Lacto
Western
Take-out
Gallery and coffee shop offering coffees, cakes and smoothies. Also sells locally made art, crafts, gifts and plants. All items are vegan by default, with cow milk optional for drinks. Open Tue-Sat 09:30-15:00. Closed Sun & Mon. Please note that hours are subject to change - check socials.
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76 High St, Ilfracombe, England, EX34 9NQ
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- Wheelchair accessible
- Accepts credit cards
- Free Wi-Fi
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Last update on 04 Nov 2025 by handplant
Update business info -
Added by izzys on 13 Aug 2023
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7 Reviews
First Review by izzys
feral
Points +800
What a delightful find - Edit
I was beyond happy to discover that Ilfracombe had a (mostly) vegan cafe.
Read moreThe lovely lady who runs this cafe was so welcoming and I loved the simplicity of the menu. The atmosphere was cosy and friendly. Also lovely art and whatnot on sale that relieved me of a few quid!
I wish we had a place like this where I live. Loved it!
Pros: Welcome, Atmosphere , Art
Guest
AlfieV
Points +1186
Really nice cafe - Edit
Great nice friendly owner. We had soup. The bread was even home made as well as the soup. Brilliant vegam chocolate cupcake.
Read morePros: Friendly, Great home made vegan food, Art
Guest
Buddha boy
Points +460
💚❤️ Love this place ❤️💚 - Edit
Found this on the Ilfracombe ‘Art Trail’ in May.
Read moreThis has to be one of the friendliest places we’ve ever visited on Happy Cow! and it’s a great place to be if you love colourful people & there’s artwork everywhere.
Was a busy day but it was lovely to sit & chat to people.
Great Vegan food and drinks & cakes, in a chilled out atmosphere. We had a coconut Dahl and matcha & chai Lattes. All very good 💚
Will be back here again very soon for more!
Pros: Super friendly welcome, Great Vegan food & drinks, Chilled out atmosphere and the artwork
Cons: None
Guest
Bisto3000
Points +24
Lovely little place - Edit
We visited twice during our stay in Ilfracombe. The place was so lovely, as were the owners! We had coffee and cakes both times and also bought some of the artwork and gifts. A really lovely place, all cakes are vegan, plant milk available too of course.
Read morePros: Fantastic coffee, Lovely cakes, Friendly staff
Guest
StueyH
Points +49
A fabulous find - Edit
A group of us happened upon hand:plant at the end of a long, rainy walk into Ilfracombe. It was the first café we reached once in town, but it looked very inviting.
Read moreSo we piled in. It’s a combined café/art/plant shop. A really delightful setting.
As the only vegan in our group, I was straight up to the counter to suss out if there was any food suitable for me. There was a delicious looking selection of cakes on the counter, and as I squinted at the labels without my glasses on, I started noting the little “VG”s on what seemed to be a lot of them. So we asked the fabulous owner what was vegan, to which she replied, “All of it”! My heart did a little dance. She then explained to us that, as a survival strategy in a small town like Ilfracombe, she chose not to market her business as a strictly vegan one, as we all know that can lead to difficulties, so instead she’s probably about 99% vegan, offering only dairy milk as the “alternative” to the default oat milk. Seemed like a wise and necessary move for the safety of the business.
So, after my little ecstatic moment of feeling utterly safe and at home there, we proceeded to order just about one of everything (with extras) from the hot drinks menu, as well as a variety of the cakes (all were confirmed to be absolutely delicious). Unknown to us at this point, she was actually only about 10 minutes off closing, and we landed her with a huge and complex order. But, what an absolute delight she was, as she set to work on our drinks, all alone, and gradually presented us with 8 different drinks, all perfectly prepared, and again, delicious. Never stopped smiling and engaging in lovely conversation with us, too.
We kept her late, but our visit was absolute perfection. The perfect pit stop.
From what I could see, the offerings were mainly the selection of hot and cold drinks, freshly prepared smoothies, and the delicious cakes. We were tempted to return on the Saturday morning with the promise of it being “vegan croissants Saturday” but, alas, we didn’t make it. Next time, though, for sure…
Pros: Almost entirely vegan, Delicious cakes and coffees , Calm and delightful interior, and fabulous owner
Cons: You might have to fight for a seat at busy times!
handplant
Thanks so much for the lovely review! Nice meeting you all 💚
Read moreGuest
Veggie_that_life
Points +20
Lovely friendly environment - Edit
Came here with my non-vegan parents. We all enjoyed our drinks and pastries. All pastries are vegan and non-dairy milks are standard, but they do offer dairy milk on request
Read morePros: Friendly staff, Vegan pastries, Delicious chai latte
Cons: Not fully vegan (as they offer dairy milk)
handplant
Thanks for the nice review! Working our way towards fully vegan one customer at a time 😊 via the medium of cake 🍰🧁
Read moreGuest
izzys
Points +476
A hidden gem! - Edit
Stumbled upon this place while wandering through the town and I’m so pleased we did! Delicious coffee, smoothies and phenomenal vegan cakes! Also sells locally produced art which is fantastic to see.
Read morePros: Delicious cakes and drinks, Almost vegan! (Vegan milks are default), Sells locally produced art
handplant
Thanks for your kind words Izzy and for putting us on Happy Cow, see you next time! 💚 Mel x
Read moreGuest
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