honiton, just a few yards from the High Street and next to Lloyds Bank. The tables are sanitised properly between Customers and safely spaced. You can also sit outside under cover if you wish. We tend to visit Zest for Brunch and occasional Lunches and the food is consistently good. The chatty young waitress is a real asset, even though she is very busy she is friendly and welcoming, makes excellent Coffee and doesn't mind me lipreading her! Here they cook flat Mushrooms to perfection, no soggy tinned Mushrooms in sight! Their older Customers might appreciate a few more smaller meals appearing on the Menu, but they are very flexible and will try to serve anything you ask for.

Fantastic Christmas afternoon tea, good service and value for money.

Great lunch I had a prawn baguette with salad and crisps and a lovely coffee. Service was great and staff very pleasant would definitely go back again

Very rude staff member and poor COVID cleanliness. The staff appeared to not be happy we ordered food at 2.25pm. We had to anti bac our table and black dirt came off on to the wipe. In general it looked unclean. No social distancing either information about where to order/or sit down. The staff wore no masks or gloves and when my partner asked if she wanted the menu back as she had touched it she said no we just leave it on the table. The food was mediocre - style and no substance, cheap bread and chips. They did not come over to check if everything was ok and we then found a hair at the bottom of the chip bowl. When we told her at the point she collected our plates she then shrugged her shoulders said ‘these things happen what can we do wear hair nets?) and then said it wasn’t any of the staffs hair and looked at my hair as she clearly thought it was mine (it wasn’t because it was stuck to the bottom of the bowl under the chips). She said she would refund the chips and we’ said thank you. She then when speaking to her colleagues pointed at my head. She then brought coins over to the table (even though we paid contactless) held them in the air and said rudely ‘who wants them’? My partner said ‘could you put them on the table please’, she just slammed it down (it was lots of coins) and walked off without saying anything. My partner then challenged her said she was rude, we had been understanding. She then turned around and with an really angry face had a real go at us and twisted it round as if it was our fault and told us we were rude and asked us to leave. All in all extremely rude and downright nasty. We eat out quite a bit and have experienced very good customer service when there are issues and have also experienced really good Covid practice. We live locally and we will clearly not be returning nor recommending it to anyone and we will be sharing our experience of this disgusting establishment.

Great food, table wasn’t clean, told had no brown bread but they managed to get some for us. Friendly staff

Had a lovely cuppa and tea cakes. Nice clean place with great customer service 🙂

We stopped for lunch on a Wednesday afternoon,the cafe was very quiet but probably because it wasn’t taking part in the “eat out to help out” but we were not disappointed with the food,I personally had a prawn baguette and it was huge and delicious,my daughter had a chicken wrap which also was delicious and packed full of chicken... we will return again next time we visit Honiton.

Last week mocha, hot chocolate and carrot cake was wonderful,so we returned this week, but were disappointed. Hopefully next time will be good. Service can be slow.

Had a lovely afternoon snack with my family, the service was first class. Exquisite selection of food and drinks perfect for a hot summers afternoon.

Zest has recently been taken over by new owners today we went as a family including my 90 years old mother who is very fussy ...I asked the new owners if they could accommodate us as she likes a warm relaxed atmosphere and demands sprouts and crisps potato’s and has to eat at 12 o’clock lol ... every was beautifully presented and every thing she wanted she left happy and relaxed ....today was the first day of Sunday lunch .. it was spectacular! Well worth a visit !

This is the first time I have been here since the new owner has taken over. I was disappointed the breakfast was first class, fresh and even had a double yolk. I would recommend this place as clean, friendly staff and first class food!

Food is beautiful had a beef roast dinner staff are really welcoming and friendly highly recommended

Recently visited zest & had a full English, the food was brilliant, all local meat. Definitely worth £7.50Very tasty & would return. Staff were friendly enough, I had a cappuccino & that was pleasant too. Would definitely return to zest when I’m in/passing Honiton. Dog/child friendly also! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Came in with the family for a meal, it was very busy and the staff and food were great! We have no complaints and we were greeted by happy staff. Food was very tasty and very much enjoyable. Will definitely be back when we are in the area! Thanks!

Visited this afternoon with my wife, really friendly staff and brilliant food. Dog friendly which is very welcomed by us dog owners! Nice atmosphere and our meals were delicious! We will most definitely be coming back as we were made to feel very welcome. Even the dog was offered a treat! I have to disagree with the negative reviews as I myself felt the food was brilliant quality!

Met friends at zest for lunch , good selection on the menu ,chose the homemade cauliflower soup , it was wonderful , lovely taste ,really enjoyed it . Staff welcome was warm and friendly . Will be going back again , as prices and service were excellent. Would advise everyone togo and check Zest out !!!! Well done Zest !!!!

We have also been regular customers of Zest over the last six years or so. We want to just say that we have also had the Roasted Cauliflower Soup this week and found it to be very tasty (not at all bland) and of a nice consistency (no need for a knife and fork). As for the price, I don't know where £8.95 each soup came from !!Nice to see the usual friendly faces and warm welcome.

It was mid-morning and this small cafe was surprisingly empty. As a birthday treat we had a full English breakfast. The portions were generous and reasonably priced. Food is locally sourced whenever possible. The bacon and sausage were of very good quality. The cafe is clean and the staff were friendly and helpful. Perhaps it was so quiet because there are so many cafes in Honiton? This one is certainly worth a visit.

Having been very regular clients of Zest since 2017 we went back on Saturday to see if the new owners had settled in. We ordered the soup of the day which was roasted cauliflower and a bowl of rustic chips. The soup was so thick you almost needed a knife and fork to eat it and it was very bland. The rustic chips seem to have been a baked jacket potato cut into wedges and then deep fried.The cost of the soup was priced at £8.95 each and whilst this included a bread roll I think £17.90 for two bowls of bland soup is exorbitant. Needless to say we will not be back as there are many good and reasonably priced establishments in Honiton.

There first thing one morning as it opened. Competent cooked breakfast and coffee. Only person in so lacked atmosphere. They had no change in the till .... so that took time to sort out

We had a great lunchtime meal on the Saturday before Christmas. Despite the miserable weather outside we received a warm welcome in the Zest. The cafe is not large and there is not a huge amount of room but the tables are a good size for a family of four. They need to be as the portions are good.

Honiton was cold a very wet. The Zest Cafe was warm and welcoming even only just after nine. The freshly-cooked vegetatarian breakfast was very satisfying with a nice mixture of ingredients, especially the lovely large mushrooms. Along with drinks, the good thick brown toast and marmalade topped off a really good meal.

For a cafe the food is excellent, however it's the friendly staff that keep us going back, nowhere else in the Honiton area compares, there is one place in Exeter and one in seaton I prefer for different reasons after that it's all the way down to bodmin Highly recommend zest for a quiet lunch or snack Booking is a good idea, it does get busy but due to the type of customers it's always nice and quiet You can safely order anything off the menu and know it's going to be good, a rare thing these days including the others I like, give them a try, I'm traveling 23 miles today just to get a nice lunch there, says alot

after i ordered my coffee arived i went to pay was told i had to spend five pounds min my coffee was £2.75 or about i paid and left i did not query the trade as i did not know my rights this was 10/11 2019 going to trading standards monday oh and it would be helpfull to display if there is a minimum spend