Mallard Cafe in York - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Nice staff, lovely food but ridiculously overpriced. I appreciate this is a touristic place and therefore prices will be hiked up a little, but that was over the top. Almost £4 for a slice of cake ?!

Really nice to sit and have a break from looking at all the amazing exhibits but not be tucked away from everything. Lots of space. The cafe is in the big shed and had a fair selection of snacks and drinks.

Scone was stale. Coffee decent. Found seating. Sandwich was good. But nothing recovers a cafe that sells stale food…..

We visited Mallard Café whilst in the National Railway museum (NRM) with our grandson on a midweek day during the October school half term break. The term ‘café; is a bit of an understatement as being located in the ‘Great Hall’, the visitor is surrounded by icons of Great Britain’s railway heritage including the record breaking steam locomotive ‘Mallard’. The café has a good amount of seating and with tables well-spaced on the day of our visit. The café serves a good variety of hot and cold drinks and snacks and there are toilets also available in the Great Hall should you need them. We used the café twice during our visit to the museum, purchasing drinks to complement the packed lunch we had brought. Being in the museum, prices are slightly higher than average but if the proceeds go to maintaining the marvellous collection of railway artefacts in the NRM then it is in a good cause. Being in a large building usually busy with people, a visit here is not an intimate experience but then the clientele are presumably museum visitors stopping for a pit stop and in that respect the surroundings are very interesting and thought provoking.

A good area as you are say among the trains. Nice staff and lovely coffee. Some of the family had snacks which were expensive but thats how it is in tourist spots. Enjoyed it and would do it again

Ate here for lunch while visiting. friendly staff meals can be expensive but there is no choice unless you take a picnic

The cafe provides a welcome break halfway through a visit to the Railway museum especially if you have a young family who have tired you out dashing from one exhibit to another

It was very busy, noisy and not very comfortable or clean. we bought a ready made baguette (part baked roll, pretty sure it had not been baked) filling was okay, some crisps and tea, wouldn't want to pay out for the expensive meals on offer with such basic seating and comfort.

We took a break from the trains to have coffee & soft drinks and a scone etc. We were pretty early and it wasn't too busy yet.10.30ish. The staff were very patient with our 'make your mind up' grandkids. The coffee and 'cakes' were deemed excellent value and the whole area was very clean and tidy.

This cafe is great place to eat and drink,they serve great food and beverages all day at reasonable prices and the surroundings are stunning.

In my review of the NRM I said the the food was Yum this is where we ate, very nice very tasty and the staff were so polite.

This cafe is a perfect place to rest your legs whilst meandering around the museum. We only stopped for a coffee which, ok, a bit pricey, but very convenient.

This is well placed in the North Shed. There is plenty of room to move about and lots of tables and chairs. Because it’s not tucked away, you can sit and admire the wonderful engines and carriages on display here and view right down the hall to the winding engine at the further end. Attractive, tempting cakes!

The was a lot better than I expected service was very good and friendly and a good choice of food, which was warm and well cooked.

Had a bite to eat while exploring the railway museum. Great sandwiches, awesome location. Lots of seating and plenty of items to choose from.

The Mallard Café is a pleasant space in the National Railway Museum but it is expensive - if you think that £1.95 is a bit rich for a bottle of water and £3.10 for a small slice of Rocky Road. Although we got to the café early for lunch (around 12.20) we were told that two of the (very limited) advertised lunch options would not be ready for an hour or so.

We treated ourselves to lunch but wish we hadn’t - my husband had pizza which was just slapped on a plate with no trimmings, I had jacket potato with cheese and beans, the potato was dry and the skin tough, the topping was poor, it did come with salad though. 2 teas and it was over £14, poor value for money.

Ate here fort he first time on my last trip to the railway museum and have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It was your normal cafe food but with a twist because there were lots of great sides like spiced pulled pork for the jacket potato's and their were some great pizza topping so overall a thumbs up for me. It is nothing amazing but the food is still good.

lovely staff, lovely food. staff allowed us to use facilities for our packed lunch.

Surrounded by the Royal train carriages and other rail memorobilia this felt just like a cafe should in days gone by . Big mug of tea was good value and our food tasty

We had some food here whilst visiting the museum and really enjoyed the atmosphere. The tables and chairs are situated near the railway engines and carriages - a perfect place to sit and people watch. We had sausage rolls - delicious but expensive, lattes and the raspberry and chocolate flapjack. Food was good if not a little on the high price side and there was a lack of serving staff for some reason. All in all a very pleasant way to have lunch. Would go again

Had lunch in interesting surroundings. Food quality was good and staff ewere all very helpful in a tight space full of customers. It is very good.

Had a coffee here and a hot sandwich. Quick service, nice place to sit for a short break. Food was fine and not too expensive.

Hot fresh coffee on a cold day, and friendly, attentive staff.A great place to put your feet up for a little while.

Not of a standard to be expected at a National Museum. Limited choice and only average quality eg poor soup and unimaginative sandwiches, with tea in paper cups. Missed opportunities to shine. The Station Hall Cafe was better for our morning coffee and cake and better value.

