Park Life Cafe Sutton Bank in Ryedale

Having not been in here for a while I ventured in this week wondering if it was still the nice welcoming place I remembered from my last visit. I am pleased to report it still is. Rach remains the friendly, professional anchor and recent recruit Sally seems like an excellent addition to the staff, who of course are the most important ingredient in any cafe. Thoroughly enjoyable experience and I am more than happy to recommend it.

Stopped in with the kids for a drink and some food after a walk to the White Horse. Short wait to order. Most staff seemed friendly and helpful despite being busy. Coffees were good. Tried the soup and toasties which were both tasty. Only disappointment was that the tables weren’t being cleared so we had to stack dirty plates onto adjacent table. The rather moody blonde teenage boy who served our food didn’t seem to want to clear a single table.

Went on a reasonably busy Sunday lunchtime. Staff were mostly very young and clearly inexperienced. Lots of tables needed clearing and customers were heaping dirty crockery onto adjacent uncleared tables to make space for themselves as the young staff member whose job this appeared to be sauntered around as if in a dream world not appearing to notice what needed to be done. The coffee machine was playing up and they couldn’t manage the ensuing chaos. I finally ordered and paid for a meal after 15 minutes queuing, but a staff member came out to us after several more minutes to say they didn’t have what we ordered so had to pick something else. We chose something the same price as they would have never coped with a price difference. Food arrived before the drinks. Despite my item labelled as vegan, wrapped butter sachets were brought out with it so I had to go back and request margarine. They need a proper experienced shift leader organising them efficiently. Have been before when it was OK, but never again.

The problem with a cafe like this is it has a captive audience. People go to walk, fancy a coffee or tea and it's convenient. My friend and I meet up roughly every month to walk and then have lunch all in various venues. We'd waited for the weather to improve before going to Sutton Bank. We both chose a toastie. Like other places these were already made up so you choose from the shelf and the staff toast it. Or do they? Neither looked as though they had seen a grill. Very pale and luke warm. There was a big sigh from the waitress when we asked her to wipe the table. The one good thing was the tea. A lovely pot of Yorkshire tea. Very hot snd very welcome. So if we go to Sutton Bank again we will return to Thirsk for lunch. The Park Cafe is a bit of a rip off. I could make a whole Victoria sponge for the price of one slice even bearing in mind there are staff to pay. Such a shame in such a lovely part of the country.

Excellent service from Rach making up for the less than impressive service from the gentleman who originally ignored our attempts to get served. Highly recommend the large selection of cakes and sandwiches on offer. Make sure you ask for Rach when you go there!

We were welcomed even though the cafe was shutting, choosing a coffee and an ice cream. Out of consideration for the cafe staff we did have our items to go, so they could go ahead and close. Nothing was too much trouble. Thank you.

This is a very nice cafe with very friendly and helpful staff. No matter how busy they are they are always attentive and happy to chat. They do an excellent cup of coffee and the cakes are always very tasty too. I am more than happy to recommend a visit to anyone.

Excellent staff, very helpful and cheerful. Coffee was lovely. Inparticular, Rach I believe she was called, was brilliant.

Rude staff member with glasses and blue colour through her hair. Very disinterested, we would not visit the cafe again.

Ordered 2 coffees and 2 sausage sandwich's for takeout , pretty ordinary order . The service was very lukewarm, i struggled to open the door with my order but no offer of help , on getting back to the car we found the bread buns to be hard and dry and the sausages just to say warm , the coffee was okay but needed to be hotter, the dog had no complaints so at least she enjoyed her breakfast, for £20 it was poor quality along with poor service.Very disappointing.

Having read the reviews before going I was a little unsure about what to expect. Well it was a great experience x 2. We walked in at 10am when the cafe opened to be greeted by lovely friendly staff. After our drinks - which were hot and quickly delivered we walked along the bank and returned to cafe for lunch. The cafe by this time was full but our lunch soon arrived and was brought to our table by a friendly, helpful and very professional young lad. The food (2 x sausage sandwich, one toasted sandwich and one child's dish) was all lovely and we all had clean plates at the finish. I can only vouch for the day on which we visited but the welcome, the staff, the time from order to delivery and the food/drinks could not be beaten. I look forward to going again

Shocking service. Kitchen closed. Took 20 minutes to make a cappuccino! Bring a flask!!!! Lost opportunity for income since place was really busy! 😡

We often visit the cafe as we take the dog ( Charlie) for a walk along the top of the Sutton bank . They welcome dig inside as well as outside which is nice when it cold and wet dayThe staff are always polite and helpful, as we only call for coffee and cake usually, I can’t comment on the cooked food but it always looks nice and looks good value for the price paid. Will call again as we go most weeks even during the winter months, it can get very busy in summer you just have to be patient and wait your turn .

