Draycote Water - Waterside Restaurant in Rugby

Nice friendly cafe utterly spoilt by the hideous parking charges imposed; will not be returning (unless its a via a cross-country walk when car parking is not involved)

Great place for lunch beautiful views from the Cafe on the first floor

My friend and I booked in for an afternoon tea, and it was lovely, the sandwiches were tasty and the cakes were really nice. Definately go there again

We often pop in here if we go for a walk around Draycote Water. Usually for nothing more than a drink and a cake. Nice views out over the water from this upstairs restaurant. We had scones with jam and cream this time which were nice.

It's a little pricey for my liking, but it's nice.

Lovely restaurant, great food and customer service. As it's so nice it gets busy, so best to book to be sure of a table. Then walk your dinner off walking round the reservoir 🙂

I recently visited Draycote Water Café and, given how busy it was, I expected a bit of a wait. I ordered a sausage bap and a flapjack to take away, and while placing my order, the cashier informed me that there was a separate takeaway area. However, this wasn’t made obvious, and the way it was communicated felt quite rude, which was disappointing. After waiting around 10-15 minutes, a kind member of staff directed me to the takeaway section, where my bap had been sitting for some time. Despite this, the bap itself was enjoyable, though a bit dry, and cost around £4. Looking at the menu, I noticed that the fish finger sandwich was priced at around £13, but it didn’t appear particularly appetizing. The English breakfast also looked quite basic for its steep price. While I remember enjoying this café much more in the past, the current pricing versus portion size and quality seems a little unbalanced. I may give it another try in the future, but based on this experience, I feel the café could improve its service and better justify its higher prices.

Popped in to the restaurant after taking a walk around the reservoir for a hot drink and to warm up. We had a pot of tea to share between two. Both cups, saucers and tea pots came out dirty and stained. All looked like they hadn’t been washed at all. I asked for a new teapot due to how bad the first one was and the staff member was rude and abrupt towards me. The second pot wasn’t much better at all, if not worse than the first one.

It's absolutely no service there, we had been waiting for 25 mins for the cafe to open. It should be open at 10 am on a Sunday. A person walked out of the door, slammed it with force ( obviously a café worker), looked at us as we were a neusence, didn't say a word about the cafe opening. So at 10:05 the doors were still locked 🔒. We didn't get a coffee 😔☕ or any service unfortunately for us.

Draycote water has a new car park payment system which is good and easy to use,and cheap enough if you're just going for a walk or taking the kids to the park. But I feel if you visit the new leaf restaurant/cafe and purchase meals and drinks then maybe you should get a concession on your parking. Good choice on the menu and reasonably priced, lovely atmosphere very clean and friendly staff

Lovely airy restaurant with views over Draycote water.

Lovely location above the reservoir looking across to Thurlestone with its converted windmill now a private residence. Serves drinks and snacks breakfast jacket spuds pannini sandwiches afternoon tea etc. Can get busy worth booking at lunch times, not much outdoor seating in the sun by the entrance, or in the shade on the balcony ..

Excellent food at reasonable prices. Staff helpful and considerent

Cafe that relies entirely on the views and not the quality of the food. Hit chocolate is made with water, chicken sandwich was tough and looked steamed not grilled, chips not cooked. Don't make the trip here for the cafe.

Food was ok Staff could do with being more courteous. One was quite rude and the other was disinterested. When we asked for a clean cup, my other half was in the queue and sarcastic remarks were made about how we wanted a clean cup

Bit expensive but nice after a 5 mile walk. Coffee and a cake

Lots of good options and despite the restaurant being packed, our food came out extremely quickly.

Visit often, this time for walk around Draycote followed by 3 course Xmas lunch. £24.95 for 3 courses. Very good lunch, nice atmosphere.

I would advise against going to this, not a child friendly place. I was in tears after my visit to the cafe today thanks to discriminatory behaviour from staff. I am toilet training my 2 year old currently and when he shows signs I have to be very quick getting him on the potty otherwise he will have an accident. I put him on the potty before going into the cafe however half way through our visit here I suddenly started showing signs, to get to the children’s toilet I would have needed to walk through the cafe (very long room) and down some flights of stairs and I knew by this time he would have wet himself and so to save spillage on the floor I discretely put him on the travel potty that I had in a corner, angling my body in front of him to hide this from view. He did a small wee in the potty with no odour and I immediately shut the potty which seals completely. However I was then told my staff there that there had been a complaint about this and that I should use the toilets downstairs. I was absolutely mortified and I felt like the worse mum ever. Should I have let my child wet himself and cause spillage on the floor? I’d needed to get out of the house for an hour for my own mental health but I left mortified. How can the cafe hold things aimed at toddlers and children and then not be supportive of mums? Disgusting.

