Cliff Railway Cafe - Torbay

Perched on the top of beautiful Babbacombe Downs with wonderful views of Lyme Bay and beyond. A hearty soup of the day, complemented with complimentary bread and butter. Excellent value. Cheery crew. Great espresso.

Used this place many times before and always returned. Went in today for full English breakfast and have to say this was the worst I have ever had. The food must be cooked prior and reheated. My sausages were burnt and rock hard, bacon dry, tomatoes burnt and the pot of beans luke warm. When I requested an unburnt sausage the waitress went away and seconds later brought back another equally inedible sausage. Not once did I receive an apology or a request if everything was OK. On a positive note the coffee was good. Sadly they have lost my custom.

Whilst the views were lovely and we managed to park okay, we were disappointed. We arrived very early in the day, so they hadn't been open for long, and already at the time, there was dirt under the table we sat on. Meet friends at this cafe and placed an order at the table. A mixture of hot and cold drinks, cakes, and a bacon sandwich. The bacon sandwich was just under £6 and consisted of 1 and a half rashers of bacon on white bread. As soon as staff saw the drink was finished, they were back over asking if we wanted another. We refused but remained seated. 3 times in total, they came over asking if we wanted anything else. The pressure was that much we caved and ordered another round of drinks. I wouldn't mind if the cafe was busy but there were only 4 tables (including ours) that were taken. It certainly wasn't a relaxing visit as after finishing the pressured round, we felt compelled to leave, or we were going to be jumped on again to spend more money. I took a visit to the toilet before we left, and i wished I hadn't. There was urine on the floor, and feaces spread on the rim of the toilet. Maybe they should have paid more attention to toilet checks than pressurising the customer to spend more money.

The food at this restaurant was delightful, and the view was stunning. The staff were fantastic; we were served by two young men who were friendly and incredibly patient, despite being interrupted by a very rude man at the table behind us who was upset that his coffee had gone cold while he was trying to get a good connection on his phone. The staff remained professional and handled the situation well. The food arrived quickly and was delicious, although a few items had run out as we arrived just before closing time. I highly recommend this place if you are in the area, especially if you have just made the trek up the hill from the beach.

This café is in a great location, looking out to sea from the cliffs at Babbacombe. It also has great service and a good, affordable menu. I had a small cooked breakfast with a mocha plus a piece of cake to take away for later. Both were great.