Gatehouse Coffee in York

Great opportunity for a drink and toilet stop when doing walls walk. Amazing to sit up top on a sunny day. The fact it’s all housed inside this old building is incredible.

What an amazing hidden gem. We were walking the length of the city walls and come across this. Don’t be afraid to explore and enjoy both the roof and the Barbican through a hidden door. Staff are more than happy to chat too.

Very good coffee and cakes, helpful staff

Surrounded by history,over 3 floors,great seating,great atmosphere.

Excellent coffee and friendly staff. All in the amazing Walmgate Bar barbican. Definitely worth a visit if walking the city walls or otherwise just fancy a coffee.

You just can't miss this coffee shop it's on the wall which ever way you walk the wall, you'll come across it, but it does matter which way you walk how far it is from wherever you start enjoy the walk

Its taken me years to finally come here - and I wondered what took me so long. Very characterful building in the old walls gatehouse, and on the roof you can sit out in the sun on top of the gatehouse. The inside room is a bit special too for the chillier or wetter days. Seemed to be full of American voices for some reason. Just a shame its on the less attractive side of the walls (immediately surrounding buildings aren't the nicest area of York being post-war 20th century buildings and on other side there is a busy road). So the roof doesn't present as good a view as you might hope, but its still pretty cool to be sat on an old gatehouse rooftop. They did me a long black even though it wasn't on the menu, but I prefer the coffee at other York locations (VI, Dark Espresso, Biga+, Alma, Stam and Maria, Spark etc).

Fantastic barista, friendly staff, wonderful specialty coffee, amazing scones in such a cool environment- loved it!!

Lovely and quaint cafe, clearly popular and very welcoming! Love the building and how it's located on the wall of York!! Highly recommend!

Friendly staff. Up a set of stairs.

Great place for a coffee with fresh scone on your walls walk tour :)

This is a lovely spot that feels like a hidden treasure nestled within the York city walls. Just a short 10 minute walk from the shambles, this atmospheric cafe has welcoming staff, terrific tea and tasty toasties! The staff were very kind, going above and beyond to make sure my Yorkshire tea was extra strong, just how I like it! Would highly recommend.

Excellent coffee and a wonderful quirky venue. Would be great if they accepted cash payments instead of only card for a coffee but all the same - really great place to stop off walking along the York wall.

Great coffee shop in the Gatehouse.

I've seen this building thousands of time, whilst sitting in traffic. Decided we needed to visit, and so pleased we did.. Chatted to owner, very friendly, and very welcoming. Explained how he came to own the Coffee shop and problems associated with such an old building. Great coffee and good selection of " Sweet treats " Invited us to visit outside seating. We'll revisit on a dry sunny day to experience it.

This place is a must visit for visitors to York! A nice little cafe with fantastic ambience in a historic gatehouse. Even the toilet is adorable. Outdoor seating is available if the weather is nice and even a cosy fireplace seating area inside for when it's vile out.

Excellent strong espresso (served with a glass of water without having to ask.) Service took a while, but it was worth the wait. Lovely opportunity to sit and enjoy an ancient building.

A beautiful spot, with the nicest staff.. definitely worth a visit..

Popped in on a very wet Monday whilst walking the city walls Made very welcome by the owner. Highly recommended to visit. Outdoor area perfect on a sunny day to sit out.

Delightful historical cafe inside the walls. Delicious food and a calming atmosphere! A little chilly today on the battlement roof but wonderful views. A must for anyone visiting the walls.

Just love this place. Quirky, friendly staff and great vibe.

We only dropped in for a coffee. Plenty of space upstairs, excellent service from polite and attentive staff. Would definitely go again

Didn't get any food so unable to rate it. The service was amazing, the atmosphere was warm and welcoming, you could even sit outside on the wall if it was full.

Great wee coffee house in historic wall. Over different levels including outside terrace.

Lovely cozy cafe. Had a very yummy Chai latte😌

Good food. Nice open-air seating area on the roof and around the battlements. If its cold weather, recommend making sure you're wrapped up warm.

Fab place for coffee and a sandwich visited last week and left my phone the guys kept it for me till I could return ….. so relived ! Thanks again x Ps your landline goes straight to answer phone don’t know if you realise .

Excellent service on a quiet Saturday, stunning place to have a coffee, great coffee and scones, amazing views from the top of the gatehouse , and some stunning artwork for sale x 🙌💕🥰

BEST COFFEE SHOP IN YORK! Lovely atmosphere, friendly workers and great specialty coffee. A must stop on a visit to york, or great place to hang if you live in or around the city. Located right on the historic city walls. Definitely a hidden gem!

