Inn on the Park in St Albans

What a lovely place! First visit to St Albans for many years, great to find this café in the park. We will be back 😊

This was a very busy cafe on a Sunday. Very clean and welcoming. Good for hot drink and snack

Bit annoying that we travelled here for tea and cake and for child to enjoy park and for a walk. States online open until 5pm. Got here and shut, called number and they shut because of a bit of rain!

Cute cafe in the middle of the park, great after a walk around the lake. Great choice of cakes and coffee as well as hot food. Would definitely recommend!

Ridiculous to have a surcharge of 45p for non-dairy milk.

Nice coffee shop in the park. Good food and drink but the service can be quite slow when it's busy.

Good coffee. A nice place to grab a drink when out for a walk.

A nice little cafe in the park. A tad expensive perhaps for what you get? We had a southern fried chicken bap with coleslaw and that was £8.50. Excellent bap, but for that price I might have liked some salad with it.

Only popped in for tea, staff always nice..menu looks nice though

Saturday morning and its a coffee, dainish and a dog biscuit for me. 9am is the best time to arrive since all the silly people are doing the park run. No queues at this time unlike 9.25. Haha

Stopped off for a hot chocolate and a slice of lemon drizzle after a walk round the lake. The park is beautiful and worth a visit. Very busy cafe…queues were to the door. They were trying to close up ( it was about 3.30 and starting to get dark). Friendly staff, looking Christmassy and recommend the lemon drizzle

Only had a hot chocolate but it was very good on a cold day.

Good selection of cakes, ice-cream and drinks.

Lovely place, nice food, friendly staff. Highly recommend going here

A wide choice of cafe food, with indoor and outdoor seating. Great for kids.

Handy location for a quick snack / drink as it is very close to courts, playground and splash-park. Staff are friendly and the food is good.

Good place to visit for a quick stop. Didn't have anything other than a drink. Tried going before but always too busy. A good sign. Nice. Bit expensive

Nice Place to have a cup of coffee and enjoy with family.

It's ok but not special. Geared towards families and people with children. Breakfast dishes did not suit but made up a reasonable breakfast by buying several "extras".

Great spot to stop and chill with good tea coffee and lovely ice cream selection. Treats for the dog and wc too.

Nice cafe. Great service and staff,only criticism is one member of staff ( Looked like manager as was wearing normal clothes i.e no uniform was very unkept and to be honest didn't have the best hygiene not Great when handling food to be honest put me off a bit my husband didn't care but me and my daughter wasn't impressed lead by example some self pride doesn't take much hopefully when visit at end of year will improved as lovely little spot

This was our first visit for about 5 years. Oh this place has changed. The menu now resembles a typical greasy spoon and any atmosphere has grown legs and disappeared! This Inn occupies one of the best spots in St Albans - with a captive audience on tap. Unfortunately, the food and overall ambience leave a lot to be desired. We ordered two cooked breakfasts on a Sunday morning. The Inn was surprisingly empty, given the time of day and the sun was out. The food was well priced but the ingredients were incredibly poor. The egg scrambled eggs were microwaved, the beans were more sauce than beans and lacked flavour, and the sausage wasn't good. The 'ketchup' was as cheap as it comes - almost pink in colour and not edible. On the plus side though - the coffee was good :-). What could they do better? Have someone front of desk (on the tills) who greets the customers with a warm welcome (something that is lacking in many eateries these days!), reinstate the chalk board menus above the tills and get rid of the nasty table menus. Reinstate the jacket potato and salad options instead of the toasties - the table next to us weren't happy with their food either! Put a small vase with a flower on the table. Think about better lighting - the ambience is non-existent. It was, and could be again, a lovely place to visit and buy some food and coffee. Unfortunately, there are plenty of other places to eat in and around St Albans, that we won't be visiting here again.

Love this place ... a really handy little oasis in the park that saves a walk back into town for supplies.

Great location to grab a coffee. Felt a bit disappointed with what I ordered. Ordered a £2.20 cookie - my kid didn’t eat it. Wasn’t edible and didn’t taste like a cookie. More like a hard biscuit. And felt short changed on the vanilla latte, tasted nice but could have filled it to the top. Pot of sweet £1.20 Cookie £2.20 Iced vanilla latte £3.95 Spent £7.35

First time visit June 2023. Good set up. Busy. Fair prices.

