Fresher's Cafe in South Lakeland

What a gem! The service was nothing but great! Really friendly and welcoming. My partner and I had full breakfasts which were really nice. While waiting the waiter popped over to show off a freshly baked quiche. Couldn't resist and ordered a sliced to go. Once ready to pay we have spotted all the lovely cakes on display. Couldn't resist either and got couple to t/a. Amazing!!! Lemon drizzle 😍 I would love an option for hash brown with my breakfast, but that's because on top of cakes I love potatoes ;) Hash browns or not its a must visit when around Ambleside!!! Also coffee is yum!

Lovely breakfast and attentive friendly staff well worth a visit if your in ambleside

Stopped here for a hot drink. Chap very warming and made space for us as there 8! Brother in law 'tested' their breakfast quiche. Piece he received was more than enough for 2 people and apparently was delicious 😋

We travel extensively and eat scones wherever we go. Honestly, the scones here are the the best we've ever had! Don't even get me started on the quiche...droooollll...😋

We travel extensively and eat scones wherever we go. Honestly, the scones here are the the best we've ever had! Don't even get me started on the quiche...droooollll...😋

Popped in this afternoon after a bike ride for a coffee and cake. The first waiter in his late 20s very friendly and accommodating. Then an older guy maybe in his 60s came out to take our order. Had a good bit of banter with him and made our trip memorable. Thanks.

Popped in this afternoon after a bike ride for a coffee and cake. The first waiter in his late 20s very friendly and accommodating. Then an older guy maybe in his 60s came out to take our order. Had a good bit of banter with him and made our trip memorable. Thanks.

Visited here twice for breakfast during our recent week on holiday in Ambleside and we found it to be absolutely excellent. Very good ingredients, freshly cooked to order and reasonably priced. Recommended 😊👍

Always greeted with a friendly welcome,lovely coffee and cake.

Excellent quality food and service, can get busy as all the food is cooked to order. But it’s well worth the wait, Best breakfast in Ambleside

Had passed by this place a few times on way into Ambleside and thought of giving it a try. So on my final day in the lakes I thought a hearty breakfast was just the thing before a 400+ mile drive, staff very friendly and accommodating inside was small but has outside tables also, it's as close to a greasy spoon as you are going to get outside of the city and in a tourist area, That said the price for breakfast as lovely as it was about £10+ with tea n toast is a bit much but I suppose I'm used to the workmans greasy spoon. I kinda expected the price seeing as where I was in the country so its not a complaint. The food was delicious and I would go again. Just 1 thing..... No 2 things please offer tinned tomatoes as an option instead of a 1/4 of a real one and black puddings and hash browns. These things are a staple of an English breakfast and would make the price worth every penny.

Stunning quiche. Delicious cake. Big pot of tea. Happy, friendly staff. Excellent value. We left very happy indeed and will be back soon for more of the same. Maybe even today...

Fantastic full English breakfast and wonderful service. Perfect cosy stop on a rainy walk through Ambleside. Definitely worth a visit

Called at this cafe on Saturday 24th august, having a bowel disability and desperate, I was greeted by a member of male staff, I told him I had a disability and asked if I could use the facilities, to which he replied, no I’m sorry but if you would like to make a purchase from the pie company next door I could probably use theres or walk further up the road and use the public ones, I informed him I couldn’t make it that far and was still turned down!! I would of been more than happy to pay for a drink or so to use the facility, I felt embarrased talking about my disability and having to explain myself especially as it was infront of customers, embarrassed and feeling degraded i left, absolutley shameful!

Small cafe, very busy, lovely staff, great food, nice outside area if weather is nice. Would recommend 👍

Nice food but the older gentleman seating and taking orders was I thought really rude, basically asked if we wanted to sit in doors/ outdoors...all the outside tables were taken so we decided the only option was to sit in, it was very hot inside so before our order came we asked to move to a vacant table outside....well, he agreed to move us then continued to give us a lecture on how 'he doesn't do that' and 'next time you come, remember that... We felt that we were back in school and well and truly told off.... customer service 0 from us and definitely won't go back ! The rest of the staff we interacted with were lovely.....I know it's annoying wanting to move tables, but sort your attitude out !!

