The Bee Shed - Chelmsford

I don't even know where to begin... The lunch at this restaurant was amazing. I had a tuna sandwich on freshly baked bread, a ham and cheese toasty, and the most incredible Welsh Rarebit. It's clear that a little bit of love, great ingredients, and attention to detail can really elevate these dishes. The setting is lovely, tucked away from the busy city center, with tables spaced out generously so you're not on top of your neighbors. What really stood out was the staff - everyone was eager to help, guide us through the menu, and nothing was too much trouble. A huge shoutout to Felicity, who was an absolute star. She recommended the Christmas Cake and Chocolate Brownie, both of which were out of this world. We loved them so much, we ended up ordering a whole cake and tray for Christmas at a very reasonable price. The Christmas Cake was the best I've had in years! Overall, this place is fantastic for breakfast and lunch - we will definitely be back!

This was our first visit here there were six of us friends. We arrived and sat at a table and we looked round to see if there was a notice or sign to tell us where to collect our drinks etc or if it was table service but there was nothing so we waited. Eventually we noticed people on other tables returning with trays of food etc so we followed a group and found a counter where you can order place your orders. No staff were in evidence other than that and a lot of the tables needed cleaning and clearing. Very strange. When we did go to order we were told quite rudely and abruptly You order from there, not here but here were no notices etc to tell us that. The cakes and drinks, however, were very nice but a few manners and better service wouldn 't go amiss. I 'm not sure I 'll return.

We understand that they were busy, but waiting an hour for a toastie and a panini is really unacceptable. When we politely inquired about the delay, the waitress simply stated that they were busy. When the food finally arrived, my partner's order had ingredients we specifically asked to be excluded and no chicken. The other order had toasted bread, but the contents were cold and the cheese was not even melted. This was disappointing, considering we are locals to the farm/tea room and frequently spend money in the shop. After expressing our dissatisfaction, we were offered a refund for the food, which we accepted. However, we cannot get back the hour we waited or the hunger we experienced. The waitress was apologetic, but there was no apology from the kitchen staff.

We have been regular visitors to Lathcoats farm over a number of years and have enjoyed our visits on many occasions. (fruit picking with children grandchildren, friends etc apple days pumpkin days Halloween etc). Sadly we have found our experience to be less enjoyable lately due to a couple of things. We visited the cafe a few weeks ago and the service was terrible, at the time we dismissed this as simply being busy BUT we tried again on Saturday afternoon when it was fairly quiet and found that despite there being three staff behind the counter it took about fifteen minutes to buy one tea, and one coffee. I have no idea why it took so long, the staff that day did not seem to have a clue what they were doing! However the thing that may turn out to be the main reason we stop visiting Lathcoats is the main shop. There have been times when we have spent a small fortune in here BUT if we come back to Lathcoats we wont visit the shop anymore due to the unfriendly, dehumanising, completely unnecessary plastic screens encasing the tills. These abysmal things just shout Lathcoats are NOT friendly and do NOT want to interact with their customers . Why oh why are these ridiculous things still in place in the shop (if you really thought they actually served some purpose you would not have staff wandering around loose and you would also have screens in place at the cafe etc? And please dont quote the equally ridiculous its for the safety of our staff and customers . The till in the shop is generally the last part of Lathcoats people visit so the experience we go away with is akin to a high security prison!

Amazing apple juice with great jacket potatoes and completely good price and freshly grown and the crisps are really delicious.