The Teapot Cafe — Restaurant in East Devon

I feel bad giving so few stars, it's a lovely setting and has so much potential but was let down across the board: Service - on the menu it said to see the blackboard for the fillings for jacket potatoes, in fairness we didn't go and look extensively but also couldn't see anything obvious so instead I asked at the till. The young chap had to ask if they had cheese and beans as an option and how much each menu choice cost. By this time I had spotted the hand written menu with prices celotaped up behind the counter and it would have been quicker for me to tell him than watch him keep asking. I ordered a ploughmans, on the board it came with three options, cheese, ham, or pork pie. I chose cheese, on giving my order a woman popped out from the back and asked if I wanted brie or cheddar. It wouldn't be fair to say she was rude in any way, however she also didn't even crack a smile, a smile costs nothing and makes customers feel welcome and appreciated, it's a small courtesy that really makes a difference. When we finished our mains we ordered tea cake, our plates were not cleared prior to this and even when the waitress bought the cake and tea over she did not clear the table but instead squeezed the rest on. There were six other tables while we were there and no one had thier plates cleared.

Food - the food was cheap and simple, baked potato cost £4.95, it was very much on the small side. As for the ploughmans, I love cheese, I eat more cheese than what could ever be considered healthy, cheese will almost certainly be the death of me, and even I couldn't eat that much! Two massive wedges of cheddar, which is awesome (I took one home in the end), but sadly the cheese to bread / salad ratio was well out. With a tiny bit of salad, three pickled onions and a small amount of crisps it was an unusual ploughmans to say the least. They would be better off halving the amount of cheese to one wedge and throwing in a bit of apple, some grapes and maybe a boiled egg. It would be more cost effective and at the sane time would upgrade it from a basic ploughmans to a more upmarket one. If they wanted to go one better they could then halve the cheddar again and do half a wedge of cheddar, and half a wedge of brie. The cake was a real disappointment, they had a beuno cake that was aesthetically impressive, three layers and beautifully decorated. However the only flavour of beuno was the single square of beuno bar I got on the top. The cake itself appeared to be a simple chocolate cake. I had expected the frosting to taste of beuno at least. The sponge was however light and airy so the cake in itself was a good one, it was just a shame it wasn't anything to do with the beuno! Finally the milkshakes, we had one chocolate and one banana, the chocolate was weak and the banana overpoweringly synthetic. They cost £2.50 each but were not worth the cost with cheap syrups and a bit of squirty cream.

We were excited to go based on the pictures we had seen on social media but all in all the experience was a bit of a let down, but in saying that a few minor changes could make a massive difference and make this place something...

Hot (I presume) cooked breakfast was served on a cold plate, so the food instantly loses much of its heat = slightly warm breakfast, and cold toast (at least this means the wrapped butter portions on the plate were still solid and not a river of liquid - how about a separate dish for butter portions?). Like most people, I like my food steaming when it arrives.

The room suffered a similar lack of heat - a woodburner was roaring away, but wasn't throwing out enough to heat the whole place now a large extension has been added. An air heater/blower spotted in the corner would've done the trick, but was sadly idle. The uninsulated corrugated panel roofing (similar to shed roofing), and single-glaze windows allow most of the heat to escape on a cold day, although the new extension does appear to have a more substantial wooden roof. Most customers still had their winter coats and scarves on, as we did... ie. not cosy. Older customers tend to feel the cold more than younger ones. I doubt we would've felt much colder had we been sitting outside.

And finally, a workman's radio was left on behind our sofa making conversation difficult - this wouldn't have been such a problem if the music was more appropriate to the average customer age, and the station wasn't playing chart pop tunes.

I would've thought after all these years in business, someone might've stumbled over things like this that make a big difference to the overall customer experience. On the upside, the food was good. The cafe has much potential, so maybe we'll give it another go in...

Beautiful food with the most exceptional sausages served in a very quaint Farm Shop with garden centre. I was only in Axminster for four days and I went here twice for breakfast. They had a great selection of cakes so I can imagine going for tea and cake mid afternoon when I next return. The staff were extremely friendly and although they don't explicitly do table service I was able to order an extra coffee while I was still eating and pay when I finished. In winter I think they fire up the log burner which is centrally located inside the cafe. Lovely views out of the cafe window and a nice outdoor seating area in front. Accessibility was fantastic with the tables not being too close together so people with mobility scooters wheelchairs or push chairs can get in but there is a sign saying please keep the Isles clear so Park respectfully and use the space around your table to keep accessibility available to everyone. There are vegetarian options which I am assured are lovely but if you do eat meat those sausages are...