‘THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX’

Sitting right on the Essex coastline, it’s the perfect place for a brew

There is nothing quite like a good ride to the seaside, and this week our quest to find Britain’s best biking café takes us to the tip of Essex’s ‘Sunshine Coast’, where we check in with the folk who frequent the Revved Up Tea Bar at Walton on the Naze. “The idea was to create a mini Ace Café on the coast,” says owner, Paul Barnes. “We’re right on the beach and I’ve set the whole thing up for bikers to have a good time.”

On a sunny day the location is superb, but Revved Up is far from seasonal as Paul explains: “We open throughout the year from 8am to 8pm and sometimes stay open later. Even in the depths of winter our customers know they have somewhere to come for hot food and a decent cup of tea.” Honda Integra rider Chas Allen is one such regular. “The ride down is great,” said Chas, “but it’s the laughs and banter that keep me coming back. You get everyone in here from kids on pushbikes to pensioners on mobility scooters!” Although it has a five-star hygiene rating, there’s no kitchen as such at Revved Up, it’s more the sort of place you come for a steaming hot mug of tea and a hot pukka pie. Not having cooked options on the menu sadly affected our overall score, however it’s a testament to Paul’s hard work and effort in creating a unique space for motorcyclists to hang out that Revved Up can be considered alongside places that do. “It’s a 20-minute ride for a four-hour chat,” says Andy Dove from Harwich, which goes some way to explaining what Revved Up is all about. For the local biking community it’s a social hub, but for visitors from across the country it’s a recognised destination, which makes this one-off tea bar a genuine contender for MCN’s Golden Sausage award.