Having walked past this café on numerous occasions I was impressed and decided, this lunchtime, to…read moregive it a try. Thank goodness I did. Nice seating outside with friendly service. Good coffee and a quite extensive menu, including a great choice for veggies of all denominations. Prices are more than reasonable for this quality and quantity of food. Well worth a visit if you are hungry at all times of the day.

This is one of the better cafe tearoom places in Braintree. Really cute interior with a shabby chic…read morestyle setting and some superb chandeliers. The loos are also well appointed. Really pretty touches like vintage tea cups and plates, bunting and other vintage touches. I do love a cath kidstonesque table cloth and mismatched chairs too. The food is good too, nothing too mind blowing but good solid fare. My dad had the tomato soup and I had a roast beef sandwich, with thick slices of beef and a good side salad. The soup was the star with all the food made on site. I caught a glimpse of the quiche and got some serious food envy. I held off from the cakes but they looked scrumptious! I'll be coming back for the cream tea and it was fun to treat my folks, with the prices reasonable. The only downside was the individual tea pots as they were so kitsch.

Went there for an all day breakfast, was delicious, enjoyed every bit until I found a dead fly in…read moremy food!

From the owner: Illy Coffee, Eggs Benedict, Eggs Florentine, Eggs Royaleread more

Many years ago a train ran along this walkway. Perfect for country walks with the dog or a cycle…read moreride. Nobody can miss the old station especially now that it has been taken over by this fantastic café. My partner was so lucky in receiving a birthday pressie of afternoon tea from her close friends. Booked during the pandemic it was decided to have it at home. Delivery arrived dead on time. Wow, so much to eat. Two types of sausage rolls, sarnies, scotch eggs (they were something different, still drooling), cheese scones and fruit scones (freshly baked and still warm) with clotted cream and Tiptree jam (great to stay Essex) followed by three types of cake that was so light. Now the pandemic is 'on the low' we will certainly make a trip down the Flitch Way and visit the Booking Hall Café.

A really pretty spot for this cafe along a much used local walking route along the disused railway…read morebetween Braintree and Rayne. The cafe is in the old railway station and ticket office and it's decorated with this in mind. I'm told it's always busy and it certainly was when we were there, so we had to wait for ages. You have to queue to order and so it felt really crowded as it just wasn't well organised and a bit cramped, hence my rating. I think separate windows to order and collect would be better. That said the coffee cakes and sausages roll we had were fantastic so the food gets a thumbs up. The sandwiches looked fantastic though, huge doorsteps. All in all a good pitstop and I'll come back for a restorative breakfast as they looked excellent!

Had a superb cream tea on Sunday obviously popular as the place was packed. Nice selection of…read moregorgeous cakes fabulous! Will return for sure.

This place has been a long standing presence in the community and I can now understand why. Been…read morehere twice now and enjoyed the food and also the professional, discrete but friendly service the staff have created. You are spoilt for choice with cake and meals alike and the rear garden is an added bonus in the recent hot summer. Place looks like it has been beautifully refurbished and extremely clean. Defiantly recommend this place to eat.

Inexpensive burger joint and breakfast. Friendly staff. Good coffee. Delicious inexpensive food. I…read morehad the eggs and chips with a coffee. Cheap quick and tasty. It's a laid back atmosphere.

This bistro provides yummy food in a relaxed atmosphere... I had and would recommend the BLT…read moresandwich!

Our annual Christmas get together but where do we go? We chose The Castle because of good words we…read morehad heard and read but would it reach our 'exacting' standards (if those ever existed). Immediately, on arrival, we knew it would. Such a friendly welcome by the bar staff and front of house. Shown to our table, a nicely laid table, by a really charming young lady by the name of, we learned later, Eleanor. Drinks were ordered while we waited for the remainder of our party. Those drinks arrived promptly. When the entourage had arrived the food started to be served as our pre-requested, telephone, order. I would point out that Eleanor managed to serve the whole table and take drinks orders. A massive achievement. We had been to other establishments where two or three servers waited on us and still got things totally, disastrously, wrong. Not with this young lady, perfect. The food was fantastic, so compliments to the kitchen staff. Wonderful starters and as for the Christmas roast...delicious. Plenty of meat, stuffing etc etc and masses of veggies. Perfect. I missed out on a dessert as I was totally full but the remainder of the table tucked into plate loads of Christmas pudding and some had cheese. The whole evening went wonderfully well thanks to all the staff. People do forget those in the background that we never see. So thanks you to them. A massive thank you to Eleanor, the princess of The Castle.

From the owner: We serve Breakfast from 8pm Monday to Saturday. We offer food at all times of day including a…read morerange of Cakes and Desserts from a counter that go perfectly with a tea or Coffee. Our Main meals come served with a tasty complimentary loaf of bread for the table and if you order our Traditional Menu items we will receive a complimentary cup of soup or salad depending on the season.

This is a very good cafe - you can get absolutely delicious sandwiches and jacket potatoes etc in…read morethere - is very popular and loads of people seem to go there but you dont have to wait too long to be served.