The Swannery Cafe in West Dorset

Overpriced cafe offering bottles of coke/tango £2.75 and sandwiches £4.95. No presentation like you see in the photos. When asked if it was really £2.75 for a fizzy drink the responce was " I don't set the prices I just work here!" Would highly reccomend a picnic and eating in the many stannary picnic areas. Such a shame as we'd passed on another cafe locally at a precious stop off!

Awful awful awful! Dry scone, so hard we had to leave it. Tea served in a takeaway cup, what a waste of money.

You cannot fault the quality and presentation of the extensive menu, but it does come at a cost - a high one! £7 for two hot chocolates for example.

A bit spartan, but good for a coffee and cake after seeing the swans, especially if you can sit outside.

Lovely staff, served for a friendly smile. Chips were £3.50 but you do get a large portion. Nice bench tables outside on the grass, shame there’s no view. The menu is on the pricey side, but it’s the only place to eat & drink nearby.

After a long drive we just needed a quick coffee and snack before seeing the swans. We chose the "freshly made in Abbotsbury" sandwiches which were basically tasteless, the two different types tasted more or less the same. I'd put money on them being just defrosted. The coffee was just about the worst we've ever tasted. Thin and tasteless, it bore no relation to real coffee. I'm just pleased we had some crisps which at least had flavour. £15 down the drain. Verdict take a Thermos and your own sandwiches instead.

I don't understand the negative reviews. The menu is quite large for a small operation and the surroundings are very nice. My burger was brilliant and my partner's soup was homemade and tasty. Sometimes I really think people expect Michelin stars from a cafe which is most unfair.

Had coffee and a cake here but was disappointed by the slow service (only one staff). Little else to offer, no charm or ambience

Despite the location and enjoyable visit at the swannery this little cafe offers no charm at all . Service is ok and table service On wooden tables and benches oUtdoor in front of the building if ordering hot foods like burger and chips . Food option like sandwiches was limited and overall very expensive for what they had to offer including the tiny portions 😱. We had two vegan Cornish pasty nearly costing £10 ! Expect London price for this isolated place . Highly disappointing especially when people can walk long distances and are looking for refreshments . Could do much better ! It’s a monopole . Ridiculous and shocking prices. It does the job but I won’t recommend it for a family on a budget .

A simple stop after a stunning afternoon spent at the Swannery. We both had a cream tea, the scones were fresh but one each only, and the jam came in those miniature jars, plus a portion of prepacked cream. OK but that's all, and not cheap. Fairly insipid service by bored looking staff and the cafe felt like a bus station waiting room... zero character, functional, harshly lit, and packed with too many tables. After the rest of the visit it felt a real let down.

Although advertised as not closing till 5.00pm we were made to feel unwelcome when we asked for tea and cake at 4.15. Cake was dry and very overpriced at £3.75 a slice. Asked to have it outside so they could clean the floor.

The food is rather over-priced but at least it did taste good and without much else in the area useful to grab lunch before visiting the Swannery

Had three small cut slices of cake and a should be hot but was cold hot chocolate, £17 which I find very overpriced for dry cakes and drink. constantly being watched to clear the table . there were four people in total inside and outside the cafe!! unwelcoming with no conversation, the swans had more to say han the staff here. suggest that unless you cant wait to go elsewhere this cafe lets down such a beautiful experience at the swannery

Very quiet when we arrived as swans we're being fed. Waited 45 minutes for a Luke warm bowl of macaroni in white sauce. Barley tasted of cheese, no attempt at any sort of topping or flash under a grill. Kids 1/2 potatoes we're overpriced and, again, not particularly hot. Burger was ok, chips we're the best thing that came out. Staff not particularly apologetic when we had to chase up our food or when it was finally brought to table. There are much better cafes in the area if you don't mind getting in the car.

There was quite a good choice and plenty of indoor and outdoor seating but prices were rather high, Unfortunately.

Staff friendly food tasty if a little expensive, you can eat in or outside it's a tourist location after all so I was actually surprised at the food quality.

