Castle Howard Cafe in Ryedale

Food is nice, however some staff seem to have an attitude and felt like we were a bother, also overpriced

Warning: don’t eat at this horrible place. Ordered at 13:00 Friday, waited for 41 minutes to get the full English breakfast and sandwich, no apologies from waitress, worst experience ever.

Nice cafe in the courtyard at the front of Castle Howard. We were slightly sceptical about value when we arrived given the scale of the visitor attraction, but the food was good and decent value too. The Welsh rarebit was a touch overcooked but still very tasty. The breakfast muffin was great value, better than the full English one, and very tasty and filling. Drinks were pretty expensive, so we just had tap water. Staff were friendly and efficient, and the overall atmosphere was good too.

Loved the Welsh rarebit chips! Not bad prices for the upmarket feel of the place, my only suggestion is that the service could be a bit better.

£40.80 for two meals latte and soft drinks. I had the burger just under £19 Tasty hot . Wouldn't rush to have another. Wife had special offer the day£14 The meals nice but not special. It's good to support these places.

Cozy terrace, good food and drinks.

We had a cup of tea and a teacake which was very moreish

Slow service on a bank holiday weekend, but good food when it arrived.

Dog friendly! Amazing menu and tasty food! Even happy to do a custom dish! Reasonable prices

We went on a chilly mid week morning, for coffee and toasted tea cake. The drinks were beautifully hot and the toasted tea cake was huge and delicious with two generous amounts of Yorkshire butter.

Our group of 8, including a wheelchair user, was looked after extremely well. We were made very welcome and space was created so the wheelchair could get in easily. The food was delicious (and prompt). The staff were very friendly and helpful. Thanks for looking after us so well!

Lovely food and drinks, great service

Nice coffee and scone with butter, jam, and cream. Nice outside eating area, which is dog friendly.

OK I suppose, food was nice but nothing spectacular and very overpriced. Over £100 for 4 glasses of prosecco, 4 waters and 4 sandwiches!! Was very busy and had people queueing to get in meaning the door was constantly open which created a very cold draft, sat in our coats to eat

Not been for a long time. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Service so poor it is laughable

Food here was great👍 Top quality produce well cooked and at a very competitive price. Friendly helpful staff and plenty of space between tables all went to make this a very enjoyable experience.

Food was very good if a little pricy but service was poor. On arrival we were ushered upstairs then left to find our own table and after several minutes had to go looking for a menu. This happened to several other diners too. A further long wait to order then food arrived on time.

Had lunch here while on a day trip to "Christmas in Neverland" at the house (a really magical and immersive experience not to be missed!). The café was very busy and there was a queue, had to wait a while to be seated, but I managed to get a nice table on the ground floor (there's another room upstairs). The waiters were very courteous, friendly and attentive, and although the café was full, it didn't take long to get served, and a really nice waitress came back during my meal to ask if everything was okay. The menu offered a good selection of brunches and light meals with a festive flavour, and also some tempting desserts and a cream tea. There was wine, beer and mulled wine as well as the usual soft drinks and hot beverages. I ordered the Cheddar, brie and Reblochon cheese quiche with new potato salad, root slaw, dressed mixed salad and chutney. The quiche was really tasty and served hot, the homemade potato salad was delicious, and the salad was crisp and fresh. Had a lovely mince pie with my pot of Yorkshire tea. The lunch was on the expensive side (card payment only), but I could not fault the quality of the food and service. Would come again.

Sadly let down by waiting time for drinks (approx 20 mins) for 2x coffees!

Nice place, staff polite and friendly... Food was nice....felt somethings were a little over priced, apart from that the whole experience was good

Good food and atmosphere. We didn't have time to eat in York, so we were very happy to see there is a place to eat with enough menu options and the price is alright for the location.

Beautiful setting on the water as long as the weather holds. Very limited inside seating. Incredible playground for all ages. Can recommend the pepperoni pizza.

A beautiful autumnal sunny day. Lunch was good with a hàm sandwich and lobster Mac and cheese. Friendly staff and nice outside seating area. Very busy elsewhere. Garden centre nicely laid out with good stock. Arrived a little late for the house and gardens so will return soon

Really nice lunch very well served. Highly recommended.

