Mottisfont Cafe in Test Valley

As with all National Trust cafes very over priced for what you get, we had to wait ages to be served, the sandwiches were freshly made but that held things up even more, my slice of orange and poppyseed cake was tiny for £4, sandwiches no garnish just bread and the filling for £7, if we go again it will be a long time and probably take a picnic I could understand if a footman delivered it to us but that wasn’t the case.

This was our first visit, travelled from Trowbridge especially to enjoy the roses season On arrival had coffee & cakes sat outside, good Our main "gripe" was the Kitchen Cafe at the Abbey building At main entrance it "advertised" meals etc at the kitchen cafe Well, what a poor offering there was No menu outside, so had to wait a long time in big queue before finding that there was not much choice to be had What's happened to your stable sandwiches like BLT, Ham & tomato etc Who thought up the "mixtures" on offer And, as for the meals, for a National Trust charging top prices to visit & about 3000 people visiting on the day this was extremely disappointing The thing was when you queued for a long time you had to choose something as there was no alternatives available All very for the young lady to say we are "short staffed" & it will be better later in the month !! This needs a management sort-out & bring it up to the standard of other NT establishments

The Natty Trust always have lovely cafes, with really yummy cakes in lovely settings. Traditional cakes as well ( Vic sponge, flapjacks, coffee & walnut, etc) which is a rarity these days - we aren’t forced to eat vegan alternatives which is a refreshing change. Staff were as always extremely helpful & polite. I am not sure why we are given disposable wooden cutlery and throw away cups - that can’t be sustainable surely?

Huge queue but that wasn't the problem. Stupid Covid screens still up made the server give us pasties instead of soup. Had to shout soup 4 times. Soup was thin and lukewarm. Useless paper teacup collapsed and showered hot tea all over our table. Useless wooden children's spoon to try to eat the cold soup out of a paper bowl. If you want a maccies experience at much higher prices then this is the café for you.

The old kitchen cafe always seems to have massive queues - mostly caused bythe till staff also having to be the baristas making the coffees - put an extra member of staff in there so that those that do not want coffee can be served better! Food wise is fairly typical basic National Trust Fayre.

Visited the house and gardens which were superb. However be warned if you choose to visit the cafe the coffee and variations of it are so bad the last time I had anything so disgusting was at a Wimpy bar many years ago.

A large café in the old stables with plenty of room to spread out and a nice courtyard if the sun is shining. A fairly typical NT venue with many of the usual delectables on offer including my favourite sausage rolls. Fresh sandwiches and cakes and some hot choices. Overall not inexpensive but good value and no single use plastics.

Ate in Coach House cafe. Tasty soup but luke warm and bread disappointing. All served in disposable bags and vegware' container with similar cutlery. Would much prefer to avoid any type of one off usage utensils - according to internet it doesn't decompose in normal compost bins. Disappointing.

covid safe . pleasant place to have a drink after visiting mottisfont abby. only complaint was the mr KNOW IT ALL,at the NT desk who will not listen to the customers.

Poor. Manky old slatted tables and chairs ( uncomfortable) Way overpriced. 4 basic sandwiches and 2 bottles of pop almost £20... Total disappointment.

Well organised to keep us very safe at this challenging time during Covid 19 Plenty of hand gel everywhere and all cleaning stations well serviced. Outside trout river with lots of fish!

This is our nearest NT place and the grounds and rose garden in the summer are lovely but we'd go there a whole lot more if the cafes were better. They offer pasties - but you need to be there when they open to actually get one as they never do enough and run out by 12 when you want one for lunch. If you do manage to get one, it will be cold. They're not allowed to heat them for 'health and safety' reasons - please get a warm cabinet!! You are allowed to use the microwave in the Old Kitchen cafe to warm it yourself - ok if you like soggy pastry. The Stables cafe only serves tea and coffee in paper cups, I may be old fashioned but it just isn't the same experience or taste. My toastie was fine but expensive. My partners cream for the scone was very near the Best |Before date and had gone crumbly. They did change if for a slightly newer one which was ok.

The cafe itself is nice - there was a lovely fire on a cold autumn day. However apart from that there's little to recommend it; the coffee was poor, my husband's slice of cake was dry and there was no information on allergens/ingredients so I couldn't eat anything. Overall very disappointing.