Often like to pop in here, for a coffee and a snack, when I'm out and about enjoying Englands finest views. Have always found the staff very friendly and welcoming and always enjoy my visit. Will give a shout out to Rach who has served me the last time or two I've been in, she's very professional, efficient and organised but remains friendly and helpful. A great asset to the cafe. Looking forward to my next visit!!

Having enjoyed a walk with fantastic views of the surrounding country, we decided to drop in at the cafe for breakfast. The deluxe breakfast buns were delicious and iced latte very welcome. The cafe was clean and dog friendly both inside and out, the staff cheerful, helpful and efficient. We will certainly return.

What a brilliant cafe. After a short walk/bike around the green bike route with the kids, we popped into the cafe for a quick lunch. Great service with a smile and the food was served very quickly. Fantastic food which for 4 meals and a few drinks under £30 we thought was great value for money. Topped off with an ice cream each. We’ll definitely be back again!

Very expensive £6.59 for two slices of bread with hardly any red onion chutney or and a couple of slices of the cheapest supermarket slices of beef and a mush of onion - £2.95 for a cold very thin toasted tea cake and I had to ask for extra butter

Nice little place to go to after a walk for a quick coffee and a cake, staff were lovely and polite.

Absolutely terrible!! Our 2nd visit. we weren’t impressed by our first visit but gave it another chance and definitely shouldn’t have. Got there at 10 Am excited to start our day with some breakfast before our walk. It was still closed as they were half an hour late opening. Went to order our food at the counter, to be told they could only do a sausage sandwich as they didn’t have the kitchen set up yet even after opening late. After our 1st visit I’d advise to swerve the sausages as they resembled cat food! Both members of staff were extremely rude about the situation, so we decided just to get a coffee until the kitchen was ready. After 10 minutes they still had no idea when they would be able to provide the food on menu. So we asked for some takeaway cups, the coffee could only be described as luke walk milk and reminded me of what my mother used to give me as a toddler for bed! Anyway headed up to high paradise farm for food which is just a 5 minute drive away, amazing place lovely food and very welcoming staff highly recommend to go there to avoid disappointment and shocking customer service.

4 adults arrived at 12.10 and ordered 4 full English breakfasts.We were told the cut off point for this was 12 noon but they would check with the kitchen.We were informed ‘there’s no mushrooms and beans’ but we can do everything else if that’s ok.We agreed,I paid by credit card and put the receipt in my pocket without looking at it.This meal consisted of 1 fried egg,1 sausage,1/2 of tomato,2 small rashers of bacon and 2 slices of toast. Cost per meal £9.75+£1.95 VAT =£11.70. Shocking especially as the receipt says FULL breakfast

Great food and friendly service, best cheese toastie I have ever eaten. Pork pie was excellant, coffees good

A fantastic hot potato lunch with great choice of healthy toppings for our group of teens from TYC (Thirsk Youth Club), who'd just done a 3hr mountain bike trail. Thank you to all the kind and friendly staff who made us so welcome. HIGHLY RECOMMEND

We are mountain bikers who have continued to support the cafe throughout the pandemic, despite at times not receiving the best service, but we continued to use it. On Monday I paid over £15 for two small pieces of cake and two small lattes. I...

A very nice place in a lovely scenic location with a great atmosphere, friendly food and tasty staff. what's not to like? Happy to recommend it.

Lovely welcoming staff, good basic food offerings, a wood stove, great location, and all with a good, non-intrusive, soundtrack (someone here has good music tastes)

As a frequent visitor to Sutton Bank , i always make a trip to the cafe at the Vistor's Centre, and I've never been disappointed in either the quality of the food and drinks or the friendliness of the staff. Even when busy they are...

I purchased soup and a bowl of chips, but didn't get a receipt as thought it wasn't needed and would save printing a piece of paper. Soup came, but not the chips, I then asked for the chips that I ordered, these duly came but...

We visited this cafe as the Gliding club cafe is shut at the moment. £6..50 for 2 small sausages in a bun. £1.50 for 4 slices of mushroom. Tom sauce extra in a cold cafe.The food quality is not great either. DONT G0

I visited Sutton Bank cafe on Tuesday 24th January for a coffee with a friend. My last visit to this cafe was a dream, staff were lovely and friendly. However, this visit was the complete opposite. First impression when we walked in, was two members...

Visited on a fairly quiet October afternoon. Seemed to be a good selection of fresh food. Had two great toasties and drinks. Had the choice of sitting by the fire or watching the local wildlife on the bird feeders. Very tranquil and relaxing. Perfect after...

Frequently visit Sutton Bank and have always enjoyed visiting the cafe, but got a very cold welcome and was told there was no food, no cakes only ice creams and drinks, with no apology. Will not stop here for anything to eat/drink again. Has it...