We had the most delicious brunch on a warm Sunny September day in the courtyard ~ Eggs Royale absolutely perfectly cooked 💯🏆

Lovely courtyard and air con cafe . Range of food and drinks. If only we had know the inside dining was available at the time as it was very hot on our visit and we had Tea and Coffee outside.

Stopped in at the cafe following a very enjoyable visit to the Yorkshire Arboretum. Had a fabulous Chicken, bacon & cheese club sandwich with chips and garlic mayo washed down with a Becks Blue which was ice cold. Perfect on a hot late summer day. Despite being busy the service was fast and friendly.

Visited the garden centre & cafe - staff in both areas so friendly and respectful to customers. Really wheelchair friendly and accessible - for anyone who hasn't been before needing an accessible parking space, there are some nearer to the garden centre which we didn't realise. Ordered a sandwich from the cafe - gluten intolerant - sausages aren't gluten free, but their bacon is really nice and they are able to provide gluten free bread. Again, staff really friendly & respectful of customers and their needs. Planning to visit again to see the house and gardens, but even if you're just wanting a morning out it's a lovely drive out and there's plenty if you're not wanting to spend on entry to the house or gardens.

Ongelooflijk traag met kapsones

Lovely helpful staff and the food was first class. Third time visiting and the standards and quality never drops.

Turning up with 4 small children didn't worry the lovely staff who provide a table swiftly, and did everyting to make sure we had a great experience. Thank you.

Lovely food very clean castle howard beautiful

Great food and service very attentive staff. Nice location inside the gate house in the court yard, no need to pay to sit here and enjoy a meal and sunshine 😃

Saw a peacock on the window sill, lovely!

Beautifully sunny lunchtime visit to the Courtyard café.

I was surprised by the excellent presentation of the food. The service was very good, too! It was so good I went back in the afternoon for another try! All good!!

A fantastic venue, we ate within the first courtyard, we had an afternoon cream tea, it was amazing - you must have one when you visit this amazing castle.

Lovely tea and cakes. Friendly people work in the Cafe.

Staff very friendly food very good

All the food is super tasty and locally sourced. The staff were very nice and it wasn't bad value

6 of us cycled over from Pickering on what was a very cold morning. We were looked after very well. Staff went out of their way to be pleasant and helpful. Some of us had a hearty bowl of delicious warming soup - perfect. All the meals were very good and service faultless.

The food, service and staff were all absolutely fantastic. Michelle and Petra were great and very attentive. Not your usual cafe, highly recommend.

Ate here on Easter Sunday about 11am. Got in and seated at one of the last tables (others had a small wait). Staff were all accommodating, warm and friendly. We swapped a few items eg peas for beans etc but all was met with no issues at all and food was fast, perfectly cooked and good portions. You dont mind paying that bit more for the top quality ingredients that were on offer.

Really great breakfast and brilliant service.

Delicious food and locally sourced

Fantastic quality of food! It was extremely busy and we did have to wait quite a while however I think it was just a particularly busy day. Although it's nothing to do with the food, the toilets let Castle Howard down. I never understand why the one place you know will have 100% use out of necessity is 98% of the time the last place you want to be due to the aesthetics and ambience.

Food and drink good but very pricey.

Went for a light lunch today, food was nice but pricey, sorry to say but staff were miserable. Won't be returning.

Great menu and really excellent service our young lady server was delightful

Prompt, friendly, personal service and fresh tasty food. Dog friendly

Mediocre , crowded and unprofessional staff they give you dirty looks and are low-key racists , they look down on you i am never going back again , interior decor is horrible old fashioned , the lid on my coffee was visibly dusty which was thrown by the staff carelessly at the table .

Really pleasant little place for a tea. A very happy chap serving, too.

Nice food choices and very friendly staff. Bit noisy

No takeout available from the café inside the courtyard. Hence long queue for a single barista in the archway café.

Small farm shop not much from the estate having been to Chatsworth and mainsgill farm shops was disappointed with castle Howard if you are visiting the house you would visit if not not worth the detour to go

I had an excellent egg benedict here. Fresh egg and salmon. Was perfect 👌

Lots of space, but quite busy. Great savoury food options for cold Yorkshire days. Cakes are also very good with decent coffee.

No problems even though they were super-busy

A lovely Christmas/ fairy tale experience not just for children but also us oldies. So very well organised including the parking. Good value for money.