There’s two cafes at Mottisfont Abbey. Last year we just visited the Old Kitchen cafe as the Coach House cafe and courtyard was packed. This time it was a miserable weekday afternoon and the Coach House was empty with staff having very little to do. The menu is snack/light food based with plant based disposable tableware, compared to the Kitchen cafe which serves hot meals, salads etc on standard tableware. We sampled both cafes this time and although the Kitchen cafe was busy at lunchtime, many customers were hogging large tables and it was difficult to find a vacant table. Whilst the courtyard cafe had plenty of tables, eating options are much more limited (but a nice courtyard setting to sit outside if the weather’s fine).

Its a little pricey but ok. They didn't cater much for those who have food intolerance, staff had to look into a folder to check. This caused a problem at the till so it got a little embarrassing. It would be much better if the food was labelled properly.

Having entered Mottisfont in high temperature we decided that we would have a drink to boost the fluid intake before our walk. There was plenty of seating in the courtyard (dogs allowed) and also inside. I choose a bottle of sparkling water whist my wife inexplicably opted for a latte! The latter came in a plant based cup that was fully recyclable. (Well done NT). There was plenty of food and drink options available.

We visit Mottisfont regularly and usually make time for coffee and cake while there. The setting and food/drinks offer in the main courtyard cafe are great but something just doesn't work when they get busy - even when there are plenty of staff around - and it is common to wait 20 plus minutes at the self-service counter. Not sure exactly what the issue is but there isn't the same efficiency you see in a well run coffee shop or roadside services at peak times. Am sure a bit of tweaking could improve things and a good old-fashioned time and motion study might be in order!

the soup served at the old kitchen un Mottisfont is inedible : the pepper is too strongly dosed it is very unfortunate!

Visited today (Sunday of Bank Holiday Weekend) with family and was so impressed with the cafe I decided to embark on another review! Had a quick walk round to get the kids out for a bit and we stopped off at the Coach House Cafe for drinks and snacks. I was so impressed with the girls on the tills, they were so very polite, helpful and personable despite a long-ish queue and our teas and coffees were served to us quickly and with a smile - always lovely to see these days! The young girl serving us was very accommodating when my husband asked if it was possible for him to have his cake to take away and gave us a little box for it which was nice. I noticed in comparison from my visit here last time how much the already good hygiene standards have improved; it was good to see staff members actively washing hands, using gloves/utensils for handing food and clearing tables/sweeping up promptly. It’s not always done well these days so it was great to see! Such a lovely place to visit and some of the best lattes in the Romsey area! Will definitely be returning more and more in the coming summer months with the beautiful weather!

Visited today to see the exhibition by Norman Thelwell. Very quiet, probably because of the weather. House lovely and warm, and volunteers very welcoming. The exhibition was well worth it. He was a very talented artist. Maybe be back before the exhibition finishes.

Had a wonderful experience at Mottisfont Old Kitchen Cafe earlier this week. I had read some reviews saying the service was awful but I couldn’t fault it at all. I did wait to be served for a short while but the staff were helpful, cheerful and friendly and I could see they were working hard to make sure other customers were served properly. Ordered the lasagna which was brought to me very quickly and was delicious! Shame I didn’t have any room for the crumble, which looked equally as nice.Had a lovely short walk around the grounds and stopped off at the Coach House Cafe later that afternoon. It wasn’t busy and of course I had to order my customary latte which was also lovely! I think the idea of using disposable cups is actually very good although I am aware many people do complain about this. Shame on you people who are so quick to complain about Mottisfont! These staff work extremely hard for every customer. Overall a great visit.

There are two cafes at Mottisfont and this is in regards to the old kitchen cafe. Visited Mottisfont on a sunny late Autumn day, it was not at all busy and it was a total pleasure to walk around the grounds. Cannot say the same for the visit to the cafe. Three people in the queue, including me, three members of staff 'serving', they were all fiddling around with the coffee machine, never made eye contact or said anything, like " be with you soon". Just stood and waited and waited for over five minutes then gave up and left, goodness knows how they cope when they are busy. Walked around some more and decided to go to the stable cafe. Service here was better but sandwiches rather expensive for what they were and thank goodness it was warm enough to sit outside on the courtyard as the noise from the chill cabinets was horrendous you could not have held a conversation without shouting. They should issue guests with ear defenders! As frequent visitors to these lovely gardens this is not the first time we have been disappointed by the catering on offer, I would suggest to other guests if the weather is nice take your own picnic and avoid the hassle.