I am here to watch a race. The first race starts at 10.00. There are loads of people booking in. Its cold and wet. Ur us 9.00. And the cafe doesn't open until 10.00! Why? Why haven't you got other catering in if the cafe doesn't want to open? I've been to loads if these events and there is always catering before the event! Madness! Linda Barratt

Having been to many of the local reservoirs and cafés, this remains one of the best. The café has a good selection of food, prepared freshly, promptly and tastes good. The staff are friendly and some other local cafés could do with sending their staff here to see how it should be done! The reservoir itself has paved walkways all the way round meaning its accessible for everyone. The entire route is open again meaning you can now do the full lap which is a great walk The only thing that let's it down is the cleanliness of the toilets. Doesn't matter when I've been, they have always been disgusting..

Lovely views good food staff are always friendly

Lovely location Nice restaurant

Lovely hotel and restaurant, plenty of parking and an overflow carpark. Clean, comfy and wonderful staff

Lovely views over the reservoir, great food - better than the average cafe with plenty of options for those with specific dietary needs, lots of local info. Great facilities for all including disabled. Very friendly and attentive staff

Popped in for a hot drink after cycling around Draycote Water, Cappuccino was lovely and the staff were really friendly, will definitely return.

We tried to have refreshments here on Friday 20 Sep at 4:20 pm, having checked their own website which said open until 5 pm. This was also clearly displayed on the door...which was firmly shut. What's the point of publishing opening times if they don't stick to them? Pathetic. Didn't even have the courtesy to put anything in the window to say "closing early" for whatever reason. So they probably operate like this all the time. Appalling customer service. Doesn't deserve to succeed, hopefully someone professional will take over instead.

It was all nice and cozy, and the staff was very polite. The only problem is the cappuccino and iced coffees. The taste of coffee is nowhere. It is like drinking plain water. Maybe it is time to buy proper coffee machines. This is my second visit, and I received plain water and paid for iced coffee/ cappuccino.

Helpful and friendly staff price's are reasonable and the food is good and they have a takeaway area

Lovely place to stop for a mid ride bacon butty.

Perfect stop after a walk around the water

Lovely place for a walk and lunch

Nice cafe do some delicious cakes and coffee worth a visit

Takeaway section totally unprepared for lunchtime. Sold us a pizza which we were subsequently told they didn’t have to sell. Asked for a sausage roll, told it would take 15-20 minutes to heat up because the kitchen was busy because it was lunchtime. Staff openly bickering in front of customers and unhelpful despite clearly having two hungry children with us.

Nice food but bit pricey. Excellent service. But toilets only downstairs.

Nice little escape place to walk with a coffee shop. For I think it is 3.50 2h charge to park by car and free for motorbikes. They have contactless payments there too. Nice place to visited for sure!

Amazing cream scones. They had extremely good service and everything looked really good. There was a huddle of people waiting before 10 and as it opened everyone went up and there was an amazing atmosphere.

Came here for the first time for lunch, food was okay, panini bread tasted like it was frozen and not fresh and chips didn’t really have any taste, staff were very friendly and it’s a nice place just a shame the food is average.

The place looks nice! However, the staff were not pleasant! The first time I came here was on a very early Sunday morning when the place had just opened, I wanted to have an ice loly and drink outside on the balcony but couldn’t because I was told this was part of the restaurant (at time in the morning seats were empty, which there were many of!). A bit disappointed because it was actually my birthday but hey that’s the rules and I’ll go with it. The second time… I called in advance to check the closing times of the car park and explained I wanted to come down and was worried I may get trapped in at 6:30pm. The lady on the phone was very short and so uninterested in my call that I felt brushed off… she said that she thinks it will be fine. So down I came 👀 arriving to the cafe at 5:27pm… to be told they’re closing the restaurant and cafe! This is a weird time to close. Surely you could have let me buy an ice loly at least in this 27 degree heat within I assume your last 3 mins of being open. Very bad communication. I don’t usually leave bad reviews but felt so disappointed by these encounters, I had to voice this so they can hopefully improve. :(

Pleasant and clean, always good for coffee and cake after a walk round the reservoir

A good base before you walk the reservoir.

Very nice to explore side walk. Good views, Nice restaurant serve food and drinks. Can visit with friends and family.

I order a grilled chicken burger and it was horrible The chicken was boiled not grilled at all and it was old the bacon inside was old as well.the bun 5 days old I hot some ham and cheese panini and it was ok The milkshake was terrible Just milk and some cherry syrup and it was warm as well.