Turned up at 12:30, informed matter of fact-ly that over half of the lunch options were already out of stock (it wasn’t particularly busy). In the end we went for simple stuff like chips and sausage sandwiches but still had to wait for ages. Well...

Called in for a bite to eat. Was very busy when we walked in, was half expecting to be told there was a wait. But it’s what we expected for a busy sunny Sunday. We queued for about 5 minuets or so, ordered toasties and...

Amazing little cafe! Stopped off on our way home. Had lunch and drinks. Very reasonably priced. Had to queue for a bit, but it was busy due to being Farther’s day, so it was to be expected, but was worth it! Food was amazing, very...

My wife & I just called for a breakfast / lunch. Very minimal Vegetarian/ Vegan options so decided to have a toasted tea cake. Big mistake, I can only assume they covered the tea cake with factor 50 before toasting it. It was basically warm...

We had a lovely walk then decided to have a lunch in the cafe. On arrival there was a short queue. This queue did not seem to move. A young lady and man seemed to be struggling to take orders and make drinks. The young...

This review of Sutton bank café not of the site. The café food was nice, café was clean and tidy. The staff were cold unfriendly and considering they working in hospitality need to go on a course simple things like hello, thank you and advanced...

Had a fantastic walk around the trail to see the white horse, going down the steep woodland path then back up all those steps 🥵 past the gliding club & onto 'The finest viewpoint in England' before returning to the cafe for a well deserved...

Myself and my husband were looking forward to a light lunch after a lovely walk around Sutton bank. When I entered the cafe there was only 1 table occupied. I walked to the counter to ask if we could sit outside. 2 ladies working behind...

When we arrived for lunch it was very quiet only one other table occupied. We were met with what can I get ya from an elder lady. We hadn’t even had time to look to see what we wanted as I explained nicely as we...

Great atmosphere made by very welcoming staff. We sat outside in the courtyard and enjoyed watching the birds on the feeding tables, whilst devouring the delicious cakes and fantastic coffee.

Having worked in the area for a week and attending the cafe for lunch everyday - I can safely say they have been the highlight of the week. The staff are incredibly kind and approachable, the food is amazing (possibly the best vegetarian burger I've...

Been working at Sutton bank for the last week and could not be happier with the cafe! Been a life saver! Great food and drink and lovely staff. When it rained a hot chocolate and pizza from the cafe was definitely what the doctor ordered!...

My partner and I visted from the south for some lunch, we had a plant based burger and a normal burger which were delicious! The plant burger and cheese were really creamy and a lovely consistency. We had to find out where they were from!

Quickly popped in here with family before a walk around Sutton Bank. Great atmosphere and plenty of outdoor seating which we appreciated. We opted for the picnic deal - 4 items for £10 - to share. We got pepperoni loaded fries (tasty), mac and cheese...

Popped in here mid Saturday afternoon. I had expected it to be full on a weekend, but Ramblers are tightwads who always bring their own and complain about the slightest thing, so it was pleasantly quiet. Lovely coffee served and nice cake and ice-cream. Good...

After a lovely hot sunny walk round the gliding club we decided to call in for lunch and sit in the side attached patio area watching the many breeds of wild birds feasting on the seeds/nuts hung off tree branches, with an informative identification board...

This could be such a wonderful cafe and I’m wondering if they are not bothered due to the high footfall anyway. The queue was large but mainly due to very slow service. The staff were not welcoming and I found the young lady at the...

I have been here pre-COVID and it was always quite popular with the food ok if a little pricy. During COVID, the cafe is spaced out more. I have only had takeaway coffee now but it has not been too bad although the choice of...

After a long journey from down south, we were very glad to arrive here for lunch. Excellent Covid precautions in place. We both opted for the wonky vegetable soup and this was tasty and served with roll and butter. Tea and coffee were enjoyed as...

Remarkable that a cafe in a place that embraces nature would use non recyclable packaging and have no recycling facilities. Bought a sandwich which looked to be in cardboard, however when I got it, so much plastic. Drinks in plastic bottles/glasses. Surely brown paper bags...

We are in the midst of a global pandemic which can be stressful. However, the cafe has not adapted well at all - signage and queuing is poorly laid out and difficult to understand. One particular staff member was very rude. We witnessed a member...

Been before to this cafe pre COVID and it was lovely. Food is good. The lady with the white hair serving has obviously let the power get to her head - dictating to everyone where they could and couldn’t stand, even though clearly marked and...

When we arrived at Sutton bank we expected to have lunch in a nice cafe with good service, this however was not the case, it was awful, one woman with white hair in perticular, was very rude, muttered to herself “do people not know anything”...

When visiting Sutton Bank Reserve the cafe is a great place for coffee and/ or a bite to eat. Restricted a bit at present as you need to eat outside due to Covid but the food is fine and the coffee is nice - cannot...

Not a clue how to make a coffee and what was made was disgusting. Staff could do with some basic training in coffee making .