Butlers Retreat - Waltham Forest

I was a bit disappointed and excited at the same time when I came here. I was excited at the prospect of coming here due to the history of the building that this establishment resided in. I mean, how often are you going to be able to eat in such a historic building. The Butlers Retreat is a building that was a barn originally but now houses a pretty decent cafe. My disappointment came when we arrived here. We were between meals and that meant a very limited dining experience for us. It seems that breakfast ends at 11:30 but lunch doesn't start until noon. This left us with a very small portions to choose from, when I say small I mean that we only had four options to pick from. Unfortunately for us, we decided that we would go elsewhere to dine for lunch as we weren't looking to wait that long for our meal. However, I did take in the place before we left and I know that I would have enjoyed sitting outside. The views here are breathtaking. And being in Epping Forest made the appeal of this place that much more.

Location : Amazing at the Chingford side of Epping Forest. Right next to the Elizabethan Hunting lodge and the View (one of the forest information centres) Seating : outdoors brilliant views, indoors cramped, but warm. Coffee outstanding Food average. We tried a couple of burgers wild boar bacon and the chicken burger. Not very high on flavour. The chickpeas served with the lamb kebabs had more flavour than the kebabs. The hummus was below average and the wedges weren't as crispy outside or mushy inside as we like them. Staff very friendly and helpful. Great to take a break and sip a coffee before or after a wander, if you want a good meal, I'd walk the 10 minutes to the Chingford village and try my luck there.

I can see why this place gets such mixed reviews on social media. Food was great good sized portions, nicely presented and sensibly priced. We ordered the boar and bacon burger, fish pie, spaghetti with meatballs, hummous and falafel wrap and everything arrived in reasonable time and tasted fine. The problem is the bizarre waiting between breakfast and lunch service i.e. breakfast finishes at 11.30, lunch doesn't start until 12.30, but you have to arrive early to secure a table since they don't accept reservations (and they also rarely answer the phone even during opening hours so you can't double check timings). We tried to order lunch at 12.24 but the assistant said we would have to wait for 6 minutes, while she took orders from other people behind us. Unfortunately almost everyone wanted lunch and the queue was stretching out of the door. They also run out of a lot of things e.g. Coke, bitter, apple juice and only sell organic lager, which one of my lunch guests informed me was pretty grim. There's something slightly weird about the attitude of the employees. You get the impression the whole set up is to suit the management, not the customers, but that individual staff would put it right if only they dared speak up...

We came for lunch (I know most people do brunch here). The food was great, really nice country kitchen vibe. Really reasonably priced (I felt) for the quality of the food and drinks. Would definitely go back.

I am so chuffed to have found such a great place to go locally. Have a little wander in the forest maybe, then pop in the Butlers retreat and 'all is well with the world! ' : They have made a relaxed and appealing environment where the food 's always great and you easily get your money 's worth, just up the road on the edge of the forest : We found one particular lady member of staff who served us a couple of months back to be the absolute epitome of what a waiter/waitress should be. It totally made my day to be served properly for a change. She was cheerful, caring and welcoming and you knew that she was into it too. They do the best Latte for miles in my opinion. The menu is different and far more interesting than you might usually find and I 've thoroughly enjoyed everything I have tried there so far. I keep wanting to take friends and family there as it 's like a new little treasure I 've found this year. (No I 'm not being paid for this and don 't know the Owner or staff LOL. The food is always beautifully presented and every time I see someone else being served I want to try what they 're having next time I 'm there. Cheers, Happy Christmas 2013