Weekday visit on a sunny day & the cafe was packed & very hot but there were plenty of seats & tables outside but sadly no sunshades. We joined a lengthy queue but no menus at the entrance so its difficult to see what is on offer also no trays were available & there were plenty of uncleared tables. We had a chicken caesar salad & a sandwich which were average plus we shared a very tasty yogurt covered fruit bar which was delicious.

There are two eating options at Mottisfont NT property - Old Kitchen Cafe and Coach House cafe - this review is in respect of the former which is underneath the main house. Have to admit I wasn’t impressed - at times the queue was very long and slow, lack of trays, tables not cleared promptly. Also, some items were unavailable by midday on the BH Monday we visited which meant we didn’t all get our first choices. Inside seating areas have a grubby feel and there were insufficient tables outside which was the better place to sit on a nice day. Entrance foyer area is also an access route for the toilets and this doesn’t help the ambience.

Whilst on holiday in Dorset we decided to visit Mottisfont, although the best time to see the rose display is June we had a lovely visit with many climbing and bush rose in full display in the walled garden we finished a perfect day having lunch in The Old Kitchen Restaurant, as it was such a sunny day we ate our lunch outside.

Very busy but service was not too bad,choice of seating inside and out.Good selection of snacks and drinks.

Having just read the review from Jane from Uxbridge written in September 2016, we could not agree more.

Tuvimos un paseo encantador hoy alrededor de los jardines, junto al paseo del río y de los jardines de invierno, entonces se detuvo para un poco de comida en la cafetería de la planta baja de la casa.

Té y pasteles, y un té helado, en la cocina café bajo la abadía en Mottisfont. El servicio fue bueno, pero no caliente. La comida era buena. Me gustó la nueva configuración de café. Acogedor con el fuego en invierno. Té podría haber sido más caliente. Todo bien - ¡volveremos!

Estábamos visitando Mottisfont y decidimos almorzar en el Coach House Cafe.

A brief stop in the Kitchen café was most disappointing - the scone was rock hard - this was returned and the Assistant was most unsympathetic - 'they are fresh each day' - she was the sort who really appeared as if she did not want to be there. There are occasional problems at any public location but it is how they are dealt with that determines the customer attitude. A pity!

Todo el mundo necesita un café, y quizás un pastel?, después de pasear por los jardines (especialmente agradable cuando las rosas están en su mejor momento) y la casa y el café aquí ofrece una excelente café y deliciosos pasteles. El personal era muy agradable, joven y estar al aire libre (en un día seco!) era muy agradable.

The staff at this cafe were very friendly and helpful. There was a good selection of food and drinks. Well recommended.

Tuvimos una muy buena comida en el antiguo restaurante con cocina china, que utiliza vajilla de cartón, no como el café. Tuve truchas aplastado son estándar en una cama de patatas y ensalada. La trucha era perfectamente preparada y todo estaba muy fresco. Mi amigo tenía la cazuela de granos que realmente disfrutamos. Probamos sus deliciosos pasteles más tarde y eran encantadores.

The cafe has recently expanded and opened in what was the shop, a lovely light and airy space, but is it up to our expectations of the National Trust, not yet

Sopa de puerros y patata encantadora con pan rústico por £4.50 . Buena selección de bebidas. Se sirve en un tazón de cartón pero bueno para el reciclaje. Cálida y acogedora después de frío fuera. Recomendaría junto a una visita a la galería en Mottisfont.

Muy sorprendida que el restaurante era un buen pie. Mi esposa tenía Isle of Wight tarta de queso azul que fue excelente, con una buena ensalada. Los niños pueden elegir una caja de mezcla de artículos de picnic. También disfrutamos de una excelente salchichas roll y el pastel.

Convenient location since its on the ground at Mottisfont Abbey and the food was good. We had the vegetarian chilli with tortilla chips, the chilli was nicely seasoned-not too spicy or mild. Select from hot food options or have a cup of coffee and cake. The tea selection was great and there is a loyalty card for patrons! The staff was accommodating to children and the environment was comfortable.