Where do I start. I could write a book about our brilliant experience here. 1) The waiter that served us - very knowledgeable and helpful and set a lovely tone to our late lunch/ early dinner. 2) The portion sizes were outstanding! 3) The flavour, freshness and quality was brilliant. 4) The cake selection was a different ballgame. Some traditional cakes and some unique flavours. 5) The price. Very Very reasonably priced. I would've been happy paying 30% more than I did for the proportion, quality and taste of the food. Was absolutely outstanding!

really friendly staff, loved the man who showed of the freshly made quiches! food was nice, and fresh! however with the sandwich on the menu it states a “handful of crisps” as a side, i didn’t realise it meant 5 singular crisps😅

It's near one of the main car parks which we used, we were hungry and it was in the right place at the right time. So glad we went in for lunch. Only had toast, beans, mushrooms and fried egg but it was lovely with the mushrooms dry as we like them. Staff very friendly and they brought over their house special, home made quiche for us to see. Looked amazing so we took away a few (large) slices to have for lunch the next day. Tasted even better than it looked, both meat & vegetarian options. We'll be going back next time we're in Ambleside. Update, Christmas Eve 2022. Enjoyed our last few visits so much we decided to have Christmas Eve breakfast here. As good as our last visits, beans, egg & mushrooms on toast with the nicest mushroom we've had in a long time. Got some scones & Christmas cake to take away. Aug 2024. Still as good as ever and the Breakfast quiche looked very tasty.

Quiche highly recommended. Best place for lunch in Ambleside

This is by far the loveliest host I’ve ever met. Coffees are spot on, quality of the breakfast is everything you hope for and you must try the homemade cakes ( if you can’t fit it in, take it away for you hike later, promise you won’t regret it).

Once again fabulous freshly made quiche and friendly service

Been very carefull of this business the ower Paul ask me to take my clothes off and turn around looking at my body ,, this has upset in many ways and talking to them they pass it off like nothing has happen I can say much about them but I find it very hard to. Plz stay away from them

Lovely breakfast and excellent selection of freshly baked quiches! Service was great and very reasonable prices. Will be coming again!

Busy when we visited with a long wait for food (which we were warned about) but it was worth it- quality ingredients, good coffee, excellent cake.

Rude waiter, very slow service Such an arrogant and was slow that old man who was serving us. There was a racism. Took so long for two dishes We spent 1.5 hours just to have breakfast They need to understand tourist needs quick service

I highly recommend this cafe!! It was very busy when we arrived but the owner was very honest and clear about how long the wait for a table would be, and gave us menus so we could order before being seated. Really knowledgeable about gluten free options, and extremely friendly! The cooked breakfast was delicious, and they have such an amazing and extensive selection of cakes that we couldn't resist all ordering one to go - all were delicious. Couldn't fault our visit and would go here every day if we could!

We were very pleased with the service and food (the veggie quiche in particular - one of the best we have had) when we stopped for a late lunch. The staff were friendly and attentive and the prices reasonable, certainly good value for money. We will be back.

Visited this quaint little cafe earlier in the year for drinks and HAD to come back for more. They advertise themselves as the first and friendliest cafe in town and they DO NOT DISAPPOINT!!! The service was incredibly friendly and the food was delicious. The server clearly shows the portion size that you get on the quiche and you clearly know what you are getting. Michael (the server) was incredibly helpful and just a lovely human being. Amazing cafe, will definitely be coming back ❤️

Excellent coffee and a good price too. As with all successful cafés it can get busy. Nice selection of cakes. Dropped a star as, being a local, I felt the service was too touristy... Wait to be seated, sit here type of thing rather than restful and laid back. But that's not to detract from the café and we will definately be back.

Visited this little gem of a place just a couple of weeks ago with another group of walkers who were absolutely left jaws open on the service received for example couldn't do enough for them, nothing was any trouble, never visited a place with such good service and the food lovely. So I returned today happy to see them so busy, was told my wait for food was 40 mins proceeded to be seated at 1015 approx hour an half later my breakfast turned up with a genuine apology no problem honestly was nice to sit and wait and to see how busy this small cafe was bearing in mind all food is prepared fresh I seriously didn't have an issue So advice when busy expect to wait and it will be worth it definitely pay them a visit I'll continue telling my passengers to keep popping in rare you get a lovely personal cafe like this now

Friendly staff that seem to really enjoy what they do. There can sometimes be a bit of a wait for food, but we always prefer that things are cooked to order and things are consistent. Absolutely fantastic food and hot drinks. The large cappuccino I had was smooth and served at the right temperature (not piping hot & not lukewarm). The food was absolutely delicious and very reasonably priced. They have a great selection of breakfast options - we had the veggie breakfast that was very nice. It is the perfect kind of food that you need after being out and about hiking, biking, or running. We always love coming back to this place when we’re visiting the Lakes. It is by far one of the best cafes we’ve tried.

