Cafe at The Hawthorns in Southampton

We go here most Saturdays after Parkrun. It used to be great, but when the new provider took over, the service instantly got worse. It is awful. They try not to bring food and drink to your table, preferring to leave you waiting at or shouting out from the counter instead. The staff don't know the pricing and frequently mess up payment, they don't say hello or smile, and they regularly don't bring cutlery or sauces to the tables in the uncommon event that they do bring food out. It could be a very nice cafe if it was run with more care and attention to customer service.

We entered the cafe and were not greeted with a hello or nothing I think your staff need customer service training. Then I took the cups back and said thank you and again not even any response!

Quick coffee, small cafe surrounded by a little bit of inner city nature

Lots of lovely Robins, but also rats scuttling around under the tables. Wish it was dog friendly.

Love sitting outside with the birds and dragonflies

A group of 4 adults and 1 toddler. 3 adults willing to pay for food. The mother had brought child appropriate picnic. Cafe refused to let the picnic be eaten with the paying guests. Stupid policy. Understandable if no paying guests stupid when minority of group. Especially as cafe not busy

Turned up just before 4pm after work to grab a coffee and was greeted by ‘no customers, we’re closing!’ 3 other customers in the garden…strange set up. Gate slammed behind the 4 of us

Wonderful place to stop for a break.

A lovely go to place for a quick breakfast before a nice stroll. Friendly staff and clean toilets.

very slow service and not the best attitude from the servers. a missed opportunity in such a nice location!

A welcoming and wonderful oasis on Southampton Common. Great food and great setting, great value. Worth a visit.

This place is brilliant. Doesn't matter if you want a quick coffee or a substantial meal, if you're close to Southampton Common, this should be your destination.

Terrible. The food served was not as described. They didn't have the ingredients so either left the items off or substituted without telling us. People are polite but it's a shambles.

Ordered a hot chocolate for my daughter turned out to be lukewarm and watery. So asked the lady at the till for a new hot chocolate only for here to tell me that it was not luke warm! Very rude and abrupt handling of the situation! Customer care training need!

Went for a coffee and tea cake. Told couldn't have a tea cake as the toaster was switched off even though it was 30 mins before closing. Coffee was poor and staff seemed totally uninterested. Shame as we were going to have breakfast there the next day but changed our minds and went elsewhere. Overall a poor experience.

This is a lovely little relaxing café in the middle of southampton common to take a coffee break after a brisk walk with friends!

This is such a missed opportunity. The menue is limited, the staff lack customer relation skills and the environment could be significantly improved. The entrance outside area needs weeding and cleaning. Huge disappointment, in Stark contrast to the Common on which it is sited.

I went there last Monday with my sister. We were serviced really bad, totally wrong attitude. When we asked some questions it was already a problem. The customer serviced were in a good mood but not towards customers, possibly only for foreigners. The food was OK and place looks really nice but the atmosphere was not appropriate.

Staff are disinterested and not focussed on the job. Especially near to closing time when they are sweeping up around you. Food lazily prepared. Mediocre menu

What a lovely place to visit, after a stroll around the common. We dropped in quickly for coffee and a toasted tea cake. We had one large, tasty (wholemeal I think) tea cake with jam, two lovely cups of coffee and a bottle of water. All of that cost £9.85, so reasonably priced. A lovely atmosphere, beautiful weather helped, and visits from butterflies, a dragonfly and some birds topped it off nicely. Lovely friendly staff too.

Basic food in great location - just needs a good gastronome.

Friendly staff, good value and tasty food

I really like going here. The service is nice, the ice cream and cookies are delicious, and the environment is wonderful outside.

Lovely coffee. The cake is so very good. Lemon drizzle and chocolate orange were moist and delicious

I used to love coming here and looked forward to it reopening after Covid. However my partner and I have been twice recently and both time been very disappointed. On both occasions we were completely ignored for several minutes by the various staff on duty. Some basic customer service training wouldn't go amiss here. With a bit of flair and imagination and some customer focus this rather dismal place could be a goldmine.

A bit hidden away, but glad that a new company have opened up the café on the Common again. There is a small outdoor benches area in the nature section, which is nice place to sit during good weather and there is quite a lot of seating indoors. The coffee has always been good ( Latte), and there has been a cake and coffee offer for a while of £4.50, which is not bad considering they have quite a big range of nice cakes, and I have tried a few. The service is normally efficient and they have a range of hot foods which are not too pricey. I have found the staff to be friendly. It's a good pit stop if you are on the Common, especially on these chilly days.

