Courtyard Cafe in South Lakeland

A stunning little cafe set in the grounds of Holker Hall. We called in for a cuppa and sweet treats after spending the afternoon wandering around the grounds. We were lucky enough to have a glorious autumn day, so were able to sit out in the courtyard, which is beautiful. The staff were amazing, so friendly. The prices were good too, I was actually surprised at how reasonable it was, given the location. I had a pot of tea and shortbread, which was to die for! Such a wonderful little spot, it’s a must try when in the area.

Light airy and spacious with some outside tables. Neat pleasant staff and varied menu. We quite quickly ordered hot drinks then food choices. The drinks came soon enough but after 40 mins we asked when the food was coming. A staff member said although the order was written it was not printed for the kitchen. I had parked outside with one hour facility so I had to go out and move it to another area. We were offered another drink to recompense but as we had an ongoing long journey we declined. The salmon with avocado on sourdough was excellent (£16 each) but the service was not!

We called to the cafe and ate soup and scones. The soup tasted delicious and the scones tasted freshly made. I was impressed with the food and staff were very friendly. I would recommend this cafe despite reviews others have written.

Roast Beef dinner for 4 and on all 4 dinners the beef was tough very difficult to chew gave up and left it cost almost £80 needs to be better quality cook should taste the beef before serving no one came to check it was ok , wont be eating there again. COFFEE AND CAKE IS GOOD>

I had almost finished my meal before my husband's arrived. For some reason his had been delayed. No explanation, no apology. When I complained at the end and asked why my meal could not have been held back until his was ready, I was told that if we wanted to eat at the same time, I should have brought mine back!! A special birthday we will always remember.

Table of seven, moved furniture, naughty looks lol. Coffee, strong, hot and a nice creme. Love strong good coffee, tea drinkers very happy. Scones were fresh out of the oven, large and plenty of very cute wrapped butter pats, no soda after taste, well made! Proper jams etc. Sandwiches came and were fresh brown door stop artisan breads filled to the brim with contents. Slaw was excellent whole thing done with quality ingredients and all served quickly with a smile or two. I read reviews and nearly did not go to this cafe, reviews seem a bit harsh or possibly during covid with staff restrictions. Don't be put off you will miss a great lunch and we all agreed excellent value for money, you get what you pay for?

Lovely to visit after a walk around the grounds. Good choice of snacks and meal at reasonable prices. Great staff.

Visited for lunch, whist at Holker Hall. There is a large courtyard outside and ample seating inside. There are several reasons for my low rating; No menus on tables, people wandering looking. Menu is lacking , to say the least, and quite restricted if you don't like mustard, relishes etc. The layout of seving/ ordering is completely wrong..cakes in display couldn't be seen by people queuing to get order in. Prawn sandwich had curry flavour ? Scones- pesto ?? All plain /sultana had gone at 12 , leaving pesto..I wonder why? One young girl in particular was very miserable. No real system seems to be in operation Expensive and over rated.Will be taking picnic on my next trip. When we returned to the farm shop, every table was piled high with used crocks ,which looked awful,in the courtyard area.

Been coming for several years. Nice place, decent price, only good value was the soup and sourdough. The rest was overpriced £8.50 for s sandwich ,4. for fries, brunch 13 to 14 pounds, just not value anymore, expensive for families and captive audience (visitors) Shame.....

Visited the Courtyard Cafe today on the final day of the Christmas Market. Although it was busy we managed to find a table and went to order. A lot of people so keep the order simple. Three teas and three fruit scones. We were told it would be 10 minutes. No problem. Half an hour later still no sign of this simple order whilst other people had sat down and been served meals. Went to see what had happened and told one of the waiters that we realised they were under pressure but can we please have our order. He was very polite and went (we thought) to sort it. Twenty minutes later we decided to ask for our money back and were given it, and we weren't the first to have had to do so today. Get you act together Holker Hall. You make a fortune of of this event so please spend some of it on giving a better service!

We had a Good lunch in the Courtyard Cafe sitting outside. I feel it is quite expensive but in line with others in the area. I think prices have increased generally since lockdown. Very Good service with smiley waiting staff.

After visiting the gardens we had breakfast buns in the Courtyard Cafe.. we both had smoked bacon and fried egg which was delicious. My wife had tea and I had a bottle of Hawkshead pale ale. The staff were very friendly and helpful.

All locally produced food here - venison burgers were super. It was nice to sit outside and have a (locally made) beer too. Worth a visit.