Nice food and good service. Maybe space out tables a little but a welcome place to rest for a while after a long walk around Verulamium.

Expensive and low quality food, didn't provide what we ordered, and brought out food at different times. Had to get a refund as they messed up my order and we didn't want to wait another 30 minutes after everyone else had finished theirs for mine, so l left hungry... A bit rubbish really... also very tiny pots of tea (what's the point of a pot if it's no bigger than the cup?) Bring your own picnic and don't waste your time here

Expensive place for a plate of salad. Tasty, but a bit much for lunchtime meal in a park.

Lovely place with indoor and outdoor seating. Separate serving hatch so you can get drinks, ice creams and ice lollies without going inside.

Oh dear. I asked for a decaf, oat milk, mocha. I forgot to ask for it iced but the lady serving me said she’d change it for me. I waited my turn and saw them use cows milk and then the lady making it whisper to the lady that served me. When it was given to me I had to ask whether it was cows milk which she agreed it was, I said if asked for oat milk (due to an allergy). It was remade and once I sat down with my daughter realised they’d mixed it while cold (without dissolving the power first then adding ice and cold milk). You could still see powder at the bottom of the cup and taste the gritty powder. I went back inside and asked who was in charge today, the lady who served me said she was. I told her as above, I was first given cows milk and the second mocha was so gritty and I dissolved I couldn’t drink it. She told me that’s how it was meant to be. I had to stop her there & say mochas were not meant to be gritty & I’d like my money back. She agreed to this. I sat back outside so my daughter could finish her crisps and another woman who worked there was clearing a table was so miserable complaining of the mess other people had left saying “they have no respect. I would never let my children do this… when I have them”. Granted, it’s disrespectful to leave such mess but professional? No. More of a chat to be had in the kitchen. I was fed up at this point and decided my daughter could finish her crisps in her pram instead and walked to my car. Wouldn’t spend a penny in there next time.

Quick coffee in the park. Nice ginger cake,

Lovely cafe in the park. Service is a little slow when they are busy.

Met my friend here with my 12 week old baby, just for a drink because last time the food was awful. It was nearing closing time and when I went to change baby’s nappy, the walkway to the toilet had been blocked off by a mop bucket full of dirty water. I asked if I could just quickly change his bum and was told no, I’d have to do it on the floor of the disabled toilet as the ladies had now been cleaned. Told them how disgusting even the thought of that was and left and did in in my car instead. Very poor!

Such a gem in the middle of Verulamium park ! Lovely cafe , friendly staff, delicious food and great coffee ! Love that it is dog friendly , big plus for us , dog walkers. Keep doing what you are doing , you are all wonderful! Thank you 🙏

Lovely little cafe, but a bit small for the size of the park

My visit was during half term, so I expected it to be busy. However, a large queue on two consecutive days was not ideal. Surely an extra member of staff would have helped, knowing how busy this period is. Also, using the cashier to serve the ice creams was not ideal... she had to leave the till to go and make ice creams whilst people just stood in the queue waiting. This apart the food service was delivered quickly and was of a very good standard. Internally, the cafe was not looking at its best, but I note it was awaiting a new floor. The cafe has a massive plus point in that it's also dog friendly.

Food was very good and speedy service We ordered scones with cream and jam very nice indeed

Friendly staff, welcoming and laid back. Just popped in for a hot drink, so can't comment on food. Will return.

Waited 20 mins for an awful coffee...dont bother!

Disappointed - so much mud on the floors. Toilets shocking. Person was serving us then went off to help someone else with the coffee machine. Had to ask for sugar as couldn’t find any, then had to ask for a stirrer. 4 of us shared 2 Danish Pastries as that’s all they had. We then had to ask for small plates, serviettes & a knife to cut the pastries in half. The Park was lovely.

Took kids to park as was a lovely day and popped in for ice creams and coffees. The service was really slow, I had to remind staff about the ice creams we had ordered. The tables had not been cleared, we cleared it ourselves, and the floor had food all over it. The toilets were shut in half term?.... Not ideal with kids. Shame as been before, and it's been nice.

Lovely coffee, and very clean toilets,but everywhere else needs a good clean,and dog's should be outside.

Good coffee served,during your walk in Verulamium park

After a lovely walk around the lake, enjoyed a very nice hot coffee and breakfast bap. Good and varied menu.

