The Holly Trail Cafe

Served by a nice friendly lady. I had a vegan breakfast, mushrooms were really good, hash brown tasty, not too keen on the vegan sausage, or the spinach. The boys however both enjoyed their eggs on toast, one week done one normal as requested.

We went on a walk and ended up here for Brunch. It was cosy in there. The food was not bad. We didn't find the price for the menu on the blackboard and drinks (except the sausage sandwich). Thought what we paid was not worth the juices after we tried to work around the prices of food. We didn't like the juices in these plastic cups as we dined in. It was a very small drink for the price we paid.

Fantastic place. The only minus is that there is a very busy road next to it. But! There is a parking space, gold course, and place to rent bikes if you want to ride in the forest. The food is well presented, fresh and big portions. It is very tasty coffee, which is important to me as i drink black. Very friendly atmosphere.

The club sandwich is to die for !! I’m always walking around the forest so it’s a great reward afterwards! Dog friendly as well so 10/10 for me ! Friendly staff !

One of the worst tasteless coffees I have ever had. The breakfast was swimming in grease. Hard overcooked bacon, greasy hard hash browns, eggs good. The ingredients were very good but very badly cooked.

Until last week we were regulars when walking our dogs in the area. The food was always very good - clean and precise - and the coffee likewise. Unfortunately when we rocked up last week, with our two small dogs in tow, as usual, the waitress decided we couldn’t sit at a particular table in the so-called dog-friendly part of the cafe as it was too close to the food- preparation area, even though the dogs themselves were on leads and one is so small she usually sits on our laps. Strange this, because we have sat there on previous occasions, without an issue. Perhaps there has been a change in policy. We were told to sit at a smaller table adjacent to the toilets, which was unsuitable for our needs. So, best check which parts of the dog-friendly cafe are actually dog-friendly before you take your seat. We shan’t be patronising them again as we ourselves prefer not to be patronised. It’s a great pity because their offerings are far better than Butler’s, and we could always order a portion of chicken and bacon for our “girls” but hey-ho.

We ventured to The Holly Trail Café for lunch after an enjoyable walk around Epping Forest in the sunshine. The fine weather meant that we could sit outside which was useful as internally the café is pretty compact. Although it does offer toilets which you could probably use even if you're not making a purchase. On arrival there's a decent menu written on the wall which covers everything from sandwiches and baguettes to a full English breakfast. There are also a selection of homemade cakes available which do look rather tempting. Still we decided to try a range of sandwiches and an omelette. Because we were sitting outside we were unfortunately downgraded to wooden cutlery (maybe the youths that we saw performing community service nearby are prone to stealing them otherwise?). Anyway there we sat with our food buzzer and cups of tea waiting for our lunch. In fact we waited long enough to wonder if our buzzer was broken! Still our order did arrive in the fullness of time and really we could live with the delay because the food was clearly freshly made from scratch and that makes all of the difference. The sandwiches themselves were notably good in using quality ingredients and arriving with both salad and some crisps. So they were more than acceptable while my omelette was piping hot and pleasingly cheesy. So The Holly Trail Café hit the mark and I doubt that you'll be disappointed if you stop by.

Relaxed vibe friendly place - we popped in for some brunch and had a good time. Large menu & nice food, with outside eating area for warmer weather. They catered well for our toddler as well. A stones throw from the golf course and next to Chingford plain, it's great for grabbing some food mixed with a bit of nature. Also a short walk from the Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge & Connaught Water