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Can you imagine anything more serene than sitting on a bench in the sunshine, sipping a coffee or eating a gluten free panini with this view?
No, neither can I.
The Waterside Café is a brand new café in Chivenor, Braunton in North Devon. It sits right on the Tarka Trail, a popular trail following in the footsteps of Henry Williamson’s Tarka the Otter which is used by thousands of walkers and cyclists every year.
Follow the signs just past Chivenor and you’ll follow a short track emerging on the edge of the beautiful Taw and Torridge estuary. Here you’ll find The Waterside, tucked away in a corner with possibly the best views you could imagine.
Owner Jimmy Bellieni, who runs this gorgeous little café with his daughter Lola, certainly hit the jackpot when it came to location. Jimmy told me he was born in Italy and used to work at the popular Yeotown retreat in Snapper – and he hopes to bring some of that to his menu.
As well as coffees and a selection of gluten free cakes (they had gluten free lemon drizzle cake and gluten free chocolate brownie on show at the time, but hope to continually vary this) Jimmy offers a delicious looking menu – and pretty much everything can be made gluten free.
There are gluten free paninis, gluten free pasta, salads and an amazing-looking selection of omelettes which are, of course, gluten free.
He also offers a lot of dairy free options and all of the smoothies made on site are gluten and dairy free too. I was really impressed with such a big offering from such a small café.
It’s great to find places to eat along the Tarka Trail as there are not a huge amount of stop-offs, and despite only being open two weeks The Waterside was looking pretty popular!
Although I didn’t stop to eat anything this time, I did want to share this gorgeous place because if you’re visiting the area it is certainly worth the trip.
As well as accessing it via the Tarka Trail you can also park directly outside by driving through Chivenor Business Park off the A361.
The Waterside Café is open 8am-5pm Tuesdays to Saturdays and 10am-5pm on Sundays and is hoping to hold a soft launch open event on May 2 (bank holiday Monday). Find their Facebook page here.
Hi we’re currently on holiday at the moment and your guide as to where to eat with our Coeliac daughter has been invaluable. Thank you for all the great places – she’s at an age where it’s more important than ever for us to reinforce that being gluten free is a positive thing so being able to quickly identify places she can enjoy has been brilliant.
I just wanted to comment as we popped into Waterside on the Tarka Trail and they no longer have gluten free options. I totally get this as they’re such a small cafe . They were honest with us that there was nothing my daughter could have which I appreciate rather than fudging an answer so unfortunately we had to leave. I just thought I’d let you know in case anyone was using your blog as a guide.