Petworth House in Chichester

Bureaucratic staff with rules about everything restricting enjoyment. Cafe miles away at your inconvenience and shop highly convenient, hmm I wonder why?!!! Basic, tasteless, cakes and biscuits all frozen then re-heated, why pay stupid prices for rubbish food? It's a money spinner for NT who've clearly lost their way when it comes to any kind of customer service and the parasitic family who still live in/exploit the masses. Giv it a miss..

Service shambolic. Hot chocolate cold. Toasted sandwiches made with disgusting minced ham. Ham wasn’t even ordered - they appeared instead of cheese and tomato. Indoor cafe seating like a school dining hall. All in all very disappointing.

How hard can it be to make a sandwich? Clearly almost impossible in this overpriced rather chaotic cafe. My toasted sandwich looked and tasted as if it was made from ingredients left over from the ancient kitchen in the main house. The poor staff behind the counter were doing their best - cheerful and friendly- but maybe it was just fear that they may have to deal with disgruntled customers once the food was served! Eat somewhere else before visiting the House.

We were served promptly by a very friendly and welcoming member of staff. The problem, was the fact that our toasted sandwiches were pretty revolting having been placed into a sandwich toaster for a very short time and they just weren’t cooked. Barely toasted, soggy inferior bread encasing un-cooked ingredients rendered a tasteless mess. We couldn’t be bothered to send them back and perhaps next time we’ll opt for a slice of cake!! Avoid the sandwiches.

Sadly, it's a thumbs down. Admittedly there were notices explaining shortages of staff and supplies but that is no excuse for stale bread! The place is now rather drab and in need of some attention. The National Trust is a window on Britain for many foreign visitors (including our guest). At the moment it shows all too truthfully the state of the nation. It would be nice if it could aspire to something better (as used to be the case pre-covid).

Absolutely dreadful food. We ordered two jacket potatoes, which had no potato inside. The jacket potato's had been baked so many times, instead of discarding them, all that was left of the jacket potato was the skin. Serving food in this condition is unfair to the consumer and is not acceptable. The scones were also dry and stale. Extremely disappointing visit.

The queues at the cafe were horrific. The food is average like most national trust cafes - I do wish they would improve the food offer and they would make more money. The decor was depressing, unlike the rest of the property which is lovely. If you walk out the back door (right by the cafe) you can visit the local town and visit the lovely cafes there instead. You can return to the property afterwards and I would strongly recommend that everyone does that instead of eating here.

I have had previous experience of the café and know it can get very busy at times so went there first before visiting the house. I had a cream tea which consisted of a large fruit scone, a choice of jam (I like Blackcurrant) and clotted cream. I had a nice pot of tea to go with it. The price was £6.60 which I think is good.

We believe in the concept of National Trust and love supporting their amazing buildings and restaurants. Unfortunately the experience in Audit Room Caffè was bellow average and really surprising, please you can do so better? The display looked artificial, nothing fresh and appetising it all looked uninviting. The display menu was not obvious, we didn’t know what is on offer and although we were introduced to the menu by one of the stuff we then felt a personal pressure to choose (the staff was nice). We both had macaroni cheese. The basic taste was attempted with usage of some leeks and some bacon but the flour was not cooked through and was strong and unpleasant in taste. Also, the pasta quality was well, cheep. There was no nice crust on the dish, it had arrived as a plate of soup looking extremely unappetising. Shame as NT deserves so much better, beautiful space let down by kitchen. Captive audience? Our personal view, in deer park parking there is a pop up with excellent food, from the house have a nice walk towards the parking and enjoy food made with love. Chairs and blankets included.

Really good selection of cakes and lunch items at this handy cafe within Petworth House. They have more unusual items on the menu such as flatbread with hummus and chickpeas, so if you want something other than a sandwich they have a good selection or alternatives.

After doing a walk around Petworth park we decided to have a snack in the café/ restaurant. It was very poor, very little selection, I had a frtata which was so bland and completely tasteless. Normally National Trust places are quite good, but not here.

Staff were very pleasant and the menu enough to cover most tastes. Sadly the scone we had tasted a bit stale , but the coffee was very nice. Beware wooden cutlery

Lunch time they normally have a stew, and very nice it is. A selection of cakes, coffee and tea is available. Very nice setting and can be very busy. Nice fredly staff there to serve you.