A nice little rest bite from walking is this Cafe on the common. It has easy easy access via automated doors. I just popped in for a brew on a chilly day whilst taking a walk through the common. The grounds are in need of some TLC but it is winter so forgivable. The adjacent wildlife centre is closed for the time being. Pop in and support a local business.

Nice little cafe ideally situated on Southampton common. Excellent service with friendly staff. Food pretty good as well

Didn't eat here and wasn't busy but was well out of season but was nice and good amenities with fair prices.

Great place to sit outside next to the pond and have a drink and cake

Dropped in today found the first member of staff very rude maybe because they were about to close but we only came in for a can of drink.

Lovely food at a reasonable price in a peaceful setting.

An oasis of calm, delightful cuppa and delicious cakes. Staff are lovely and very welcoming.

I liked this place for the fast service they provide. We ordered the food but forgot the wallet. They still prepared the food and served it by the time we brought the wallet back from car rather than waiting until we paid, we appriciate it. We found the food tasty too. The Cafe also has a good vibe to it.

Friendly and peaceful little oasis to enjoy a nice cuppa

Bar all'interno del parco Common. Locale grazioso con dehor. Ottimo caffè. Breakfast inglese servita tutto il giorno. Bagni puliti

It's a bit hidden but well worth coming. Seats inside and outside. Food nice and OK price.

Really lovely staff, pleasant and charming. Lovely setting. Bit overgrown at the moment. Not sure if the garden walk is open yet. Unfortunately terrible coffee.

Hidden gem with great Vegan options and peaceful nature and wildlife. Amazing Vegan chocolate loaf, soft and nice

Friendly staff, good price & food. Lovely atmosphere.

Welcoming and friendly staff. Wonderful scones with clotted cream. Secure parking for my cycle. What's not to like.

Ideal place for a coffee and snack after a turn or two around our beautiful Common. After a nine mile run this morning I had a breakfast of egg & avocado on the patio, in the company of robins. The staff are also charming.

Went for breakfast before a local festival, received a mouldy breakfast muffin, which was quickly replaced when asked, however, the hash browns that accompanied the first muffin, were served cold with the reheated second muffin. Breakfast butties for other ladies were all lovely. One grumpy member of staff let's the team down. Such a shame.

Visited in June 2022, they do in fact now have a card machine. Staff are very friendly and helpful and the lily pads are very pretty

we had a lovely walk around the common,& lunch at the Hawthorns cafe 😋 the lovely ladies in kitchen were working so hard (it was a hot summers day) 🔥the food was excellent, with a beautiful view of a pond full of lillies & moorhens.

Small lovely place to have breakfast, tea coffee with a piece of cake. I like the lake behind the terrace with white lotus flowers. 🌷

Nice little cafe. Limited choice of cake when we were there as they hadn't defrosted!

Great re-opened cafe on Southampton Common. Good menu, lots of seating.

Enjoyed a lovely pot of tea and a toasted tea cake, served by friendly staff, sat outside on the deck area and watched a mother duck with duckling hunting for insects, also got scrutinised by a very large Robin (which made my day) and all with a tuneful background noise of wild birdsong. The facilities were absolutely spotless and the ladies toilet was bright and airy and smelt fresh and clean. A great pit stop on my walk around the common

I love this little cafe. A hidden gem in the Common and I'm so glad it's reopened.

Beautiful spot surrounded by nature, amazing staff and best coffee in Southampton. The perfect place to get a real Italian espresso!

Lovely place! Italian styled cafe. Nice menu with pizza, ice cream, bar, education centre, decking outside on to a pond.

Fantastic food Friendly service This is was an unexpected pit stop We were pleasantly surprised Definitely going back Strongly recommend if you are out and about in Southampton common

Myself and my partner decided to go for a winter walk and some lunch, this cafe is a delightful hidden place, with such a wide variety of options to choose from. We were greeted my a friendly Italian man who made us feel right at home. We finally decided to go for the Full English Breakfast and a cheeseburger and chips. The portions was generous and tasted very nice. Great value for money. The atmosphere was warm and friendly. Will definitely be going back.

