Top bikers Cafés you have to check out

Whether you're looking for a bite to eat, a cuppa to warm your frozen hands or a destination for a group of mates to meet at - these are the bikers cafes you can't afford to miss

The Bike Shed

BIKER CAFES not only provide sustenance and shelter for weary travellers, in the fine weather they become destinations for thousands of bikers up and down the country.

Now, while we love a top 10 here at Visordown, I didn’t think it fair to pit these fine establishments against one another – for the simple reason I haven’t visit them all to be able to make a decision!

So instead here is a comprehensive guide to the places I’ve been to, heard of or ridden past but not had the chance to go into, yet. It gives you and idea of where they are, what they serve and what kind of establishment it is.

Super Sausage Café

Web: supersausagecafe.co.uk

Tel: 01908 542964

Location: The A5 between Pottersbury and Paulerspury

Opening hours: 7:30am to 14:30pm

Voted Britain’s best café in 2016 the ‘Sausage has been frying up since the 70’s and is a firm favourite with owners’ groups, charity ride outs and weathered old bike journos. The food is a mix of good honest roadside café breakfasts and light bites.

The Sausage is open all year round only closing for Christmas day and New Year’s day.

Jacks Hill Café

Web: facebook.com/jackshillcafe

Tel: 01327 351350

Location: The A5 just before the A43 roundabout to Silverstone

Opening hours: 7:00am to 8:30pm

With a bike night hosted the first Friday of the month, Jacks hill is a mecca for bike and car enthusiasts thanks to its large roadside parking and outside seating area. The food is proper truck-stop fry-ups (it’s a year-round truck stop too), batches and sarnies. Well worth a stop off if you are heading to the Midlands after a day at Silverstone – just don’t forget the heartburn tablets!

The Ace Café

Web: london.acecafe.com

Tel: 020 8961 1000

Location: North Circular Road, Stonebridge, NW10 7UD

Opening hours: 7:00am to 11:00pm Fri and Sat – 10:30pm rest of week

Some would say this is the biker café that started it all off. Opened in 1938 as a transport café, the Ace closed its doors in 1969 later becoming a tyre fitting centre. With a small bikers’ café sprouting from the side of the building the buzz about the place began to build again, until in 2001 the Ace as we know it took over the whole site.

A regular spot for the thousands of bikers in the south east, the Ace holds regular bike nights covering everything from classics, moderns, modifieds and scooters. If you haven’t been you really should – it’s not everyone’s cup of builder’s tea, but it is the Ace, and that kinda makes it special.

The menu is a mix of brekkies and brunches with burgers, ribs and pub style grub for those not fancying a fry-up.

The Bike Shed

Web: thebikeshed.cc

Tel: 0207 729 8114

Location: 384 Old Street, London. EC1V 9LT

Opening hours:

Thursday              9am–12am

Friday                   9am–12am

Saturday              9am–12am

Sunday                 9am–12am

Monday               10am–12am

Tuesday               10am–12am

Wednesday         10am–12am

Another venue that divides opinion – is it a biker café, is it a restaurant, art gallery, shop, barbers or tattoo parlour…? Well in short, it’s all of the above. The Bike Shed started out as a custom/café racer website started out by dyed in the wool biker and serial customiser Dutch van Someren. He spotted an opening for a cool, vibrant and inclusive bike joint in the heart of London and the rest as they say, is history.

Some people have this idea that the Bike Shed’s menu is all organic this and gluten free that and, although there are those healthy type of offering available, for the most part it’s big food with big flavours served really well. As with the Ace, it’s not for everyone but, I for one love parking my chubby arse down and drinking a coffee as the bikes ride through the venue and down to the onsite bike parking.

Caffeine & Machine

Web: caffeineandmachine.com

Tel: 07918 605467

Location: The Houndshill, Banbury Road, Ettington, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 7NS

Opening hours: Open 12pm-11pm weekdays (serving food until 9pm); Open 9.30am-11pm Saturday (serving food until 9pm) and 9.30am – 10.30pm Sunday (serving food until 5pm)

A relative new comer scene, Caffeine & Machine (or C&M to their mates) is a classy place for whiling away an afternoon surround by millions of pounds worth of machinery. They host regular classic car and bike nights as well as more modern focussed meets. An afternoon spent here will see some of the most expensive machinery coming from miles around to sample the coffee, breakfasts and main meals.

There aren’t many other venues you can relax on a button-backed sofa while gazing at a Manx Norton now are there?