We had tea here. It seemed a bit pricey but a good variety. Nice atmosphere. At least you know the food is fresh.

Petworth house and gardens are great but eat elsewhere. Veg stew was lukewarm. Sussex Rarebit was a halved bread roll with a small area of cheesy substance in the middle of each half, accompanied by a few sprigs of watercress without dressing. A spoonful of chutney came in its own plastic pot - why not just put some on the plate? As a long time National Trust member I thought the organisation cared for the environment? Obviously not. Food here used to be good, no idea what has happened. Would have complained at the time but the queue was too long.

My friend and I ate here when visiting the historical house. There’s a good selection including soup, jacket potatoes and many cakes .We had Steak and Kidney pie with new potatoes and Savoy cabbage. Dessert was date pudding with caramel ice cream. The service was excellent. Food was hot and nicely presented. We were there about 1.5 hours so it was a relaxed experience.

Hot soup with a hunk of fresh bread served with a winter salad and a slice of cherry bakewell that just melted in the mouth. All topped off with a large and very hot mug of hot chocolate. Delicious and very reasonably priced served by friendly staff.

Enjoyed w really nice lamb stew and crusty bread for lunch. Just want I needed on a cold Autumn day.

The service was good and the selection just right for a light lunch. One of the party had quiche and the others jacket potatoes all of which were fine.

This is the main eating and drinking place in Petworth House. It offers standard National Trust fare. The service was pleasant and quick.

Another visit to Petworth House and Park, which is looking spectacular-once round the lake and time for tea........With a gluten free husband looking forward to tea and cake, the only option for him was a gluten free brownie, or a pre packaged millionaire’s shortbread-bit disappointed at the choice EVERYWHERE does Brownie’s -not very original NT! What’s wrong with a nice sponge GF-it’s not difficult and the gluten eaters would not be able to tell the difference! Nothing was marked GF on the help yourself table? My cherry scone was good, big and moist-thumbs up for that. Don’t expect pre packaged cakes in a National Trust tearoom... how would other allergy sufferers get on?

We had a lovely lunch, on a busy day, but we didn't have to wait long to order at the counter or for the food to arrive. We didn't have to pay to go in the house in order to use the cafe, but we did have to park the car in town and enter via the front of the house.

Delicious sandwiches, very nice cuppa, very friendly staff. Prices ok, very clean and spacious..very bright decor...

If you want a reasonably priced quick bite while visiting Petworth House then go for it. However the cake selection when we visited was limited and there wasn't much atmosphere in the cafe.

Like many people I guess, we just popped in for a cake and a drink at the end of our visit. Nothing to complain about, it is what it is.

We went up to the counter where there were two serving staff who did not acknowledge us and then promptly disappeared into a back room! A few minutes later they re-appeared, still didn't acknowledge us, then each disappeared in different directions. Another lady then appeared, but couldn't take our order. When we were served it was all quite grumpy and not very welcoming. Cheer up! However, on the plus side, it was great cake.

Utterly disgusting "game pithivier" or soggy pie made of one dessertspoon of gristley flavourless mince and thick flabby tasteless pastry. Tiny portion of cabbage and sliced congealed potato slices which looked one week old all for £9.95. Horrific meal we will not return here to eat again. Do no recommend. In fact avoid at all costs.

On our petworth adventures we visited The Famous Petworth House and oh my what an amazing visit a lot of historic information.

We viewed the kitchens in the house and decided to have an early snack - butternut squash and butter beans with a good chunk of brown bread - delicious and very filling. Our visit on a Monday meant the restaurant was not very crowded so served quickly and plenty of vacant tables. Together with two coffees the bill came to £16.90.

The Audit Room at Petworth House is an attractive cafe serving a good range of light meals. Decor clean and simple with mutliple stags' antlers decorating the walls! A good facility to have at this important National Trust property.

Went to the stunning gardens at Petworth House and had delightful soup at the cafe. Ideal for families.

We had lunch here, as we generally do when visiting National Trust properties. Perhaps because it was half-term and therefore the Café was pretty full, it wasn't as good as we have experienced elsewhere. We ordered baked potatoes with tuna which was made to order and took 15 minutes arrive, but they were quite dry. The potatoes were massive, more potato than tuna, and there was no butter to moisten them, so we added salad cream to give some moisture to the dish.