We stopped off here for cold drinks and cake - good variety of cakes, not cheap but we thought good size portions for the money and tasted home made.

The coffees were weak and watery with a funny taste. I couldn't drink mine. We also ordered a slice of double chocolate cake which was very expensive and completely dried out. Very disappointing all round. On the plus side, the staff were overly friendly and polite.

The most expensive cream tea we've had and not even a home made scone. Not enough seating inside on a wet day with a coach party just arriving!

We had lunch in the cafe following our visit to the Swannery, decent lunch, served fairly quickly, average prices.

The staff here refused to refill our reuseable bottle with tap water. We had to pay £2.45 for a drink. Disgusting staff and prices.

A really good cafe in the swannery . Very good choice of food and drink . Well parented and tasty. Good value

My friends and I had just wandered through the oohs and aahs of the Swannery and were going on to see the Sub-tropical gardens just outside Abbotsbury in Dorset.

I love my savoury so to see their ploughmans, advertised with local cheese I made my choice.

Popped in here after seeing the 🦢 was surprised at how much choice there was and how good it looked. I had a large piece of delicious carrot cake with tea (2 cups in pot.) It came to just over £6, same as anywhere

Why why so dear coast more then coasta the food price is very expensive £5 for a pasty should not be allowed

Popped into the café to get two bottles of coke ( 500 ml ) after walking the dogs, I gave my partner a five pound note and when he came back I said where's my change and he handed me a 10p, we laughed that a bottle of coke was £2.45 each.

Went into cafe and found a panini was £7.95 .....long q and no sandwiches or anything like a pasty or sausage roll on offer. Seemed to be one person serving as well. Very disappointed after a good walk around the swannery.

My partner and I visited this cafe which is part of Abbotsbury Swannery. Unfortunately, as the Swannery is some distance from the village, they have a bit of a captive audience and this is reflected in their prices. The drinks and cakes were more expensive than other cafes in Abbotsbury, and the panini we chose was a ridiculous £9.75 for a very ordinary ham and cheese filling, a small handful of crisps and a very odd salad garnish consisting of a small lettuce leaf and some strange red carrot like stuff! If you’re visiting the Swannery best take a picnic or head back to one of the village eateries for lunch.

The cafe is just at the entrance & you are able to use it without visiting The Swannery.

Considering the number of visitors they get here, could try a lot harder. Food and drink was pleasant enough but the toilets were quite disgusting. Really lets them down. All a bit sad.

After a visit to the Swannery a cup of tea and a piece of cake is called for. Unfortunately our chocolate chip madeira was very dry, and disappointed. The coffee was also too cold and too strong (not in a nice way). Ah well, the tea was good.

Tea was fine. 'Fruit' scone was terrible - a lump of dough with a few fragments of dried fruit. Appalling.

Had lunch after visiting the swannery. Reasonable choice with hot food but little choice for cold food. The chips were very good. Overall we had a good lunch but fairly pricey.

We had a lovely visit to the Swannery and decided to eat at the cafe. I eat lots of jacket potatoes, so class myself as a jacket potato expert.....£7.95 for a jacket potato is the most expensive one I have come across - and not even with a salad! I decided to have a plain cheese sandwich instead, £3.95 for two slices of white bread with a slice of processed cheese inside and a teaspoon of pickle on it. We had already paid to visit the Swannery so why should we be charged inflated prices to eat in the cafe? Steer clear I say. The staff weren't helpful either.

We visited the cafe twice during the day. First on arrival and all staff were polite and friendly. Second for lunch. Again same friendly staff and good choose of food. Well cooked to order hot and tasty Would recommend to all who visit

Hot and cold food available including a good range of home made cakes, scones and slices. Great outdoor play area and plenty of outdoor tables and bench seats outdoors as well as tables & chairs under cover. Hot food varies between a simple sausage roll or pasty to main meals. A good refreshment stop just outside the gates of Abbotsbury Swannery either before or after you have been to see the cygnets. NOW is the absolutely best time to visit but arrive early as the venue does close at 5pm prompt.

