The Hunts Post asked its readers where in Huntingdonshire they believed serves the best food to start the day, and the family-run Rookery Café in Pidley gained first place.
After visiting the café last week, I can now see just why it received so many votes; it’s a slice of tranquility in the Cambridgeshire Fen countryside with mouth-watering breakfast options.
Driving down the roads before arriving at the café in Rookery Waters, I instantly felt a sense of relaxation and peacefulness, and once entering the café it was buzzing with workers, fishermen, couples, and families and friends enjoying breakfast.
Rookery Café, which has been open now for about seven years, is ran by the daughter of the family, 25-year-old Becky German, along with five other staff members.
Becky’s parents used to run the café before she took over about three years ago.
At the start of my visit, I told Becky that the cafe had won The Hunts Post’s Best for Breakfast 2023, and she told me that her and her team were “really chuffed”.
“We have a lot of locals come down especially from Warboys, Pidley and Somersham but we also do branch out a bit further as well to St Ives so it’s really nice to have everyone’s support,” she said.
Rookery Café originally opened as just a fisherman’s café but rebranded three years ago to appeal to members of the public too.
When asked why she believes Rookery Café's breakfast has been rated the best in Huntingdonshire, Becky said: “The key is its simple food but really good quality.
“For example, the sausages are from Johnson’s of Old Hurst Butchers which is arguably the best butchers in the area, and everything is cooked to order so it’s always fresh and is really nice and hot.”
Becky believes Rookery Café's number one recipe is their full English due to it being a “people pleaser”.
“Everybody loves it at weekends, but we’ve also branched out to avocado on toast and salmon and egg, they’re really good as well.”
I was lucky enough to try this breakfast, and I must say, it’s one of the best full English’s I’ve had in a while!
I also spoke with Becky about how the café coped with the pandemic, and how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting the business.
“We had to close for a short time during the pandemic and then we could reopen with takeaway only but we really struggled because we’re in such a remote location to get people to us.
“We relied more on fisherman, and we’d walk round all seven lakes, take everybody’s orders, cook it and then deliver it to them which was quite a lot of effort as you didn’t know whether you were going to get a lot of business in.”
She added: “The prices of all the food we get from our wholesalers and the butchers has rocketed up and we did have to have a price increase of our breakfast earlier in the year but we’re just monitoring it and keeping an eye on things.”
Aside from Rookery Café, Rookery Waters is also home to seven fishing lakes, four holiday lodges and a small caravan site.
There’s also lots of dog walks, and a bridleway which runs behind the café to Warboys and Somersham.
So, if you’re looking for somewhere new to go to breakfast, or you’d like to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life for an hour or so, why not take a trip to Rookery Café - I assure you you will not be disappointed.
Rookery Café is located down the bottom of Fen Road in Pidley, postcode PE28 3DF.
You can see more about the café and their food by visiting their Facebook page - Rookery Café | Facebook.
You can find out the places which came second and third for best breakfast in Huntingdonshire here: Hunts Post readers tell us the best place to have breakfast.
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