Food didnt look or taste that good. But it was cooked to order and hot. Hard to find a clean table Service really slow and tbh too many dogs in there. Guide dogs only pls....all others outside.

The friendlies and loveliest staff ever. Trina is a gem !! I visit this cafe most days whilst walking my dog and this cafe is a highlight of our day , as I get a lovely coffee and the dogs get their treats . Family and dog friendly, great choice of food and snacks! Bacon bap is a must ! Lovely garden to enjoy in warmer weather . And they have my favourite Kelly’s ice cream ! If you are in St Albans and in Verulam Park , it’s definitely worth a visit !

Poor customer service. The server just walked off to stroke a dog as she was serving us! The chef wasn’t wearing a beard net, we also witnessed him stroke a dog and then handle food without washing his hands. Our food was average, toast came out with no butter, we had to ask for it…twice! Bacon undercooked. Such a disappointment

Rude staff. Huge queue and saying coffee orders for collection.. I asked to double check I wasn't waking anyone's else.. The reply "read the receipt yourself" and she walked off.. . Yeah great for someone partially blind in one eye

Went to this little cafe after visiting the Verulamium Museum and enjoyed a very nice lunch (enormous toasted sandwich!). The decor was rather dreary and we felt it could have looked nicer inside but overall we had a nice time.

Awful. 20 minute queue with one person serving. Watery, tasteless coffee and stale pastry. Avoid.

Really good food and coffee, right in the middle of the beautiful Verulamium Park. Been a here a few times and they never let us down. They make the kids anything that want - and are very friendly Clean and staff on hand if you need anything. Only marked down on price, it’s expensive - even charging 85p for a kids Babychinno , that’s a bit steep!

Terrible time management in regards to speed of taking and processing orders.

Queuing for far too long.. don't know if there is enough staff but half hour wait is normal

Nice food and coffee and lovely staff

Nice place. Well positioned. Coffee could be better though.

Handy location for a quick snack

Food is OK, rather over-priced much like a lot of places in St Albans

Lovely family day out at the Splash park, needed some cooling down and a toilet break unfortunately toilets were closed off so had to take a walk to the car park of which is another toilets... cafes Lovely kids portion of Slush unfortunately for my "ice"latte I ordered there was about 3 cubes of ice inside after which I had paid ... so it would be nice to be told I would need a ladder to drink my drink as it wasn't even full lol 😆 I was told it was so everyone can have some...it was also near end of the day so I'm not sure why so stingy it was nice nevertheless but would have been nicer if they was more considerate to a customer and asked if I'd like something else instead of ignoring a customers dissatisfaction.

Nice place to enjoy a cold drink and a sandwich while at the park. Not too pricey, room to sit outside on picnic tables or indoors. Probably could have had a few more sun umbrellas in the garden area, otherwise spot on. Would visit again.

This is a lovely traditional cafe with lots of different menu items. The Mrs and I went for a couple of breakfast baguettes and they were fully loaded and tasted great. The staff couldn't be more helpful and insisted on cleaning the outside table before we sat. That was a nice touch. The prices were really reasonable for the volume of food we got. Parking is free in the carpark for 2 hours if you buy food from here and get a QR code voucher for the exit machine. Overall... We're definitely coming back.

Great place to take our 3yo granddaughter, she loves it.

Ridiculously overpriced food for what you get - £8.50 for a sandwich the quality of which was pretty much exactly what you’d get in a petrol station. Their “fresh lemonade” tastes/smells like toilet cleaner, and the place was swarming with wasps without any kind of measures to prevent this like traps or quickly clearing plates. Only giving 2 stars instead of 1 because the chicken in their sandwich was at least proper chicken breast, but the bacon was like shoe leather.

Nice cheese and ham toastie, and a refreshing drink after a long walk.

Lovely food, great location, dog friendly. Stop there most weeks when out walking the dog to get a refreshment and bonio

Beautiful setting for tea and scones with friends.

Looks in need of a refurb. Otherwise drinks ok.

Lovely little place by the lakes. Food was nice and good price.

All very basic, pleasant seating. A little slow on producing our order. Coffee and pastries ok. Good to have this Caffe in the park.

Very friendly little cafe. Allow dogs as well, so if walking around the park with your pooch and fancy a drink or more you can do this in this lovely cafe. Seating outside as well for sunnier weather. Very accommodating.