Very reasonable prices indoor and outdoor seating children's play area ginger cake is a must the coffee was really nice 2

The menu here was quite varied but a little overpriced at 8.95 for a baguette and 2.95 for a piece of cake, The drinks are also a bit overpriced too. As this is the only place for food and drink I suppose they have a captive audience. The cake was home made and fresh but could have been priced better.

We had lunch at this cafe in April after visiting the swannery as it’s located near the main entrance so is very convenient. We have visited several times before on previous trips but based on this visit the place seems to be going downhill which is a shame. Where the fridges used to contain sandwiches made locally such as Dorset Cheddar, Tuna etc there is now not a sandwich to be seen, maybe April is still quiet so they just don’t bother selling them then but it does seem to have taken the choice away from the customer. They still have some cakes available which are made locally and things such as millionaires shortbread etc. The menu board contained an option of a bowl of chips and as my fiancé has asked several times before on previous visits for cheese on them and paid the extra, which has never been a problem, he asked again this time. The girl on the till asked if it was on the menu board, which we said only chips was so she went and asked in the kitchen which you could hear the response of ‘no it’s just chips’. This would be understandable if they didn’t have cheese available but they use grated cheese in their paninis and on jacket potatoes so it wouldn’t have been difficult to do this like they had several times before and charged it as an extra topping. Not to stray from the menu board I ordered the cheese and spring onion jacket potato so was a bit miffed when it arrived with just cheese and not a hint of spring onion! They seem to not want to add extras at a charge but will happily not give you what you ordered off this menu board whilst still charging for it! The food and service were both average, next time we visit the Swannery we will definitely be looking at an alternative place to have lunch. I’m sure this place will still attract customers but fear it’s more over the location than the quality of the food and service which is a shame as it used to be good.

Came here thinking we could get a decent lunch after seeing the fantastic swans, but very much mistaken. Ordered a tuna, mayo and red onion jacket potato and got dry tuna, negligible mayo and no red onion insight. The rest of the order was also wrong and incredibly over priced, had decent three course pub grub for less. The staff appeared rushed and weren’t entirely interested in the customer.

The building was apparently a converted dog kennel and is a Graded building. It looks to be in good shape with large sitting area under huge covers outside as well as seating inside. The selection of food seemed ok.

Abbotsbury Swannery is quite expensive but enjoyed seeing the swans and the place is beautiful. However, the cafe, also very expensive is a different story. My partner had a ploughmans costing £12.50 and it was no more than an unimaginative grated cheese and ham salad with a bit of old stale bread. Very disappointing and very overpriced.

It is a nice place when it comes to sitting-groups outside, but they had very little variations and a lot was sold out.

After a visit to see the swans we stopped off here for lunch. We both ordered a tuna melt panini with a cup of the homemade soup. The plate was well presented, the panini packed with tasty filling and the tomato and basil soup was full of flavour. We ate outside in pleasant surroundings and the service was friendly.

A touch on the institutional side, this. Restorative after the exercise around the Swannery, but certainly not destination dining.

Food very good, superb cup of tea, service excellent, a play area for children whilst adults finish lunch. All in all a good place to go.

on peut manger ou grignoter a l’intérieur ou dans le charmant jardin .Tres bonne nourriture Etablissement très propre

Long wait for awful cheap sausage sandwich and the inside was just blank walls - not a swan picture or photograph in sight. Why?? Outside it looked pleasant but it was too early for us. Also took 25 minutes to arrive! Why cafes do not stock locally sourced better quality products is beyond me. The cakes looked lovely - expensive but looked nice , but the low meat content cheap sausages - please!!!

Pretty setting. Food good. Cakes lovely. Safe play area for children. Outside area to eat when weather good

We called in here after walking around the swannery. We found a good selection of food (very tasty pasties) the cafe was clean and the staff were very helpful and friendly.

Firstly, you can visit this wonderful cafe without going into The Swannery - it has free parking too.