Given the current Covid19 restrictions, the staff were as friendly as they could be, helpful, and efficient. Yes, it was a little slow, but the current requirements have slowed everything down. The food was great. Really set off a lovely day.

Often at these attractions food places can be just filled with poor quality and over pricy food which is not the best. At the courtyard this definitely isn't the case. Good choice on menu fairly priced and very good quality.

Be warned the ordering system for the cafe is awful - we tried to walk out as we waited 25 minutes for a coffee. They have a very odd system that means they don't separate the drinks orders - so if the table ahead of you orders a full meal for the family - you will only get your 2 coffees after they have been served. We had to sit in the cold and ask 3 times , only to see people walk in and get take aways. When the coffee arrived it was cold and bitter. Great shame as they rest of the house and staff were lovely - but the cafe has a local reputation as being incredibly inefficient. Someone needs to get a grip of the kitchen and front of house service and it would be super. We've already said next time we go to the house we'll find another cafe locally. Please do drinks orders separately and quickly! You'll make more money too!!!!!!

Following a reminder from Tripadvisor about the need to complete a rating left earlier I now realise that the review I left for the Ilex Restaurant at Holker Hall was wrong and that it should have been for the Courtyard Cafe. With apologies for my error here is what I said previously - Having just spent around 2 hours in the Gardens we popped into the Bar for lunch. My wife had the soup of the day served with sourdough bread which I had Coronation Chicken sandwiches and salad. Perfectly adequate on a warm day. Afrer lunch it was back to the Gardens ....... From looking at other reviews I don't think that I'm alone in making this mistake.

We are vegan and often struggle to eat at places but here they couldnt of been more helpful! We had homemade vegan scones and even took two away they were that good Food and service was outstanding!!!!!

Best salt and pepper squid. Lovely salad. And a giant portion of crispy fries. Dogs welcome. Lots of space. And no queues. Great cafe. Highly recommend

Holker Hall heeft met dit café een prima plek voor een lichte maaltijd of koffie/thee voor (of na) een wandeling door de tuinen en het landgoed.

We were staying at local caravan park and decided to walk to this cafe for lunch. We were not disappointed. Both ordered a hot sandwich which was served with salad and coleslaw. It was a hot day so decided on cold drinks rather than a coffee. There is cold drinking water available which you can help yourself to. Food arrived within 10 minutes. We had our dog with us and the waiter very kindly brought the dog some much needed water and asked a couple of times during our visit if the dog needed any more water. The price wasnt too expensive. We dont mind paying a bit more if the food and service is good, which it was in this case. We would not hesitate to recommend.

Although very busy we had a very enjoyable meal here. My husband had scampi and said it was very good and I had venison sausage and mash which again was very tasty.

HolkerHallには広いキッチンガーデンがあり、そこで採れたフレッシュな材料が使われているようです。訪れた日は平日でしたが店内もテラス席も賑わっていました。時間の都合でドリンクだけですませました、食事もデザートも美味しそうでした。

A lovely Court yard greets you into the beautiful decorated larg airy cafe. Pleasant, helpful staff. Menu well set out and clear guide. Two lovely well presented meals. Cakes very good portions if a little expensive but worth it.

We called in for a cuppa, before visiting the house and gardens, and could not resist the hugh fresh scones. Felt as though they were straight out of the oven. Nice surroundings, both inside and outside. Good selection of cakes to be had

Extended family have a caravan /lodge 'next door' = ideal place as a base camp for us all. Post lunch we choose a) walk round the grounds, b) go round hall or c) neither and post eating go back to the caravan.Now due to being Vegan I normally have the soup, which isn't a problem as it is really nice! unless it's a scorching hot day and you want a 'something else' but more than just a cake. (just a basic salad or something along that line!)I also agree with the post/review stating "food over priced." FIRST time I went was looking forward to nice meal, saw prices and in the end just got a thing of chips! As I was with my mum and brother. She got soup, he sausage sandwich. As so we had a 'something' but all felt slightly 'deflated.' As we all wanted 'more' as it was our day/afternoon out! - so that's our meal choice - it's worked for us, but maybe branch out and think of Vegan stuff, or if not then Vegetarian!!Thankfully today you did provide free water for us which was a nice gesture :)

Visited the courtyard on many occasions especially during nice weather when it is a delight to sit outside with a coffe and cake, not a cheap experience. On this day we were having a sandwich and had decided on prawns and Marie Rose sauce and pulled shin of beef. On ordering we were told no bread only gluten free bread which we said we would have sandwiches came with salad and coleslaw all very nice just rather a lot of coleslaw(Normally only given a small amount in most places) Cost of sandwiches and a pot of tea for two came in at £16.50 a little high. After our food we visited the food shop which used to be quite good stocking lots of different items a little pricey for some things but good to look around. It appears to be lacking in stock at the moment maybe this is because it has only been open for a couple of weeks but could certainly do with more stock for the future.