Dog and kid-friendly. Cosy atmosphere. I had the breakfast bap and mint hot chocolate – both were delicious! Will definitely be coming back next time we take the kids to the playground.

Lots of choices on the menu, dog treats too, ice cream, coffee and different types of tea.

Hired the venue at inn on the park for my sisters baby shower and I was very impressed with the service we received and the welcome. Terri was very responsive, beyond helpful and lovely! The afternoon tea was delicious, bottomless tea and coffee. We even had someone gluten intolerant and they made her special cakes etc. Really recommend hiring the venue for small parties and gatherings. The service was amazing, I lost my camera lens and Terri even posted that to me as I was out of town. Thank you guys! 💜💜 will definitely consider inn on the park again.

Slow service with few patrons! The ambience feels like someone's garage cleared for a few tables, and "sorry dog lovers" dogs everywhere! This place can surely be a gold mine, someone need to shake it up.

It's a nice little spot for a quick cuppa and bite and I recommend the Baileys hot chocolate. The food is OK, but there could be more tlc put into the food prep. My goats cheese and spinach toastie looked like it had been prepped by a 5 year old. I know they are busy but you can't skimp on stuff in St Albans. Come for a cuppa and a piece of cake but maybe not a sarnie is my advice.

Good breakfast and coffee. Can get busy at times especially mid morning on Saturday with the park run.

Cute little cafe in the park, wasn't a lot of space inside so had to sit outside in the cold however the food was nice and the hot chocolate was very yummy, would recommend, the service and staff were great too.

Overpriced for starters, after waiting 10mins for 2 coffees that were both luke warm!! What was totally Disgusting was a staff member with face shield lifting it up then sneezing into her hands, then started lining the cups up by touching the inside and rim of paper cups without washing her hands!! Yet following the covid rules in shop, For customers the staff clearly do not. Or Have basic hygiene in mind when spreading germs via cross contamination to the public? Will not be returning after witnessing that and the fact NOTHING was wiped down , dogs in the cafe and tons of mud on floor , how is this place open ? Greed over safety???? Health & safety executive needs to pay them a visit as its shocking what they allowed to get away with! Public health & safety is paramount especially with covid pandemic. So staff member sneezing over cups and NOT washing her hands is despicable behaviour. 🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧 ☕☕☕☕☕☕☕ 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢

On a cold day after a walk around the pond it was similar to "ice cold in Alex". Breakfast bun and coffee. What more can a person need to warm up. Tables appart. One way system. Nice and safe.

I purchased two takeaway coffees. Really busy and had to queue for some time. Coffee was worth queueing for.

We were on a walk around the park, and decided that we would stop for a drink. When we arrive they were still preping the building (inc, cleaning the drains, which was unexpected). The staff were so engaging that when told they would be another 20 mins, we opted to walk some more and come back { normally we just walk on and find somewhere else}. It was more like 35 mins than 20, but there was a nice group of people to chat to while waiting. The place suffers from covid rules, the need to cordon off paths, screens etc, makes for a very unfriendly experience, which is a great shame, as the place looks welcoming. We had intended to buy drinks only, but the cakes were just shouting out eat me, and it would be rude to say no.. They tasted as good as the looked. The drinks had to be collected from a table, which was fine, but it would have been nicer if they had been delivered to the table. Overall, within the limits of Covid, I think they have done a good job, and we will go back for another visit.

Great place and staff-especially.

The location of this cafe and the building are not used to there full potential. The menu looked fine but on arrival we were disappointed by the lay out and ambience of the cafe. They are trying to maintain Covid safety which we understand but on entry you are faced with a hand sanitizer station that looks like somewhere where you would scrap plates. The food was good but the eating areas looked dull though it was clean. It needs a re design. May be it’s better in summer. Everything came with disposable recycled plates and cutlery.

It's supposed to close at 6pm but at 1720 they say the machine is closed already

Very different to my last visit years ago. We arrived about 4pm and realised it is now just a takeaway, with seats outside to sit at. There was only a board menu of which only one item was still available. There is a a long queue in a very untidy place with ropes keeping you in place, then after another long wait food items appear at a door outside. There is a separate place where drinks are dished out. I was given sticky toffee pudding in a cardboard box with a wooden spoon. The surroundings outside look very unappealing, untidy, with dirty tables and rubbish spilling out of bins, and lots of dogs and small children. It is not possible to sit inside any more where it used to be possible to find a quiet corner. The toilets were rather unspeakable. This seems like a place crying out for someone to pick it up, smarten it up, and make it more attractive and efficient, rather than run down and rather grotty.