It’s quickly building a name for itself among the petrol heads of the midlands and further afield as THE place to go to on a weekend or evening.

Triumph 1902 Café

Web: triumphmotorcycles.co.uk

Tel: 01455 453088

Location: Normandy Way, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 3BZ

Opening hours:

Thursday             10am–4:30pm

Friday                   10am–4:30pm

Saturday              10am–4:30pm

Sunday                 10am–4:30pm

Monday               Closed

Tuesday               Closed

Wednesday       10am–4:30pm

This newly opened café is a nostalgic look at Triumph’s heritage and success in on and off-road racing. The café is part of the Triumph Visitor Experience which includes factory tours and an exhibition that tells the story of Triumph from the beginning right through to modern day.

Hot and cold food are available as are freshly made barista style coffees and teas.

Squires Café Bar

Web: www.squires-cafe.co.uk

Tel: 01977 684618

Location: Newthorpe Lane, Newthorpe, South Milford, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS25 5LX

Opening hours:

Friday                   10am–8pm

Saturday              8am–8pm

Sunday                 8am–8pm

Monday               10am–4pm

Tuesday               9am–10pm

Wednesday       9am–10pm

Thursday             9am–10pm

Located on the B122, Squires is a café, bar, restaurant and camp site all rolled into one. The cafe has been a destination for bikers since the fifties moving to its current location in 2002. Squires is also unique in the fact that it has its own indoor ice rink on site.

The food is the usual café fair, breakfasts and brunches, with hot dogs and pub grub available too. The caravan park boasts 32 pitches and a bike and tent can pitch up for just a fiver a night.

The Iron Horse

Web: ironhorseranchhouse.co.uk

Tel: 01778 346952

Location: 2 High Street, Market Deeping, Peterborough. PE6 8EB

Opening hours: Mon – Tues closed. Wed – Sat 10am – 9pm. Sun 10am – 6pm.

Opened in 2008, the Iron Horse brings a big slice of Americana to the sleepy town of Market Deeping, with custom bike nights, live music and even a craft beer club for the pillions.

They host regular live bands and the atmosphere is best described as lively! The food served covers everything from waffles to wings, they even have fried catfish on the menu for a true taste of the deep south – east of England!

The Hungry Highlander

Web: facebook.com/Hungryhighlander

Tel: 01339 741556

Location: 14 Invercauld road, Braemar, AB35 5YP

Opening Hours:

Friday                   10am–8pm

Saturday              10am–8pm

Sunday                 10am–8pm

Monday               10am–8pm

Tuesday               10am–8pm

Wednesday       10am–8pm

Thursday             10am–8pm

An old-school style road-side diner in the pretty village of Braemar in Aberdeenshire. Located in the centre of the Cairngorms national park, the café is a short ride from Inverness and the pretty resort of Aviemore. The café serves traditional Scottish dishes such as haggis and venison as well as burgers, breakfasts lunches and dinners.

The long Itch Diner

Web: facebook.com/pages/Long-Itch-Diner

Tel: 01926 819096

Location: Southam Rd, Long Itchington, Southam CV47 9QZ

Opening Hours:

Friday                   7:30am–3pm

Saturday              7:30am–3pm

Sunday                 9am–3pm

Monday               7:30am–3pm

Tuesday               7:30am–3pm

Wednesday       7:30am–3pm

Thursday             7:30am–3pm

A regular destination for bike and car groups, ‘The Itch’ is located a minute walk from the Grand Union Canal just north of Southam. The menu is basic, but the food is excellent and well-priced, and they have loads of room outside if it's too busy inside.

The Traditional Full English breakfast consists of 2 sausages, 2 bacon, an egg, 2 fried bread, 2 black puddings, beans, tomatoes and mushrooms and not forgetting 2 rounds of toast and tea or coffee.

Ryka’s Café

Web: www.rykas.co.uk

Tel: 01306 884454

Location: Box Hill, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6BY

Opening Hours: 8am – 4pm everyday

Ryka’s has been serving the Great British Biking public for about 50 years from its Dorking base. The venue hosts classic and modern bike nights and is a popular start and finish point for large groups who are out to tour the south coast and further afield. Yamaha have even used the café as a venue for it’s Dark Side Tour, allowing customers the chance to try out the bikes in the MT range.

It’s famous for its milkshakes and burgers but has a wide selection of hot and cold food on offer at competitive prices. The location also makes it an ideal spot for walkers and cyclists as it’s just a stone through from the popular walking spot, Box Hill.

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