Found this after a 15mile walk from Gt. Langdale, very welcome stop and a place I will go back again. Really pleasant welcome and great coffee. The cakes are all fresh and tasty and you even get a mat to sit on outside incase the bench has been rained on. Great value and highly recommended.

Was looking forward to our annual weekend away with friends. Especially going to Freshers Cafe. Visited 3 times over the weekend. Beautiful Breakfast on both mornings. But my favourite are the Quiche’s they are Delicious. The staff are great fun and friendly. Thanks very much Freshers.

Based on other TA reviews we called here today for a spot of lunch. A very warm welcome for is both and our dog Ruby and although inside was full we were fine to sit outside. Whilst looking at the menu the very friendly waiter brought out a quiche straight from the oven that looked fabulous so my husband chose that and I had the Thai butternut squash soup that came with a hot crusty roll and butter. My husband said it was the best quiche he had ever had!! I tasted it and it was delicious..My soup was fabulous- just the right amount of spice/ heat. Freshers you are doing great and we look forward to our next visit- thank you 😊

The hura coffee was cold!! Otherwise it was fine.

Food and coffee fine - staff were awesome!

Excellent service! Quiche to die for!!

Great little cafe and friendly staff, can get busy

My second time here. The Freshly baked scone with cream and blackberry jam is to die for. Will always come back here every time I visit the lake district.

We love going to Fresher's. The staff are all amazing and so welcoming and helpful and the food is delicious (especially the quiche and the scones) with very generous servings. We visit most times we come up to Ambleside and have never been disappointed. Today we shared a piece of breakfast quiche, the picture is my half of it. Our toddler loves coming too, and whenever we've come with a dog, they've been very welcome too. I don't know if I wish it was closer to home, or glad it's sufficiently far away that I can't be in every week!

Lovely little cafe. I stopped for lunch and had an amazing homemade soup. The staff were super friendly and happy to chat. Dogs are welcome inside and outside. Highly recommended.

Charming cafe with incredibly welcoming staff. I wasn’t such a fan of my biscoff blondie but that was probably a poor choice on my part. I had regrets seeing the scones going past.

Visited today 7.6.2024. Just for refreshments and we were tempted by the cakes. If it had been lunchtime or we were looking for brunch we would have tried the freshly baked, amazing looking and wonderful smelling Breakfast Quiche. Love to visit whenever in the Ambleside area.

We had a lovely time eating (in the outdoor area) here; our waitress (Lucy) was friendly, attentive and cheerful. My husband enjoyed the full English breakfast whereas I chose the 'Breakfast Quiche' (served with salad) which was absolutely delicious! This was topped off with coffee and Victoria Sponge cake and Tiffin respectively... the latter proved too filling for me so when I went inside to pay, another lady offered me some tin foil to wrap it up in to take away! Super service and would definitely recommend this place 🤗 Thank you very much!

Quite simply the most gorgeous quiche I've ever had! Friendly and welcoming service.

Fab little café! Great hospitality, would recommend!

Our party of nine, including children and dog, arrived late afternoon on a rainy Bank Holiday Sunday. We were warmly welcomed, made comfortable and speedily provided with wonderful cakes and nine different drinks. The entire staff went out of their way to ensure we enjoyed our refreshments stop. We appreciated their warmth and charm as well as the quality of the food and drinks, at very reasonable prices. The savoury food and soups also looked tempting, so we will certainly visit again.

Absolutely banging quiche 🤤 lovely staff, super helpful with the baby and accomodating of our large group and dog. I will be coming back!

Such a lovely place for breakfast in Ambleside, the food was amazing, the staff were friendly and welcoming. Most importantly… LOOK AT THIS BREAKFAST QUICHE!! A must visit!

Very friendly and helpful staff, great quiche, and cakes. Dog friendly, seating inside and outside. Brilliant service from everyone 👏 👍

Lovely food, amazingly friendly and helpful service and a beautiful setting.

