It’s very easy to find great coffee and brunch in the West Country. In our patch alone there are lots of places with great food and an incredible atmosphere.
Here are a few of our current favourites.
🛥️ River Exe Café, Exmouth
Reached only by boat and floating in the middle of the Exe Estuary, the River Exe Café must have one of the most memorable settings in the South West. Housed on a custom-built barge, this award-winning café and restaurant sits surrounded by wide skies and glassy water, with water taxis running from Exmouth Marina for those arriving without their own boat.
Open from April to September, it offers seating both inside and out so guests can make the most of the extraordinary views. On warm days, there are cocktails, local wines, and ice creams, while cooler afternoons call for blankets, heaters, and something hot to drink — all part of the charm of this wonderfully off-beat Devon favourite.
🌊 Tide, Seaton
Right on the seafront at Seaton, Tide is a laid-back beach café and bar with uninterrupted views across Lyme Bay. Sitting just steps from the shore, it’s the sort of place for slow breakfasts, long lunches, and early-evening drinks as the light fades over the water.
The menu focuses on fresh, seasonal dishes, good coffee, and cocktails, with indoor seating and tables outside on the promenade. Open daily (typically 9am–5pm, later at weekends), it’s an easy stop after a coastal walk or swim.
☕ Finns, Colyton
Tucked away on Umborne Bridge in Colyton, Finns is a small but much-loved deli-café known for its excellent coffee, homemade cakes, and carefully sourced provisions. Part shop, part café, it’s the kind of place locals rely on for breakfast rolls, takeaway lunches, and weekend treats, with shelves stocked with cookbooks, pantry staples, and good things to eat.
Opening hours are generally 9am–2pm Monday to Wednesday, 9am–3.30pm Thursday to Saturday, and 9am–2pm Sunday, making it ideal for a mid-morning stop while exploring East Devon.
🌳 White Post Café, Wellington
Hidden among the trees near Langford Budville outside Wellington, the White Post Café sits beside a nursery and a cluster of small creative businesses, giving it the feel of a countryside retreat rather than a roadside stop.
The menu changes with the seasons but always includes generous brunch plates, good coffee, and freshly baked cakes, best enjoyed in the garden on warm days. Open daily (usually around 9am–4pm, with shorter hours on Sundays), it’s a popular detour for walkers exploring the Blackdown Hills.
🏖️ Swim, Lyme Regis
Perched on Marine Parade overlooking the beach, Swim is one of Lyme Regis’s best-placed cafés, with huge windows and a terrace looking straight out to the Jurassic Coast. Open all day, it serves everything from breakfast and coffee to seafood, burgers, and cocktails, making it as good for a quick stop as for a long supper by the sea.
Hours vary through the week but it’s typically open from 9am, closing late Tuesday to Saturday and earlier on Sundays and Mondays.
🍽️ Brassica, Beaminster
On the square in Beaminster, Brassica is a destination restaurant known for its simple, beautifully cooked food and relaxed Dorset atmosphere. Run by chef Cass Titcombe, it combines a café, bakery, and food shop with a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and supper, with a focus on seasonal ingredients and unfussy cooking.
It’s open Tuesday to Saturday from 9am for breakfast and lunch, with evening service later in the week, and is a reliable stop after walks in the surrounding hills.
🌿 River Cottage, Axminster
Just outside Axminster, River Cottage HQ is both a restaurant and working smallholding, set among rolling East Devon hills. Meals are served in the farmhouse and barn using produce grown on site or sourced locally, with menus changing daily depending on what’s in season.
Lunch is offered Thursday to Sunday, with occasional suppers and events, and the café and shop open during the day for visitors. It’s worth booking ahead, especially at weekends, when the gardens and surrounding countryside make it feel more like a day out than a meal.
🍺 The Anchor Inn, Seatown
At the end of the road in Seatown, beneath Golden Cap, the Anchor Inn is one of the most perfectly placed pubs on the Dorset coast. With tables outside overlooking the sea and a relaxed bar inside, it’s the classic post-walk stop after climbing the cliffs or following the coastal path.
Food is served daily from lunchtime into the evening, with a menu of fresh fish, local meat, and good pub staples, and it’s open all year round, though busiest on sunny weekends.
Blackdowns Farmhouse 
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