Went for a stroll along the common with my daughter and we came across with this littl e cafe. Very warm welcome by two Italian men The food looked delicious in the tabless around us, it was so hard to choose what to eat.. We had the pancakes and they were outstanding at a very affordable I would recommend this little place for some comfort food whilst you are having a family day Good food Good people Child friendly

Was amazing. Food was spot on. Service was outstanding. Made welcome and looked after. They went that extra mile. This is the first time I have wrote a review anywhere but this is worth every penny and was only £12.50. 3 courses

The 'vegetable lasagne' we received is shown in the photo attached- someone had poured a tin of veg soup over it, and it was cold in the middle. Pasta was very mushy and I am not sure it was pasta. I could not eat it, I did a swap with my less discerning companion. The cake on someone elses table looked ok, so just avoid the hot food. The loud music was some dramatic italian woman going off on one in song, so I was quite shocked at how bad the italian food was. Saw a young rat outside on the patio, nosing about in the rain. Not a great experience, really put a downer on the rest of our day.

I came here with my son and mum as originally it was going to be a quick toilet stop. We ended up staying for a quick bite to eat and have to admit, the pizza was ruddy nice! Apart from the pizza we also had tea, coffee and cake which was all very nice. Next time I'm at the common I'll be sure to get another pizza.

Went yesterday with a friend. Payed almost £5 for a toasted sandwich which was bland, looked like the cheapest basic bread, and no garnish. Not good! The waitress was so miserable I almost walked out before ordering. Wish I had. I hate complaining as I know we're all under pressure at work at times but there was no excuse, it was dead quiet. Poor service, presentation/taste of food and sadly I wouldn't go back.

I've been here several times and decided it was time for a review! It's an informal cafe, mostly about the coffee and cakes but they do some lunch meals as well, and in the summer an outside pizzeria I've never used. Its charm is its 'indoor/outdoor' feel, part of the Hawthorns urban wildlife centre, with the little pond in front of you and robins hopping around nearby. I've always been perfectly happy with my coffee/cake/lunch, either as a solo visitor or meeting with friends. The loos (not run by the cafe and you pass them on the way to the cafe) are clearly marked 'close at 4pm', so make sure you visit them before they close if you need to!

I have been here many times before and had a breakfast and pot of tea which was nice. But today I visited and had the spaghetti bolognase which was inedible it was swamped in sauce and the spaghetti was so swollen from being pre cooked and microwaved. I took one bite and left the rest it was gross. I am not the type of person to make a fuss so I didn’t complain but lost out on £5.50 so I just wanted to warn others not to buy any pasta dishes as it’s all microwaved garbage. Stick to the breakfast.

Paramos aquí cuando estábamos en un paseo en común, pero desafortunadamente deseamos que no lo hiciéramos. La comida era horrible, podría haber mejorado mucho en casa. Panini ordenado que estaba frío y pastoso, el queso no se ha derretido y, obviamente, no se ha asado durante el tiempo suficiente. Servido con chips de horno cheapy. Las bebidas no eran mucho mejores. Demasiado caro para comida barata de café. Lo peor fueron las 2 camareras miserables que servían. Los dos parecían increíblemente descontentos de estar allí, y se turnaban para salir a buscar un cigarrillo que es increíblemente desagradable cuando se sirve comida. No volveré

Tuvimos nuestro trabajo de Navidad allí porque queremos apoyar a las tiendas independientes. El ambiente era agradable pero la comida no. No volvería a ir, la sopa era también la salsa del plato de pasta. Imagina tener ambos. Sopa y luego sopa con un poco de pasta! Turquía también era barata y a la gente no le gustaba. El servicio fue lento. , Nunca más.

Bought 4 ice creams and 2 milkshakes. Despite this, my daughter was unable to use the toilet, because it closes at 4pm, depsite the cafe opening until 4.30pm. They refused to unlock the toilet. Won't ever be returning.

Visité la cafetería el 26 de mayo. Tuve un Eggs Benedict en pan fresco servido por Gino.