Had plans to help a friend shoot a short film here but they changed their minds on us and refused filming one day before due to the script implying a new relationship between 2 women. I cannot willingly support an establishment who discriminates against people just for loving who they want to love.

This coffee shop is truly a hidden gem. Set in the Roman barbican, it is probably the best location for a coffee shop I have ever seen. The shop is tastefully decorated and the warm atmosphere is perfect for relaxing with a friend and chatting. The tray cakes were delicious and the drinks were executed beautifully. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I will definitely return soon.

Lovely building, limited food, excellent hot drinks but will remember in future to ask for extra hot as was made drinkable temperature, a tad too cool for me 😊

Excellent place to stop during the wall walk. Great coffee and cakes, with very friendly staff.

Nice coffee lovely place but staff were miserable I wouldn’t go back.

Great coffee but people serving were really miserable and unhappy, the man and woman serving need to cheer up a bit !

Visited this on our last day in York and so glad we did. The coffee was fantastic and the place is incredible with its medieval history. There are multiple levels and each area is incredible. We had coffee daily on our vacation and this place was my favorite coffee shop of all that we visited.

Best almond matcha latte I have had so far, would recommend! 🍵

Great building but unfriendly staff and mediocre coffee

An incredibly cosy little coffee shop within the walls, very popular with tourists and unsurprisingly as it is beautiful inside and on the terraces. A nice selection of coffees with small sweets available as well, definitely somewhere to visit when in York.

Great spot to enjoy excellent coffee and pastries, indoors or outdoors; all within the walls of historic Walmgate Bar. Loved that you can actually see the original medieval gate structure, and original exposed stone walls. Plenty seating space, whether you prefer to stay cozy indoors or al fresco. Friendly staff, reasonable prices. This is a “must visit” in York. Highly recommended.

What an amazing venue to sell coffee and the coffee was some of the best out there. So why the score then? During my experience I felt that I was in the way, an inconvenient consequence of them selling coffee and clearly interrupting the engagement with friends that appeared to pop in for catch-up. There is nothing wrong with being social however when customers feel burdensome I think it’s a time to reflect. Of course this could be a one-off so why not give it a chance?

Great to see the towers being used. Gatehouse Coffee is fantastically atmospheric actually being in the tower and having a portcullis as one of the walls. There is also an upstairs terrace which is great. There was a nice welcome and the coffee was made quickly and was nice.

I've driven almost 250 miles to sample a coffee served in a unique place. Its one of the gates or 'bars' in York. It's situated in walmgate bar which is one of the gates to the city centre, and roughly about 10 15-minute walk from the centre of city. The coffee served here is from a London Manchester based coffee roaster called allpress, which I've drank many times before and is considered to be quite good. If you fancy a change from the chain coffee shops and have a hot drink in such a unique place then I recommend coming here, that's if you can climb steps.

Oh my gosh! We literally had coffee and the best desserts ever in a castle gate! What a fun adventure!!!

Fresh, herby Focaccia bread with the added bonus of beautiful filling. (I could have eaten the bread by itself.) Lovely, fresh and hot. Complemented our Ginger beer very well. Great service. Excellent stop on our wall walk.

A lovely gem of a place to find and exactly right time when we needed a drink

Gatehouse is my favourite cafe in the whole of York.

I had an excellent coffee here while walking the city wall. Well worth the stop

This is a fantastic location for a cafe , the view from the top is great, the interior steeped in history, the coffee and cakes are good but sadly despite the photos and reviews they “haven’t done food since COVID lockdown”, haven’t bothered to put that on their review page, their website is ‘brewing’ , their phone is disconnected so you can’t enquire ( I tried) . The people behind me also wanted food , same long winded response, In these difficult times I wonder about some businesses thinking

Happened to pass by late yesterday afternoon for a coffee in what looked like a nice location. Unfortunately it was near 4pm and they were closing - fair enough. We were only there for a coffee and when one is outside there are no signs saying that the place is run by a church and/or that you will subject to the full on Jehovahs Witness-style relentless attack from the fundamentalists there within. Be particularly aware of the six foot Christian poster boy with the pearly teeth, Jesus beard and the kind of glazed-eye demeanour that only the truly idiotic possess. This clown accosted us on our way out with his well-rehearsed banal pleasantries and proceeded to spout drivel about his delusions, despite my making it very clear immediately that I had no interest in religion or his half-witted interpretation of it. After five minutes of rolling our eyeballs around the roof of our head, we finally managed to escape this clown prince of stupidity and get on with enjoying the rest of our day in York, which was strangely what we were therefore and NOT to hear a childlike adult bend our ear with his lunacy. Please avoid at all costs - unless you too are also looking for some quick fix to the fairytale afterlife.