What a beautiful courtyard when the sun is shining! A lovely selection of teas and cakes - although more could be done for lactose and gluten intolerance as gluten free people are a little bored of brownies!

We popped in specially for lunch here. We all had sandwiches which were lovely. The bread was fresh and the side salad delicious. We also had the cream and jam scones which were really good. Not cheap but very nice

Had a trip to Holker Hall today. After a walk in the garden and then the house popped into the courtyard cafe for a coffee. Service fine. After another walk round the park decided to have a spot of lunch. There was a fair size queue but moved along quickly enough. My husband got us a table which he had to clear himself of the previous occupiers of the tables leftovers. I ordered two soups. Half an hour later they still hadn't arrived at our table! Looking round the restaurant I could see that other customers were waiting for their meals too. Eventually arrived after my husband complained to the girl at desk. I would add that there were a few complaints at the same time. Waitress apologised to a customer and that they had run out of soup. Eh, what about customer service here. If they were running out of soup then why not say so. Unless you want just a cake and a coffee (which looked excellent by the way) which is easily served, don't go for anything which needs cooking. Shame as this really stacked up first time round.

Been a few times to Holker Hall , lovely place, gorgeous setting, expensive decor in restaurant totally spoilt by the terrible selection of food on offer and if you dare to ask the staff anything they don't seem to know anything or care at all , rare these days to encounter staff who seem to had no staff training , ordered just a coffee last time and it took ages to pay as the poor man in front waited five mins for his milk to arrive and then almost as long to pay, the staff did not care, such a shame as this place has great potential in a fantastic setting, spend some money on staff not just decor!

I recently visited the Courtyard Cafe and left having enjoyed a lovely Holler Burger and a beautifully made cappuccino. Would definitely recommend!

Caminamos hasta Holker Hall a tomar un café en el patio soleado. El café, un americano y un capuchino, eran los más caros que hemos tenido que pagar, y que vamos a tomar un café todos los días. El cappuccino sabor quemado para añadir insulto a la injuria. No nos llama para tomar café de nuevo.

Next to the Ilex restaurant and presumably being serviced by the same kitchen(?) is THE COURTYARD CAFE,

Holker cafe is quite large , with a decent menu and specials on the board

The coffee is excellent and although there are lots of dishes to chose from, my sister and I visited in the afternoon before exploring Holker Hall and gardens. We opted for a piece of Victoria sponge which was melt in the mouth delicious!!

Disfruta de una deliciosa comida, hasta que poco a algo que no debería haber estado allí. Afortunadamente no quebrar mi dientes, pero parece haber sido escondida a la ensalada. Un trozo de madera aparentemente - ver foto. El personal era de lo más disculpas y...

Visitamos este restaurante por primera vez este año, que está situado en un entorno encantador. Hemos comido aquí muchas veces antes, ya que está a mitad de camino en uno de nuestros paseos locales. Es bastante caro y yéndose para siempre cobra una prima especial de té. La comida es de buena calidad, y usualmente hay muchas opciones de tarta. El personal no era muy amable, el día de nuestra última visita, ya que se me preguntó acerca de la cuenta que no era correcto. Parece que se confunde entre precios y rebanadas de traybakes tarta.

Hoy visitamos el café mientras asistía a la feria de arte. Bollos y café encantador, pero el servicio deja mucho que desear. Fue muy lento y como si el personal no me importa menos. No es una sonrisa o amabilidad de nadie. Merece la pena destacar si piensas que el repetir las visitas tarjeta de fidelidad es sellada por transacción, así que si estás comprando 4 bebidas, ya que no sólo puedes conseguir uno de un sello. La próxima vez que todos estamos pagando por separado!