Definitely best coffee we've tasted in a long time. Strong and served hot. Very nice flapjack too!. Thank you

Lovely cafe . Gorgeous bakes. Parking may be an issue as not obviously there or around. We couldn't stay as a result.

We came here with a party of 8, didn't accept cash so we went to stiles cafe just up the road which accepted cash, the food was amazing and the kids got ice cream. Win, win. So not only did freshers loose out to over £100 they give another cafe there customers going forward.

Excellent service from staff who were all friendly, polite and attentive. The regular all day breakfast was superb and kept me from feeling hungry for about eight hours. How's that for value for money? And don't forget the coffee. Probably the nicest cup of coffee I have ever had - anywhere! All enjoyed in a great location with a wonderful atmosphere. I will definitely be returning and sooner rather than later. Photo. As fresh as it gets! Straight out of the oven. This "All Day Breakfast in a Quiche" seems like a good idea. Too big for my backpack today but noted for future reference.

Jacob is a fantastic host and makes you feel very welcome. Outstanding service and the breakfast quiche is incredible. A must visit in the Lakes.

Excellent service and food. The breakfast quiche is sensational and the service from Jacob and his team fantastic. We came back 2 days in a row.

Lovely food. All homemade. Excellent coffee and all very reasonably priced. Friendly staff. What's not to love?

Very friendly staff. We sat outside in the rain under the umbrella as our dog was wet and muddy and didn’t want to take her inside. They said we were more than welcome anyway a number of times. We were not left out by any means they kept coming out to make sure we were ok and got everything we needed. Food was lovely just what we needed. We would highly recommend to anyone. Thank you for making us feel so welcome!

Very tasty food, excellent service, and very friendly staff, it's well worth a visit.

What a great little place! The home made soup was amazing and the selection of cakes made it hard for our son to pick. Service was friendly and fast and a big thank you to owner (I think) for chasing after us after I had left a bag behind.

The sign says friendliest cafe and that truly is the case. You feel welcomed as soon as you walk in the door. The food, coffee and service are all exceptional.

Wonderfully warm welcome, lots of happy staff and customers. Can get really busy and can get a little tight on space, but it’s a great place to stop and eat or grab a drink.

Lovely cafe. Fantastic food and service

Very delicious coffee & quiche. Lovely friendly service too

Always good service and the best quiche in Cumbria 🥰

Great food at a reasonable price, staff were super friendly. - The chocolate Orange cappuccino guy

I would give 6 stars for customers service if i could ! Everything was perfect and so friendlly.

For the most excellent, fresh, home made quiches go no further than Freshers. Had the most wonderful Quiche Lorraine to supplement our Easter tea and it was such a treat, enjoyed by all! Thank you Jacob for your kind assistance!

Exceptional service. Great food. Lots of dogs!

Super nice people and nice place!

Absolutely brilliant service! We ordered lunches for 2 days food was brilliant really good value for money and the cakes were fab ! Perfect lunch for hikers

What a pleasure. The people are absolutely wonderful, and the food meets that standard. There's a real family atmosphere. We got a full English and a breakfast bap. We asked for the bacon do be well done, and for the fried eggs to be flipped for a second to make sure the yolks were perfect. They did it all with a smile. They treated our dog like royalty, and gave up their time to tell us everything about all 12 cakes for which their 91-year-old matriarch was largely responsible. The next time I'm in Ambleside I'll make a beeline for Freshers Cafe, for sure.

The food was ok, i had a BLT sandwich the bacon was very fatty so i had to dismantle the sandwich to take this off but no hardship. It is table service, and the people there seemed very friendly

Lovely food , charming service and atmosphere 😊Xx

This place is a little gem. The food is great and the staff can’t do too much to make you feel welcome. We bought some wonderful cakes to take home for the grandchildren and they not only wrapped them to keep them fresh but also wrote a lovely message on the box for the children. Five stars we will definitely be back again.

If you don't get the quiche you will have some serious regret

Claims to be the friendliest place in Ambleside...I dare say it probably is. Food was excellent and the staff were wonderful! Just above and beyond in every way. This place is the way hospitality should be!

The perfect cafe! Wonderful cooked breakfasts, excellent coffee and mouthwatering homemade cakes. A fabulous warm and friendly place with great service.

Fabulous food - ginger cake is divine. Lovely staff too. Thank you.