Love this little cafe. Had no idea it even existed as it's built inside an arch way of the York walls. Friendly service, rustic decor and good food. I will be back

Cafe inside one of the towers on the wall in York. Choice of seating indoors or out on the roof or wall. Cakes homemade and the lemon and blueberry cake is one of the best cakes I've had! Staff very friendly and clean toilet!

This place is so cute, it's one of my favourite places to go and sit for a couple of hours to do some work. It's also a great place for first dates! Adorable and the food/drinks are decent, not too expensive.

Great coffee and cake in amazing location on the city walls

Lovely place great staff ideally situated on the wall for a pit stop and lovely clean toilets . And the terrace on the roof beautiful spot for a cuppa and a cake 🍰

Great place to stop for a drink when walking the city walls. Friendly and helpful staff and good coffee.

A hidden gem, the best coffee in York.

Amazing location and a wonderful cafe with lovely staff, highly recommend!

This place is a true gem in terms of the venue ❤️ However, if you are tall and curvy you might struggle a little bit to get through tiny door, steep and narrow stairs, nevertheless this place is so cool

Such an unusual place to have a cafe but so worth the climb. Fabulous tea cakes and views from the outdoor seating areas. Amazing.

Absolutely great coffee, and an even better location. Absolutely awesome location, plenty of cosy room inside and then two different outside areas to choose from. Either the roof terrace with 360 views of York or on the barbican walls themselves.

A unique and historic coffee shop with excellent quality. A special mention to the person behind the counter yesterday (Sligo!) Extremely friendly and pleasant, made the visit even better than it usually is!

We came across this place by chance whilst walking the walls but it can also be accessed from the street (Walmgate). The cafe is located inside one of the gates (towers) and, like many historical places in York, access is a little tricky with steps and small doors but I’m 6’ tall and had no issues whatsoever. The coffee shop is quite charming and so relaxing to just chill and have a drink. There are also cakes too. My wife and I only had soft drinks from bottles but we observed the coffees being prepared with barista flourishes. There are lots of seats outside too. Our favourite area was upstairs above the entrance. It was very homely. We did have a little wait to be served but the ambiance of the cafe inside a historical tower more than made up for this.

Great place in unique position, coffee spot on

Cool coffee shop in an historic gatehouse, so great vibes. Delicious hot drinks and a good spot for reading, working, or catching up with friends. We love coming here!

York has some wonderful, quirky coffee houses and this one does not disappoint. I had a delicious raspberry and white chocolate blondie and much needed cup of tea in this friendly coffee shop on the walls

Very nice place for a coffe , the staff are very kind and the atmosphere is amazing . The only thing i dont recommend there is the bakery and food bites

It has a wonderfully unique experience being high on the walls with a somewhat medieval feel. Except everything feels incredibly current and the range of food and drink completely divine. I sat outside on the terrace and enjoyed the sunshine. The soup of the day was wonderful and a pot of tea was exactly what was needed. A perfect place for a pitstop on a walk of the walls or just if you happen to be in the Walmgate area.

Gorgeous flat white and so delicious dirty chai latte. Highly recommended place!!!

It is amazing. The atmosphere is like you are going back in time. It is also warm but if you prefer to eat outside with a view you can eat on the top! The prices are very reasonable. Would highly recommend.

Such a hidden gem, definitely don't miss out on the lovely seating upstairs!

Cannot like this place enough, absolutely love it here!

Lovely spot hidden in a unique area with amazing coffe and stunning area to enjoy it

I appear to be in the minority with my review, perhaps I caught them on an off day? This place is in a great location right in the old bar and for that it's worth a look, however I was let down by the quality and price. First off you stand in a tiny area in a big queue to be served, if you are on your own you then go in search of hopefully finding a seat. Coffee was good, not great and seemed quite expensive. There's a lack of eating options (cake and few scones only) I chose a cheese scone. Bizarrely it had olives in it (I hate olives), it was stodgy and not at all nice (even with the olives picked out). It came with two tiny pre wrapped cold as ice butters, I hate this why not just butter the scone for your customers? Result was a messy affair with no butter spreading just lumps. The furniture is a mish mash I was sat on a squishy leather chair with a really low coffee table and it was full of folk on laptops, no atmosphere, no chit chat. All the tables needed clearing and good wipe, it felt mucky. Wouldn't return.

Of the cafes in the walls of York, this one is the best. You can't beat the view and atmosphere of this coffee shop! There are a ton of places to sit inside and out. The rooftop is especially nice on a day with pleasant weather. We had hot chocolates and a biscoff brownie and both were delicious. The staff was very friendly. We hope to visit again when in York.