Beautiful house and gardens. The designs were amazing . Food was lovely. The staff were extremely helpful with my mam who has trouble with her walking. They could not do enough

Good food, reasonably priced, fab service, nice ambience

Mince pies were certainly nice, but the machine grade lattee wasn't hot enough.

Enjoyed a fantastic cream tea in the restaurant. Wonderful service from our friendly waitress.

Very nice experience lovely food and drinks

Fantastic food!!! Lovely friendly staff

Went for the Into the Woods experience absolutely beautiful. Could have stayed all day. Ate in the Fitzroy restaurant which was also very good. All the staff were very helpful, particularly regarding help that might or might not have been needed as I was using a walking stick. Highly recommend.

Prompt and excellent service by experienced staff. Toffee and Apple cake was saturated in toffee which overpowered everything and was extremely sweet. No atmosphere. Small room on the ground floor but seating apparently available on the first floor.

The food and service were both excellent. It's only small so be prepared to wait for a table. I had the Christmas turkey burger and it was delicious.

Decent food - not gourmet cooking or anything, buy well prepared fresh food for a lunch stop

Just love this place, long walks, the interior is amazing, you need a whole day...

It opens at 10am. Nice food but a shame they don't offer English breakfast.

Unfortunately there were issues with service. Despite there being plenty of staff and at a very busy time of day, orders were missed and service was slow. Otherwise the food quality was great and peaceful atmosphere.

Disappointing visit,although the cafe wasn't busy we were left to queue before being seated. We were told on arrival 2pm that there was no scones left! Eventually after at least 10 mins we ordered tea and cake , the cake arrived fairly sharpish. However the tea took another 10 mins. The carrot cake was the driest ever. The treacle faired better. By the time we'd left there was other cakes they had run out of. Not too promising for other patrons on a lovely Sunday afternoon.

Had a very large cheese scone which was lovely and cheesy and the bacon in a muffin was delicious. Friendly staff.

Excellent staff and service. Great cream tea.

Beautiful food, very helpful staff. Well worth the money

Fantastic place, beautiful grounds ,quaint little cafe.

My friend and I had just completed an eight mile walk outside the grounds of Castle Howard. When we had finished we visited the cafe and we both had Eggs Benedict which were delicious, I would recommend!

Great cream tea for two at £7 each, big scones!

Lovely little place to eat and relax before or after seeing the house or grounds. Prices are great for this kind of setting. Service was great from the waitress we had today. Dog friendly outside.

Pricey. But the Quality of the Food is Why. Polite and Friendly Staff.

Food and service is good although the menu is a little limited

Lovely food and very attentive staff. The place is small but bright and very clean

Fantastic food and very professional and friendly staff

Enjoyed my meal, very tasty asparagus and wensleydale quiche. Staff were polite and service was good

Yorkshire tea, bacon muffinb - whats not to like?

Lovely food. Very helpful and polite staff. We will be back!

Delicious food, great service and relaxing outdoor sitting.

Good for a half day out. Gardens are very nice, I really liked the woodland with the little piramid in the middle. The house however not really my cup of tea, there isn't really that much to see, most places inside are unaccesable. I won't be going there again. This place would really benefit from a boat or kayak hire by the lake.

If you're going to Castle Howard just to buy coffee and sandwiches from the shop best take plenty of money. Very expensive. Take a picnic with you.

Friendly service, quick to bring our order, outstanding food (my Eggs Benedict was sublime), very impressed all round.

Burger and chips on the terrace. What's not to love. Great food.

Fish and chips (coly) absolutely delicious. Very courteous staff.

Very expensive for what it is. Menu is a bit disappointing as well. Take a picnic.

Absolutely beautiful grounds and courtyard/stables facilities, like shop, toilets and restaurant. Although at the time of our visit the house was not open, we had the lovely weather in which to walk and explore the grounds. We loved it, and it was at least 40 years since I last visited Castle Howard!

Un lujo poder estar ahí, exquisiteces y fantástico servicio

Very nice inviting seating area inside. Staff were very friendly and efficient. Will definitely return.

The nicest place to stop for tea and cake after a walk.

Fantastic food and very competitive price. I had the Yorkshire rarebit. It was so tasty and the salad was super fresh. Delicious 😋