A pesar de tener un sabroso sándwich de tocino y café bien presentado con un servicio educado nos quedamos consternados por el siguiente. Preguntamos si la galleta que se entregaba con café contenía frutos secos (por alergia). A pesar de que mi esposo dijo que tenía almendras, el camarero dijo que no. Esto podría haber tenido consecuencias desastrosas. También pedimos media cucharada de helado para nuestro nieto bebé y se negó. ¡Podríamos tener la mitad pero tendríamos que pagar el precio completo! No es la forma de fomentar la buena voluntad. No volveremos

Unable to tell if this place is any good as they don't take card payments. How backwards in this day and age.

A wonderful authentic taste of Italy starting from the moment you enter the Cafe, to meeting the owners (and passionate Italian pizza chef) to indulging in delicious, fresh, high quality food which delivers a fantastic experience!

Wow! What a find! Great Italian food and very reasonable. Give it a go! That should open in the evening. I’ll be back.

Very reasonably priced food and lovely to sit outside when the weather permits. Staff very friendly and helpful.

Wow 3 platos comida italiana para 8 donde puedes conseguir esos tres días.

Entorno encantador (con los niños en la fiesta de almuerzo realmente disfrutando de poder ir al centro de vida salvaje) y comida y servicio fabulosos. Tuvimos una selección de pastas caseras y pizzas (de su propio horno). El personal realmente se unió a la diversión, al ofrecer un pastel de helado bastante risueño y cantar feliz cumpleaños. Vengo al café la mayoría de las semanas como parte de la caminata de salud que dirijo para SCC y Sustrans y el personal siempre nos ha dado la bienvenida. Tenemos un almuerzo de Navidad de los caminantes, que siempre es una buena relación calidad-precio y muy festivo. Nunzio y su personal aportan un toque italiano a la comida y la atmósfera de este café.

A lovely hidden gem. Didn't know this little cafe was there just spotted it on a little bike ride. Nice little bit to eat and coffee then on our way again

This cafe is a little hidden gem located in Southampton Common park. Tasty food at very reasonable prices in an excellent setting. Owners are friendly and staff provide excellent customer service. A place we'll visit often for a nice bite to eat.

Un salto aquí con un amigo y su perro guía (perros guía, no sólo se permite en el frente, donde hay un par de mesas). Tenía una preciosa brunch servido por un personal muy amable. Vimos una kingfisher fuera ya que comimos. Un lugar encantador...

Vine aquí hoy mientras yo estaba caminando en la común sólo para tomar un descanso y me gusta mucho este sitio! Es difícil de encontrar, pero creo que es especial, ya que es rodeada por la naturaleza. Me gustó el café con leche y toda...

Tuve comida de Navidad aquí con un grupo grande (40). Tuvimos el gran comedor para nosotros (para el alivio de otros, sin duda) y pre-ordenados de un menú de tres platos con unos cuatro opciones de cada curso. Las mesas estaban hermosamente decordated con galletitas...

Agradable almuerzo de Navidad en el Hawthorns con amigos. A menudo frecuentado como un café durante el año y tuvimos una excelente comida de Navidad el año pasado con amigos así que repite una reserva este año. Bueno para apoyar a una reserva natural en el corazón de Southampton Common.

Popped in after a long time. It used to be a regular haunt when my kids were toddlers. Had a coffee with my friend while (now bigger) kids cycled around common. Lovely location as ever but couldn't take credit cards! Kids didn't get to have lunch there as we didn't have enough cash. A shame as I love supporting local places.

Visited the hawthorns Cafe in the common this morning with my nan, the staff were friendly and welcoming. We both had the vegetarian breakfast.Which was a delicious, a good size and reasonably priced. There is a lovely area to sit outside. Would definitely recommend it.

My mum and I each had a chicken and avocado salad from the Hawthorn Cafe in the Common, Southampton. It was £5.50 and a complete rip off. It was on a small sized plate. It had a handful of shredded iceburg lettuce, 2 cherry tomatoes halved, a few sprinkles of cucumber with a about a 1/5 of an avocado into tiny bits and about 5 small strips of packaged cooked chicken. I am not a big eater and thought it was small. I must of ate it within 10minutes. No side roll or anything to go with. Very disappointing. No wonder it wasn't busy.

Really surprised lovely location. Really helpful friendly staff. And good food. Sandwiches, wraps. Also freshly cooked pizza will try next time. Had a Mexican wrap lovely and daughter had calamari big serving fresh and tastie.