Nice little restaurant, this was my first time visiting, It was good, I have docked a star on food and service which I will explain below. We came as part of my wife's birthday celebrations for lunch, mainly because we saw the picture of the cream scones and both of us were craving a cream tea. I am disabled and use a mobility scooter so we checked the website to make sure it was accessible as we knew it was upstairs and saw there was a lift. Unfortunately when we got there or was out of order, had we known we probably would have gone elsewhere but we decided to stay and I got myself up the stairs slowly and carefully, there was note to say ask for assistance if needed but we managed, thats why I docked a star on service. Food wise we had Paninis which were great, came with Tortilla chips and salad which was a lovely light lunch and reasonably priced as well. The only slight disappointment was the scones, they looked amazing but were quite dry, not the best scones, the jam and cream were spot on and fresh but the scone let it down a bit. To be honest I think it may have been how they are stored after being prepared in an open cabinet, we may have had one that was sitting for a while as we came well after opening. These things won't put us off coming again though, it's a lovely little restaurant with good friendly staff, the view over the reservoir was great and on a nicer day it would be amazing to sit outside on the balcony. We will be back but may leave it a while so the lift has a chance to get fixed.

I took my mum for afternoon tea and everyone was so kind and attentive. It’s such a lovely place to visit and have a snack or a meal with a reservoir view.

Our 1st visit here. Lovely weather and walk. We stopped off for a bite to eat service, which was excellent .

What a great place to cycle round whilst bird watching. We had paninis, which were delicious and affordable. A very large selection of cakes/biscuits to keep you going after a wonderful bike ride. Will revisit soon for sure.

I had better food at my local food back

Does appear someone deleted my review. What a nice walk around with a pram. Borrowed some little man as mine have grown up. Coffee and breakfast. I do think if you do breakfast it should be a proper one, regaurdless of the price. To me it's really about the walk and the flys.

Reasonably priced food with a great view across the water. Can get vey busy especially in the summer.

3 o’clock breakfast! always happy when I see it on the menu 😀

Nice for a coffee and a bacon butty after a walk in the rain round the lake.

Went there for coffee, the staff were super friendly, the coffee was good. £6.10 for a black coffee and a cappuccino, so reasonably priced, and £5 for all day parking - which seems a bit steep during the week especially in winter. The selection of pastries and cakes looked pretty appetising and the food seemed reasonable priced, but I tried neither. But I have an excuse to visit again. The view of the reservoir from the restaurant is pretty stunning. Next time I'll

A true gem. Great walk, great restaurant and ice-cream shop. You can buy bags of duck and goose food to feed the fowl down by the launch. And there's 🦙 LLAMAS 🦙!!!!

Nine of us met up here as we had a birthday in the family.It was good that we could book .food was really good and staff as always were so friendly and helpful

Tried the hot chocolate... It was delicious... I recommend you try it

A great little cafe to go after a nice walk around Draycote Water. The staff are friendly and attentive and the cakes were tasty.

Lovely place for a coffee and cake … and feeding the ducks with their own duck food.

Reasonable menu, fair value for money. Friendly and efficient service. Not dog friendly. Limited outside seating.

A nice place to stop for lunch, with plenty of convenient parking.

Affordable good quality food with great views over the water. A perfect stop for lunch after a brisk walk

Discovered this place due to work, I have only moved to the Midlands recently from London. Absolutely love it here, dog walkers, joggers, cyclists, calm waters and plenty of wildlife in their natural habitat, it's a place to come to for mental clarity, feed the ducks & go for a walk. Absolutely blissful and wonderful place.

We came here for the first time having come for a walk and we were really hungry! We used the lift to get upstairs which was quite honestly terrifying, only to find out you can enter via the slope at the top The ladies were so nice and made sure we had a good table with our buggy. Way more choice then we thought I had a jacket potato with cheese and tuna My husband a burger, food was nice, burger quite expensive but it did look good when it came and the chips, salad and onion rings were yummy Service was brilliant very quick and friendly There is lots of adverts for organised events and walks etc.

My first time here and despite the heat ( was hoping to have a walk round) we sat on the balcony with a drink and enjoyed the views.

To be fair, the breakfast was of good quality, but for the money it's awful value. Nearly £28 for 2 breakfast and 2 coffee's is extortionate. And that is after you pay £3 to park. No wonder it was empty. Also, the facade on the balcony is in desperate need of a good clean.

Lovely food and good choices on the menu. Great service and atmosphere. Staff are very friendly and helpful

Nice place for a day out. The child's play area is newish and looks good. Restaurant was clean and tidy with pleasant staff. Annoyingly there was a lot of tiny black flies that cut our walk about short. Will return when the weather is better.🌞 Nice walk today. Pity even blue badge holders have to pay. Don't be so tight STW at least give us a discount 😳

We had a breakfast wrap each with extra hash browns. We also had a scone and took home a brownie. The breakfast wrap was nice, good quality meat and cheese used. We would order this again if we are in the area again. The scone was okay, a little stale but not too bad. Not sure on the brownie until we have it later. We spent £29. Unfortunately, there was an influx of wasps and my partner is allergic. The staff had covered most of the cakes on display with cling film. One came towards us and was frantically flying around. So, we swiftly left, luckily after eating most of the food. We went on a dreary day and sat inside, but it was still nice to be near to the water.