Excellent coffee, cake, service and surroundings. Perfect 👌!

This serves nice coffee with other treats on offer. What sets is apart is the use of the old gatehouse and the setting on the city walls. Well worth visiting for that alone.

Cute cafe! Had a delicious brownie and americano. There are more tables than I expected. Spacious.

Unexpected find along the walls of York, with delicious coffee and a fabulous atmosphere. Climb up the stairs to the mid floor or into the roof. Team are welcoming and friendly - and the American head barista is exceptionally skilled.

One of my favourite coffee shops in York. Great location and wonderfully atmospheric inside - feels like sitting in history! Tasty cakes and drink options, ans friendly staff are rhe cherry on the coffee shop cake.

We chanced upon Gatehouse Coffee whilst we were walking the York City Walls. We had reached a point where we were wondering whether to go and look for a coffee or give up on our walk and there was Gatehouse Coffee right in front of us actually part of the walls. The coffee was really good and we were able to sit outside in the sun to enjoy it. Refreshed we carried on along the walls!

Had some lovely soup on the upper terrace. Terrific! An ideal spot on the city walls.

Definitely worth checking out for its fantastic location. Just don’t expect much from their coffee. Go to the top of the gate and enjoy the beautiful view.

Superb chai latte and cozy atmosphere.

Very iconic cafe in the heart of York. I loved their location and their decorations are fantastic. You can sit on the roof and enjoy the view from up there. Their coffee is so tasty and staff are so nice

Cooky little coffee shop, staff are welcoming and the place is really very cool. Outside seating on the roof or over the bridge.

Unfortunately we only discovered this cafe on our last day in York or we would have returned for another visit. The Gatehouse is the perfect location to relax over coffee and cake and take in the history of the building. There are comfy sofas for lounging and lots of outside seating in a unique setting. I could happily have spent all day drinking coffee here.

Great little coffee shop, an excellent way to use such a historic building. Friendly staff happy for us to have a look around before we even bought anything. People were sat out on the barbican having a coffee, pretty cool. Credit must go to whoever opened up this impressive gate as a cafe. One thing I will say is that there are some awkward steps here, owing to the age.

One of the best independent coffee shops in York . The middle and roof top coffee areas made the experience worthy of five stars

My absolute favourite coffee place in york. Super friendly staff who are happy to have a conversation if they’re not busy, and they make a delicious and perfectly well balanced flat white: rich and full-bodied, but not too bitter or too acidic. Plus, their cozy atmosphere is perfect for sitting down with a good book and a good coffee.

Great coffee and cake. Nice to sit out on the wall and watch the world go by

Lovely coffee and the biscoff brownie is very tasty. The staff are very friendly and easy to talk to.

We enjoyed a short break at this cafe before walking along the York Walls. The coffee and service was great. It was a warm day and the inside of the cafe was cool. We also sampled some pastries which were very good too. An unexpected find.

Great little gem tucked away in the city walls! If it’s not too hot outside you can enjoy their 2 terraces, otherwise their 2 indoor seating areas which are absolutely lovely. Medieval ambiance + amazing coffee! Their affogato is really nice as well!

Nice stop on the walk around the walls. Good coffee and tea, and the cinnamon rolls went down very well with my daughter. Would definitely recommend a stop here... Just watch your head!

Stopped for refreshments whilst walking the walls. Good cuppa and a top notch cinnamon bun. Interesting building too, nice to see historic building being used

Really nice to have coffee in the historic wall of York. I wish they had a wider selection of snacks though.

Unique coffee shop built within and on top of the old gateway. Very good coffee!

The perfect little stop off while you're making your way around the York walls. A well deserved cup of tea or something stronger can be found here with a cozy friendly atmosphere.

We were walking clockwise around the old city walls of York and came across this lovely place located in Walmgate Bar (Gate). On one floor you order your drinks and snacks quietly so as not to disturb the many young people (students?) starring into the laptops, tablets & Smartphones. It reminded me a bit of the atmosphere in those Starbucks where young people come to do their work and make a small coffee last all day... Anyway, we ordered our drinks which included an excellent coffee espresso frappe & made our way to the roof top area. Climbing the ancient, narrow stairs with a handful of glasses isn't so easy for the less sprightly customers (like me). But I made it without spilling too much... From the top you have a nice view of the surroundings. Oh, and the toilet on the 1st floor is an experience in itself. Tiny and with gaps between the old window frame and the thick set walls which would let in a gale. Fortunately it was hot on the day of our visit so the medieval air conditioning/air refreshment functionality was most welcome.