Two of had the spicy pumpkin soup which was perfect for an Octobers day and one of us had the baked potato which was large and had lots of cheese. The coffee was rather bland. The restaurant has a nice ambience.

Great cup of tea. What more could you ask for! The food looked good too as the many trays passing us by attested to - we just had cake - all good!

Visited Petworth House a few days ago and had lunch at the cafe. The food was lovely. My husband had Smoked Haddock Gratin and I had a jacket potato. Expensive but large portion sizes and also do other snacks. Well worth a visit.

Audit Room Cafe offer a very poor quality of sandwiches considering it is run and owned by the National Trust I recommend you bring your own

Visited yesterday on a very wet day, so we couldn't really enjoy the gardens.

This is wonderful setting, it has massive potential with a huge audience, but sadly they totally let themselves down, It is pity as all you can have is cake an no variety, and cold drinks,

Stunning park, we walked around for hours and even played with / saw the adorable gun dog puppies who were all gorgeous.

What beautiful grounds Petworth has to offer! We went for a lovely stroll, great for dog walking, but do bring your wellies if it is a bit wet!

A fantastic collection of paintings and sculptures including many by great masters. Definitely worth booking on the guided tours. The staff where extremely knowledgeable. Don't miss the kitchens - fastinating. Unfortunately it is more than a one day venue. Far too much to see. Didn't even get to the gardens or park. Will definitely visit again

There are alot of paintings and sculptures in Petworth House. A large collection outside of London. The staff were helpful and willing to help. The cafe was very nice and £4.95 for a Jacket Potato, beans, salad and coleslaw was a fair price. Very tasty snack. The grounds are well stocked with many various trees and scrubs. Very pleasant this autumn time of year.

This is a small restaurant with limited seating but the food is freshly cooked and there was a nice range of sandwiches and cakes to pick from. A few people moaned about the slow service for hotter food but it was very, very busy so I think they coped incredibly well.

This is only an average cafe; service is slow. However, the ice-creams are excellent - although a bit pricey at £2 for a small tub. But if the weather is pleasant, then sitting outside in the sunshine is a great idea!

This National trust house is huge, but this is deceptive as there are only a few rooms on the ground floor to view. Excellent visit if you love art and statues, the walls are crammed with art from some very famous artists, including Turner and Van Dyke. The disappointed for me was there were no room settings, and no history of the families that had lived there. The servants quarters opposite the house were much more interesting, there's a very good cafe, serving good value food. A nice outdoor space for lunch and two shops. When we were there there was activities for kids, and free walking tours of the house. There are no formal gardens but extensive grounds, two lakes, a deer wood, and lovely walks, ranging from 30 minutes to two hours. ( Wear flat enclosed shoes as the grounds are uneven and lots of rabbit and fox droppings). Parking is free for NT members,and £4, for everyone else, .but this wasnt well sign posted, just happened to see machine tucked behind a car, no signage as you enter carpark,( £50 fine if no ticket! )

La casa nacional trust en hermosos jardines. House es un paseo desde el aparcamiento a través de los jardines. La casa está llena de arte, temática en la mayoría de las habitaciones. Un montón de artistas famosos, una gran exposición como turner usó Petworth bastante a menudo.

Hemos venido aquí para el almuerzo durante muchos años y siempre hemos disfrutado de la comida fresca, productos - selección de ensaladas, sándwiches y bocadillos, llena y platos calientes. El personal siempre es amable y servicial. Más recientemente, con los nietos, hemos apreciado de los...

¡Guau! ¿Cuántos Rastrillos Gainsboroughs y Van Diques puede abarrotarse en una hermosa casa en cualquier momento? Esta debe ser una de las noches mejores ubicaciones.

We went on Sunday and arrived early. Quiet and walked around the lake - part of vast walking area. An informative 10 minute (free) talk on the history of the house before entering. Plenty to see and rooms in generally good condition. More easily visible information on the history/contents of each room would have helped and the NT guide books have clearly seen better days! Fantastic pictures and sculptures but lighting not very good and some pictures needed cleaning/repositioning - again easily visible commentary by each exhibit would have helped greatly with the enjoyment of the house. Had lunch at The Star pub (Fullers) in the main town just outside Petworth House - really excellent food and beer, and able to sit outside in the lovely village.