We had a family party here, The range of food was good and there was a large choice of drinks. The restaurant is bright and clean. The staff were helpful and friendly. We then went for a nice walk round the reservoir.

Absolutely loved the afternoon tea. A beautiful place with nice food, play area and good walk by waterside.

We come here regularly and they always have a lovely selection of cakes and hot drinks. We went for breakfast and sat out on the balcony overlooking the resivioir. The breakfast wrap was very tasty!

Lovely friendly staff. Nothing too much trouble. Quick service. Good tasty food. Highly recommend with scenic views and walks a bonus.

Ate here recently for the Fathers Day breakfast special but have eaten here many times previously. We chose a table on the outside balcony which gives a great view over the reservoir (where you can watch the dinghy racing and fishermen) and surrounding countryside. The food is always nicely cooked & presented and service is friendly. Prices are reasonable, especially given the scenic location. They also have an extensive gluten free menu which friends have used and said is also good quality.

A great place for a snack, or even a whole meal, after your walk around Draycote Water! I popped in for a brownie and a drink, and it did not disappoint!

Decent pit stop after some fresh air around the reservoir. Food is ok, some quirky drinks too, hadn’t had dandelion and burdock in ages! Price seemed a little high for what’s on offer, and as for obtaining some tomato ketchup - that’s almost mission impossible!

Lovely Well Made Food,At Reasonable Prices Given The Outlook Over The Reservoir.

Poor signposting to state the path loop is not possible around the entire reservoir. It was literally the last 20% or so, but you either backtrack on yourself or take a huge diversion into the surrounding villages and risk walking on the busy road. So you're in for a long walk back. Check the website before you travel. Else, expect the inconvenience.

Very tasty paninis and amazing cakes!

The restaurant is entirely non-smoking, both indoors and outdoors (terrace seating, balcony seating). The meal was quite delicious while enjoying the fresh air.

Nice cafe with good views of the reservoir. But they need far more vegan options. Firstly, customers should not be expected to ask for the vegan menu - the vegan menus should be prominently displayed and available with all other menus. There need to be far more vegan cakes and snacks available - a vegan flapjack is not sufficient. Plenty of the cakes, scones and pastries can and should be converted to a fully vegan/plant-based recipe.

Recently refurbished its now a nice place for coffee or a bite to eat. Lovely views out over the water.

Took my dad here and he loved it staff were very kind and helpful bit pricey but lovely for a special treat.

Nice home made cakes to have with tea.... Good menu

Very nice place for the whole family

Have been here many times & never been disappointed. Came this Sunday & they had a large selection of delicious freshly made cakes, as per usual. Staff very friendly & attentive, even when the restaurant is busy. Great place for a post-run cuppa & scone!

Awesome location to hike, run, bike, sail, fish, paddle or to checkout the wildlife. Spacious cafe with a bubbly atmosphere, great views, super friendly staff and good snacks for the after run refuel.

Afternoon tea. Lovely fresh sandwiches, beautiful scones, delicious cakes. Our waitress, Ella was delightful. She was friendly, smiley and nothing was too much trouble for her. The rest of the staff were cheerful and very efficient. A very enjoyable 80th birthday treat for a dear friend.

A little bit expensive What chocolate was disgusting Is more like Moody water But coffee was good

Lovely place for a Sunday lunch. We've had a turkey roast and it was lovely. Service can be a little bit slow but that's only because it is so so busy constantly which is understandable

Ni e place for coffee and cake during your walk

Staff are always really friendly, and the coffee and homemade cakes are great.

Had soup of the day and a coffe. Friendly staff and good views.

Great place for a snack lunch and lovely walk along the water watching the birds

Been a few times. Food very tasty we only had tea and cake. View was nice. The service was great

Was very busy when I visited and there were no tables free. Ended up getting a sandwich & eating outside. I really wanted something more substantial. However, food is normally decent and lovely views over the reservoir. Good before or after a walk.

Made a very good stop after a lovely walk round the reservoir. Well presented and tasty meal.

This is great for coffee and snack or a meal. Great after a walk or just drop in for food with friends. Open all year round. Very very busy from now until New Year.

Thoroughly Enjoyable. Food very good.

Always good service, good cakes and meals. Reasonable price. Nice views

First visit. Absolutely beautiful place. Hope to return back some day