A decent enough smart eatery.The food was fine and the quantity was sufficient - for the price. Both hot and cold foods be on offer plus many choices of cake.Service be from the counter. The service provided being courteous enough.The choice of drinks was reasonable, apart from the choice of beers - there was none !Alcoholic beverages be served either by the glass (for wine) or bottle (for cider). There were no local micro real ales on sale - not even the more commonplace brews. That said, the food hall (shop) next door, does stock some of the former - why not the café ?The seating area be pleasant enough - inside or out. Staff were not slow to clear up after punters.The toilets were clean, neat and roomy enough - during a quieter time anyway.

Popped in for a quick cup of tea and scone.Scone was good but tea was on the cold side. Not so much that it had to be sent back but I suspect the cups they used were a little on the cold side which cooled down the water.Wouldn't stop us coming again but little things mean a lot.

Nice surrounds and a generally good day around the hall itself, lovely gardens and house but the cafeteria service was slow. For the money spent on the meals etc as well the quality was good but quantity not so much, overall good but as the title says good day out but the cafe can do better!

Called at the cafe on a glorious sunny day, sat outside and ordered a cream tea for two. We were not disappointed! For £19.95 we had choice of sandwiches, hot drinks, delicious scones with cream and jam...as well as 3 different cakes (lemon drizzle, fruit cake and homemade shortbread biscuits). We couldn't finish the cakes so were given a 'doggy bag' so we could enjoy them later. The service was excellent and the setting lovely. We could even take our dog as we sat outside. Highly recommended. This was far better quality and quantity than cream teas served at Betty's in Harrogate. Will definitely return.

This is a lovely place for tea and cakes.Our latest visit was enhanced by beautiful sunshine enabling us to enjoy our treats outside in their lovely courtyard area. The cakes are outstanding .......the only difficulty is trying to decide what to have!

Haben hier zweimal Kaffee bzw. Tee und Kuchen gehabt. Alles war hervorragend. Der handgefertigte Kuchen ist auf jeden Fall einen Besuch Wert.

After a lovely walk round the gardens and house at Holker Hall we decided to treat ourselves to lunch and as we perused the menu thought what the heck we'd go for the afternoon tea for two - well what a treat. When I saw it arriving I just had to giggle - a platter of sandwiches , sausage rolls,crisps and salad not to mention a cake stand groaning with goodies that included giant cream filled scones and enough treats to feed a family for a week . Well worth the money just make sure you are hungry when you order it.,

We had some of the freshest and tastiest scones we have ever eaten. Two were eaten with fresh cream and very tasty jam and one with cream and the nicest lemon curd I have had the joy of tasting. Friendly staff both in the cafe and outside made this a very enjoyable visit. The wheelchair access is also excellent.

I was attending the SSAFA Forces Help fun run. My husband and I called into the coffee at first for a cup of tea. The cakes looked amazing but I as I was working did not have time to sample them.On finishing work we had a late lunch - The Leek and Potato soup with crusty bread was excellent and dairy free. It is a pleasant place to have some food. Great customer service and very good value.A great place to visit and you do not have to park for parking.

We took my elderly nan out for morning coffee and cakes on Mothering Sunday and were not disappointed. The cakes were huge and absolutely delicious! I decided to take her back during the week for lunch as we had enjoyed it so much. I had soup and a sandwich which was, again, very tasty, but my poor old nan had a jacket potato that looked more like a shrivelled prune and a slice of quiche which was clearly not freshly baked. Perhaps I should have twigged when the server told me it was the last slice.... But even so, I expected it to look and taste a little more appealing than it did!

We often visit the cafe at Holker Hall. It has the most fantastic meringues. You can look around the food hall and gift shop and play on the park without any admission costs. Great.

Always visit the cafe when we come up to the Lake district. Very pleasant service, good value and food is good quality. Nice to sit outside when the sun shines, very peaceful place during the week.

We have visited the cafe on several occasions and always had good food.We like to sit in the courtyard when the weather allows - it is very pleasant.You can visit the cafe without going around the hall so no extra charge is involved.

We have visited on several occasions and always enjoy the pleasant, contemporary surroundings. The extensive menu offers a very good choice of excellent quality food.

We have been to this area three times and each time we make a point of visiting the cafe. There is a variety of excellent food and a great courtyard to sit out in surrounded by trees. Very peaceful surprisingly as it can have many visitors to the house and park.

We were travelling and realised we needed a late lunch so we parked in the large car park. There is an admission charge to the hall or to the gardens but no charge for entrance to the cafe and food shop. Seating is available inside or in the sunny covered courtyard. I had warm shrimps in butter and Diane had a crab salad. The tastes and presentation were wonderful.If I was in the area I would certainly return