Had a lovely walk round the grounds. Found the tea room to be quite busy and hectic. Difficult to get somewhere to sit at the time of our visit. Not too pricey for what we had.

We ordered a soup and a curry. Waited 40 minutes until the soup finally arrived (how long can it possibly take to put some soup in a bowl and a piece of bread on a plate?). Had to find someone and hassle them to give us the rest of our order. Another wait. Not 40 minutes this time, but we were starving and very pissed off. Won't be going back.

House not that attractive from outside, but grounds very pretty and inside house very interesting and great paintings. Coffee shop is good as well.

Visited today on way home from holiday in Chichester. Were rather dissapointed. House was very cold(it was a lovely sunny day) and rather bare. We feel it should be listed as an art gallery rather than a house. The best area for us was the kitchens. There are not really any gardens but the views are amazing. As we are National Trust members we did't have to pay only for coffees which were very strong

We visited this National Trust house and garden with a wheel chair bound relative. Disabled parking was good and apron entering the garden we were offered transportation up to the house but as it was a glorious sunny afternoon we decided to walk. This proved to be a good work out pushing her up to the house but very pleasant. We decided that we had earn' a coffee and a cake but the restaurant was very busy and the staff suggested that we could find a place to eat in the town if we did not want to queue. We did walk the town to find refreshment but to our dismay there was not a cafe, restaurant that we could access with the wheel chair so had to return back to the garden. We found a table in the courtyard and our refreshment which was extremely enjoyable after our trek. The house and gardens were very pleasant and there was an embroidery exhibition in the house which was the highlight of our visit due to the fact that we had never seen such amazing embroidered pictures in such detail.

It's warm and comfortable and accessible both from the town and the main house area so you don't have to have paid the entrance fee to visitWe always find that their Scones (Cheese or Fruit) are fresh cooked and usually still warm and that works okay for me!!It can get busy at lunch time so we normally walk the few yards into town and have something in one of the many Cafe's and restaurants to be found there ............ and then back to the Cafe later on for a Clotted Cream Tea!! ...... yum!!Go there just to see the Deer Antlers over the main fireplace ..... they are gigantic!!

Popped in here to grab a sarnie whilst out walking (they have a boot scraper outside, which was a neat idea) . Very pleasant airy environment, choice of large tables or comfy leather chairs and you can access the cafe without paying to visit the house. We only had drinks and a snack but it was fresh, tasty and, although it is self service, there was a very attentive chap clearing the tables to make sure they were clean and ready for the next customers. Does get busy. Only negative point is the rather dated toilet! It is multi-use so you will share your space with a nappy bin, the old fashioned pull flush has no handle and the toilet opens on to reception so be sure to lock the outer door!

Large open plan café but still un-crowded tables, with plenty of privacy for chatting; some armchairs available. Hot food on the day was very good as was the selection of cakes later in the day!

This has a small menu for hot food but also has a range of prepared sandwiches. It you go in via the high street entrance then you can use the restaurant without having to pay the house entrance fee. The food is great quality and something for everyone.n Downside there are a few steps to enter so its not accessible for all.

We do not go to National Trust properties to eat; the food is just fuel however on this visit the food was badly prepared- my sausage and apple stew was mostly potatoes and some over done sausages. my wife also left half of her food. Sorry but please improve the offering.

After arriving at Petworth House and paying £4 to park and nearly £40 admission, we were told that parts of the house were closed off due to restoration works. What an understatement! The only parts of the house which were accessible were the kitchens and a large, dimly lit room filled with Turner's paintings and other works of art. We could only see some of the other rooms in the house if we each paid an additional £5 for a 45 minute tour. Although the art was interesting and the guides were pleasant, I think this is very poor value for money. It should be made clear that the majority of the house is only accessible by tour at this additional charge before people pay at the gate. Visit Hampton Court instead. It's not a National Trust property but far far better value for money and a man amazing to boot!

Impressive National Trust property with excellent building and grounds. Very pleasant restaurant selling a variety of food and drinks

Liked trees, daffodils and rolling hills behind, also deer in park. Turner paintings collected by the Earl of Egremont whose family came over with William the Conqueror so our guide said.Didn't dislike anything. Good disabled facilities. Courtesy coach from Petworth back to Petworth House carpark for exhausted people such as myself