Always friendly, always good food (maybe the best sausage sandwich in Herts?, lovely fresh croissants) and a really nice spot to have a pit-stop. Dog friendly too - I think everywhere is in St Albans! and our dog always has a biscuit from the jar here. The only small gripe stopping me giving this 5 stars is the number of times when it takes a bafflingly long time to get a cup of tea. Fair enough when there are lots of customers but I'm referring to the many times when I've been the ONLY customer first thing in the morning and it still takes 10 minutes. The last few times I've been my bacon bap has somehow been ready for collection BEFORE my partner's croissant (which is already in a cabinet by the till). But we keep going back - it's a lovely spot and usually plenty of space and seating.

we go here every week ! glad to see the hedge cut ! and the grass ! i believe health and safety allows for grass to be as long as 2 cms high ! so didn’t need cutting !! great staff ! have a laugh every sunday ! trina is a diamond and my dog belle loves her ! keep up the good work you’ve kept us going through all of this!!!

Lovely but they seem to have stopped doing cream teas. Ice creams great though.

Lovely place, fairly busy but plenty of room to sit outside. Dogs loved the doggy ice cream

WHY do you have to wait for so long trying to get a cup of coffee? I know Covid has been around but why has it made this café so slow? If you go to this café then take your bed while queuing., you will need it. Also too much litter left lying around café area, needs a regular clean. Could be a really nice area, situated in the Park which has been left to it's self these last few years. The Council seem so slow to do anything and it's starting to show around the whole Park and Town. The St Albans area seems to have taken a real hit these last few years. Litter everywhere, A huge amount of Fly tipping, grass/hedges not cut, getting quite run down and shabby for one of our famous old towns. The Council do need to up their game as some Councils seem to manage these items better.

My husband and I booked afternoon tea as we were visiting the nearby museum. We arrived early, but this was not a problem. We were shown into the Hideaway room, which was decorated with pretty bunting and fairy lights and was very quiet and peaceful baring in mind the cafe was very busy. We chose which tea we would like and was given a jug of iced water and our ordered prosecco. The food was very good, fresh dainty sandwiches, warm scones and homemade cakes, garnished with lovely tasty strawberries! We were checked on several times to see if we required top ups of tea or anything else by friendly staff. I would definitely recommend for an affordable treat.

Inn on the park is a great cafe in a lovely location. The staff are friendly and welcoming. Friends and I visit on our weekly walk with the dogs. They have a great selection of tasty food to eat in or takeaway. Great for the occasional breakfast. A bowl of water is always out for the dogs and Inn on the Park sell dog snacks too. As can be appreciated when wet grass has a lot of tread it gets very muddy but a new lawn has been laid which looks good and all the flower pots and hanging baskets around look lovely. Great place to stop for coffee, snack and a fantastic asset to the park. Fiona

Lovely to have this cafe on the doorstep. Staff working really hard in these extra busy times. Fab ice cream selection for those sunny days !!

Wonderful breakfast after a pretty wet dog walk. Great flat white, warm freshly baked croissant and lovely friendly staff. Very doggy friendly! The garden / outside space is wonderful. The owners have made a real effort - beautiful flowers and sensibly erected a canopy. Lovely...

I was really disappointed when we visited here today. I was with my wife, two boys under 6 and my mother in law. I bought a tuna sandwich and a ham sandwich. These were so basic in white bread and in plastic single use cartons....

Nice food bit pricey for a cafe but food nice

I was told of their appalling service before visiting this place on the following day. You can actually see staff members chit chatting, then you're expected to feel guilty for interrupting. This place needs competition to buck their ideas up. As a local, I wouldn't return.

Quite good for a stop.... the espresso does not taste good.

Great location, staff friendly all seating out doors..

Good measure in place for Covid but they dont sell water bottles

Having visited your restaurant coffee shop today 12.30 ish I was horrified at the amount of people turning away until I realised the queuing time I had to wait 39 minutes (the were only 5 others in front of me) to get 2 cups of...