The ‘lovely’ farm shop cafe near Bristol serving up quality food for all the family

With its vintage bookshop, beauty salon, hairdressers, kids’ playbarn and fish and chip shop, there’s certainly plenty on offer at Farrington’s, a 400-acre organic farm and shopping village at the foot of the Mendips.

Half an hour from Bristol (and the bus stops around the corner if you’re using public transport), Farrington’s made its name primarily as a farm shop selling vegetables harvested straight from the surrounding fields.

The farm shop has expanded over the years, with a high quality butchers and deli counter to go alongside the shelves and fridges packed with such delights as Cheddar strawberries and ‘farm fresh’ eggs.

Of course, this is not the cheapest shopping experience if you’re more used to using high street supermarkets other than Waitrose. But then quality food comes at a price and a lot of people are happy to pay for it, cost of living crisis or not.

The cafe at Farrington’s looks out to the small terrace and children’s play area. It’s a lovely space with flagstones, exposed brick walls and chunky farmhouse furniture.

Breakfast is served daily from 9am through to 11.30am, when there is a 15 minute changeover before the lunch menu appears and served until 3.30pm (3pm on Sundays). Lunches include daily specials and old favourites like filled jacket potatoes and homemade quiches.

After an energetic morning walk around the village and surrounding countryside, I was still back at Farrington’s cafe in time for the tail end of the breakfast session and hungry.

The menu includes a ‘farmhouse breakfast’ (£12.95 for West Country bacon, McEvoy’s sausages, fried egg, roasted plum tomato, Portobello mushroom, hash browns, baked beans and toast) and vegetarian or vegan versions (£11.50 and £9.95).

There’s a ‘Little Farmers’ children’s menu including £7.50 kids’ cooked breakfast and healthy yogurt with fresh berries and honey for £3.

I went for the bacon, cheese and fried egg muffin (£6.50). A generous dish, two large rashers of good quality bacon were folded within the soft, warm muffin with a layer of melting cheese and a perfectly cooked fried egg, its golden yolk spurting out after the first bite.

I washed it down with a well made Americano coffee (£2.95) from a drinks list that also includes smoothies and milkshakes.

Mid-morning on a weekday, Farrington’s Cafe wasn’t especially busy, but there were plenty of tables with reserved signs for lunch.

It would certainly be wise to book any tables for July 1-2 when the farm’s hugely popular Kids Feast fun days take place, complete with ‘mega slide’, magic shows and circus skills.

Farrington’s Cafe, Main Street, Farrington Gurney, Bristol, BS39 6UB.