My husband and I visited the NRM in York on 28th December, so it was busy as you'd expect. At lunchtime we struggled to get a table so my husband and baby girl waited until they found one, whilst my young son and I queued for food. By the time we reached the till it was apparent I couldn't carry the two trays needed for our food and drink. We were kindly offered help from the café manager who got us knives and forks etc, allowed our combination of meals through the till as a meal deal (saving me money) and carried one of our trays to the table my husband had found. This is above and beyond the service found in most places and was really appreciated.

Verzorgd eten en drinken, ruime keuze aan redelijke prijzen. Leuk decor met die oude treinen op de achtergrond.

A cafe with plenty of seats, cleaned regularly and children friendly family groups no problem. The drinks are quite expensive, 2 coffees cost us £6. I sat looking towards the Mallard and the "Countess of Monmouth" in its new paint livery...!!! the view doesn't get any better. Definitely need a refreshing drink to keep on with the tour.

It's lovely to sit amid the trains and enjoy the vast selection of tempting lunches and cakes. Rally good value and very much enjoyed.

They did varied meals and snacks, we had sandwiches 2 sandwiches and 2 teas = £11 nicely packed but the choices were limited ok if you like cheese.

Lovely food which is not over expensive in what I would say are lovely surroundings, couldn't fault it, staff were helpful the tables and area very clean, thank you.

Stopped here for a drink whilst visiting the National Railway Museum. The Cafe offers a good range of snacks, sandwiches and drinks. Set in the Great Hall of the NRM, close to Mallard and the Duchess of Hamilton, you can continue to appreciate the exhibits whilst taking a break from seeing the many attractions here

Set in The Great Hall in The Railway Museum it was an ideal place to rest and eat, surrounded by trains from many ages. The prices were steep but were higher in other parts of the museum. Considering that there was no admission charge as such to get into the museum one can't complain.

Brilliant sausage rolls, great pizza, plenty of seating, lovely staff and great value for money. Really enjoyed it.

A great find in a great museum. We had a lovely lunchtime snack and drink here having seen enough of the locos. The food was made on the premises; simple but tasty and well presented. Lots of cafes inside big museums serve anodyne and overpriced food as it's a captive market. Not here though. We could see they provided nice little sandwiches for children (lots of those around) and the home made cakes on offer looked very appetising. The friendly staff were coping well with serving people quickly and our bill was very reasonable. Tables are set out with views of the engines and railway paraphernalia. A welcome find which we recommend.

The café is located in the Great Hall and is fine for a quick cup of tea and a piece of cake but a bit basic. You get your teabag and hot water and take it to an adjoin table to prepare and there are the inevitable tea stains everywhere. The selection of cakes is fine, although again a little basic and it all relates to having a quick break rather than having a nice experience. The girls behind the counter are efficient but look as though they would rather be somewhere else and you are soon tempted back to the exhibits.

Lovely to stop and have a bite to eat amongst all the trains, however I thought it was expensive, although the food on offer looked nice I felt that there was not enough on it on display and the queues were horrendous, not enough staff and only one counter open, we had a cheese scone which was nice but over priced, but the thing that stood out the most was that there was no one clearing tables and then a lad came out and took one tray away at a time and people were wanting seats, floor was filthy and bins were full and it was unpleasant sitting there watching people comment on the mess.

Cafe in the national railway museum. The soup and sandwich deal is good value and nice setting amongst the railway engines.

A lovely open-plan cafe/restaurant set in the Roundhouse which holds the engines & some rolling stock. The food is excellent: my sausage roll had the thinnest covering of pastry around the most tasty sausagemeat (& it was perfectly hot)! Local beer complemented it well. Friendly & helpful staff allowed one to eat ogling the engines - heaven!!

The food on display looked appealing pizza slices, sausage rolls, sandwiches and cakes. Tasted ok nothing special but overpriced for what it was. Ok for a one off treat. Cafe area was clean, with plenty of seating.

Stopped for a rest during our visit to the museum. We had a coffee in the fantastic surroundings. There was plenty of goods available.

Lovely helpful staff, tasty coffee and appetising cakes. But for me the star of the show is the cafe's sausage rolls - some of the very best I've eaten - sausage rolls-royces I call 'em!!

We visited the museum to see the Flying Scotsman late in an afternoon and decided to have a snack before setting off back into the city. Even towards the end of a day, there were good choices to be had, including soup if we had wanted a hot choice. We chose tea and cakes which were great. Yorkshire tea in a mug with real milk; scones with proper butter and jam in jars not bowls; great big slice of victoria sponge cake that very nearly defeated the teenager! Prices were not unreasonable for an attraction cafe and the quality was excellent. Would certainly use it again when we return to the museum.

Visiting the museum and needed a coffee. Lots of choice of drinks for adults and children and good choice of snacks. Good value for money and importantly, coffee was hot and served by pleasant staff

Don't be fooled, this Cafe in the main hall of the National Railway Museum isn't knocking out replica British Rail Sandwiches, it's really rather good. We sampled the soup, cheese and bacon pastries and the sausage rolls and all were excellent. It seems the latter have garnered a reputation as they sell out quickly. They usually get released about 11am we are told, so get in there before the lunchtime rush.