This is probably the only time I have visited a café for a quick coffee and several weeks later still can't wait to go back again. It is really hard to describe but I thought it was great sitting so near to nature for a relaxing drink. The staff were very pleasant and I hope to go back and try and then review the food in future.

I hate giving a bad review. There is usually some redeeming element.The venue, location and concept is let down by the café food. I had the standard English cooked breakfast, my wife had the vegetarian cooked breakfast with extra mushrooms. When served there were no extra mushrooms but the waitress insisted there were (it had the same sized portion as on my plate). Toast largely burnt. Eggs over cooked and rubbery on both. Food on both plates was straight from the serving hatch - and cold.I've had better food, at a lower cost, at a motorway service station.At least they had Earl Grey tea - which even the chef couldn't mess up.They need to re-train, or replace, the chef.

Found this completely by accident and so pleased I did. Very hard to describe it, like having a coffee in a tree house? Really nice coffee, tranquil atmosphere & surrounded by nature. Very pleasant Italian staff too. Only didn't give 5 as I wasn't quite so impressed with my mint ice cream but I'm sure I will be back in future to try other flavours & have a real meal next time.

Cafetería con horno para pizzas situada en el parque The Common. Tiene cristaleras y terraza para disfrutar de las vistas, sus precios no son caros y se está muy bien. Nos atendió un español amabilísimo.

The Southampton Common is a beautiful stretch of grass and woodland wedged neatly into the Cities thriving suburbia, on the east side of it is the Hawthorns Cafe which compliments the park with charm.The Hawthorns is adjoining a happy but outdated wildlife learning zone aimed at children which is rather endearing if not a little silly and in need of facelift. The caf' itself offers a well timed jacket potato and mains for between £4-6 of varying degreed of tastiness (don't bother with the 'pasta tubes'), however the cakes and bits all looked palatable.Sitting outside on a crisp and bright March afternoon is really quite blissful as you sip your coffee overlooking a pond teeming with little critters of which you can learn more about in the activity centre. It does feel like you are at the centre of a primary school biology project but with pleasant picnicky food and a moustachioed Italian serving Pizza outside. A little robin perched on a fence post and I thought I'd have to give the Hawthorns 4 stars.

My friend and I visit the Hawthorns cafe regularly and have always been impressed by the quality of food and friendliness of the staff. This year we also took advantage of the Christmas meal offer and are so pleased we did. It surpassed our expectations. The table was decorated and we couldnt fault the service with the main course served at the table and not pre-plated. Amazing value for money for a 4 course meal. A big thank you & happy new year to all the staff. This place is a little gem.

Booked a Christmas meal for 4. The staff had thought carefully about where to seat us as we had an elderly disabled friend with us. We were greeted at the entrance by one of the staff and shown to our table. The table was decked with balloons, crackers, party poppers etc in true festive style. The quality,quantity, variety of veg and presentation of all our food was excellent. The service was impeccable. It was a meal to remember - made more memorable by the fact that the four courses (yes we got sorbet too!) was less than £10 per person and included a bottle of bubbly. Amazing and well done and a huge thanks to all the staff involved.

We love visiting the Hawthorns and it deserves a 5 star rating however today the lady behind the till didn't smile and made us feel rushed in making our drink choices. Service with a SMILE would not go a miss.

Have been coming here regularly for years and will continue to do so. Pleasant surroundings with excellent choice in food and drink. Quality of a few of the things available could be improved but all in all, as a simple cafe on the common this play is excellent. Friendly staff also!

Good food at a very reasonable price in a great location. Lots of things for the children to do. Very interesting facts about the common and surrounding area.

We visited this morning for coffee. My son loved watching the fish in the pond and popping in and out of the wildlife room while we enjoyed our drinks and a vey tasty almond croissant. While we were there the chef was firing up the pizza oven on the terrace so we decided to head back for tea. The pizzas were made and cooked freshly to order, were delicious and very reasonable (pizza only available weekends and holidays but there is an extensive menu otherwise). We will definitely go back.

What is especially nice about the Cafe at the Hawthorns is to sit outside on the deck by the side of the pond.They do a very good full English breakfast including a cup or tea or coffee for £4.00 or a Bacon sandwich with drink for £2.95 which is a great start (end or middle) to a walk around the common. We often take surplus toast to feed the ducks on the Ornamental lake.