Absolutely fantastic cafe. Great staff, always very friendly & the food is always delicious. Love the full breakfast. Best cafe in Ambleside by a mile

Best place to have breakfast in Ambleside, staff are amazing, food is good and prices are good. I lived in Ambleside for three years and loved this place.

Fantastic full English, lovely staff.

Don't usually get up to Ambleside much, what a gem of a place, service as it should be like very reasonable prices food and drinks, others should take note of this place, we will be back 😎👍

What can I say about Fresher's Cafe! Its so rare these days that you visit anywhere that far exceeds your expectations! But Fresher's does just that. If I could rate this place 6 stars I would. Everything is excellent. Food, service, customer care, product quality, and staff all first class. I didn't catch the guys name who served us, but I'm guessing he was the owner. He could teach just about every other restaurant and service industry a lesson in how things should be done correctly. He deserves all the success in the world. We had the breakfast quiche which was superb. Wish I was more local, because I can't wait to go back.

Great food, really good selection and super-friendly staff. So good we visited for breakfast and lunch on the same day. Thank you!

Definitely the friendliest cafe in town! Food was delicious & the staff were all lovely... accommodating to dietary requirements as well ☕️🍲😊

Best breakfast in Ambleside,friendly,dog friendly…we filled up before walking up loughrigg and it kept us going. Our dog was spoiled.

Amazing quiche! Great service. Lovely place.

Amazing full English breakfast, the homemade scones were absolutely beautiful. The food was 10/10 and the service from the guy at front of house (sorry we didn’t manage to get your name) was exceptional! Thank you so much for looking after us.

This is one of those cafes where the staff know the names of all the locals who walk in the door, and there were quite a few locals there, which is always a good sign in a tourist town. Super friendly and attentive service, a great cup of coffee and some fantastic homemade cakes. I need to try some of the freshly made savory pies next time I visit.

Staff were excellent We had a gluten free youngest with us and everyone was so helpful. Phil

High recommended, tasty food and friendly atmosphere

This is my first time visiting Ambleside. We had just gotten a cruise on the lake, and my two friends and I were very hungry. My friend found this place when we were booking activities. As soon as you step in, everyone says hi to you, you get shown to a table. Extra tables added if needed. The staff of the cafe are all friendly and helpful with great customer service. With full table service. They do offer takeout also. The atmosphere of the place was warm and welcoming. With homemade decorations. You get told about the menue, the soup and the quich. They show a lot of pride in their food. Which shows in the quality. The qauility is oustanding! They could probably get away with charging 5x more than what they already charge. It is amazingly cheap for the quality of the food, which is very surprising. I decided to go with the breakfast full english quich, with side salad and beans. Im not a massive fan of colslaw, but this colslaw was so fresh that I actually found myself enjoying it. The quich itself, It looked amazing when the gentleman brought it to the table to show us. I was enticed and so glad I chose to go with the Quich! It was full of flavour that complented each other well whilst keeping that traditional quich taste. My friends enjoyed their food also. Selection of drinks was fair and again at a good price. I brought a vanilla milkshake with cream, and it was amazing! Full of flavour and fresh. They have a wide selection of different cakes, which are all homemade. The taste of the coffee cake was sublime. When we made the cake order, they came out and sung happy birthday without being planned to my friend cause it was his birthday. Definitely would come again, 10/10 5 star!

Great place for a full English breakfast

Very good food, good price. Fabulous and friendly service. Would recommend the full breakfast. No complaints at all. 🥰

What a fantastic little cafe! Popped in for a breakfast butty and a coffee around lunch time. Wasn't sure if they'd still be serving them but delighted to find out they cook them fresh all day. One of the best butties I've had, and I'm a tradesman! Coffee and cake were top notch too. Lovely ambience, very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Will certainly be back when I'm working in the area!

Excellent service and excellent quality outstanding

I should have written this review when I first came here a small number of years ago. I was reminded to do so by my visit today. The quality of the food is outstanding, and it is freshly cooked (no microwave reheating as with many competitors in town). Everyone will have their favourites. Mine are the breakfast baps, I’ve not tasted better, and available all day. That plus the fresh cakes and homemade soup make it special. Good value too. The service is superb. It’s a family business, and it shows - they care and can’t do enough for you. Too many alternatives in Ambleside are simply not good enough, and others which are longer-standing rest on their laurels. Not mentioning any names! You’ll figure it out. Walk a few hundred yards further and you won’t be disappointed.