The Yard Hampshire in Basingstoke and Deane

I left glorious Hampstead and Highgate nearly 15 years ago to live in the Meon Valley which nestles in the South Downs National Park. To my surprise it turned out to be even more glorious than I'd hoped (in a very different rural way) albeit super parochial! A couple of weeks ago I decided to visit The Yard which I'd read about. Imagine my surprise when I arrived, parked with ease and walked into what I can only describe as having a Shoreditch-vibe smack in the middle of the Candover Valley in Hampshire. Great decor. Delicious pastries if that's your thing. And great coffee which is definitely my thing. Best of all - there was an absence of yummie mummies indulging their demanding kids and raising the decibels. A place where I could sit and continue my latest screenplay whilst imaging I was in the hub of the city. If they'd also served eggs I'd be in heaven.

Visited for the first time for coffee on Sunday morning. Really good coffee and my friend ordered the bacon brioche bap which she said was lovely, especially with the chilli jam. One star deducted as I felt the music was too loud for first thing on a Sunday morning, and I also wasn't too impressed by one of the members of staff tying up her hair in the mirror behind the counter, where food was kept and prepared.

Pretentious! Now, I don't mind spending money on decent food & drink but this place was just weird. The smallest cup of coffee in a glass that went cold quite quickly and the most disgusting sausage bun I've encountered. Wannabe hipster place, so if you're one of those people. You'll love it.

Very hip but also delicious and relaxed. Love this place so much.

Lovely local cafe stop for us. Coffee is wonderful and the food is always spot on.

Fabulous little find, lovely food and welcoming staff.

Our special sandwich red pepper and beetroot was very tasty but a side accompaniment would have been nice given the price. Overhaul is a nice place with a rustic atmosphere.

Great coffee and friendly, welcoming staff. Surprisingly busy, but well worth a visit if you're out this way.

Great Coffee, tasty smoothie and amazing fresh food. An awesome find ❤️

Lovely quiet spot with excellent food & drink selection. Especially enjoyed the Mocha!

Place was shut for a wedding and no forewarnings, didn't get to try it out!!!

Lovely location and a good place to stop on a bike ride. I can however only give 3 ⭐. I fancied a pastry/cake with my coffee, However these are open to the elements and there were wasps and flies landing on them whilst I was there. So I declined, business lost. This food is also at the till where customers can stand right over, breathe, cough etc I have mentioned this to staff before but nothing changes. During COVID times the cakes/pastries were behind glass/plastic??! Sorry but I do feel this should be addressed as a hygiene issue

Turned up for a coffee, best cup of coffee this year , without exception. I will return

We were so thrilled to be able to book a table for our family and friends as our ‘post wedding breakfast’ - it really was such a lovely morning. We managed to get a preorder in so we didn’t overwhelm the kitchen and everyone was just so kind and helpful. Could not recommend enough and I’m gasping to return for another special toastie!! Even when we added more people it wasn’t too much of an issue, thank you for being so kind in our hour of need! See you soon and thank you so much again

Most excellent coffee and lunch choices. Really nice atmosphere. Stopped here for lunch during a cycle ride with quite a few other folks. The service was great and all of us managed to get our food quickly despite being busy. Recommended

A unique location, friendly staff and excellent coffee.

Booked the Yard to celebrate our big birthday party. What a venue! We had 60 guests and were blown away by the dedication of the staff in helping set up the party and ensuring that everything went smoothly. Wonderful atmosphere, great service; our guests were well looked after which meant that my husband and I could relax and truely enjoy ourselves. We had an outside caterer in for the main, but got the Yard ice-cream for dessert .Delicious! We have had so many compliments from our friends saying how much they enjoyed the party. I would not hesitate in recommending the venue or the staff . A very special place with its own unique vibe. Thank you guys xxxx

Well done to Tim and the team at the Yard. When ten thirsty and hungry cyclists, our table was available as requested, water was available and the drinks and food arrived quickly. The food was well prepared and tasty and the service carried out with a smile.

We booked the Yard for a private party on Saturday evening. The location is fantastic, the staff were efficient, attentive, and friendly, and we had a great evening. Thoroughly recommend it!

A gem of a cafe in the Hampshire countryside, can get busy but staff cope with these busy periods, plenty of seating inside and out. Menu has been expanded with daily specials. Great coffee from the Coffee Roasters next door.

Lovely place away from tarmac and exhaust pipes. Very friendly service. Will be back.

Dog friendly with great coffee. Always buy a bulk pack of Moonroast directly from the coffee roasters. Not only a chance to support a local business but the coffee is the best!

What a great find! The food is delicious, coffee is great and the setting is ideal and perfect. We will be coming back. It’s also both child and dog friendly.

The Yard hosted a family birthday celebration brunch on Sunday morning. It was easy to organise, very bespoke and everything on the day was smooth and relaxed. The whole staff team went above and beyond - food and coffee was delicious, service was faultless and last minute changes were seamlessly accommodated. Cannot recommend highly enough.

We came here on a Sunday for takeout coffee before going on one of the walks around the farm trails, followed by another coffee after. The first coffee we got to takeout, around lunchtime, and had a bit of a wait for, but the second (near closing time) came out very quickly. We really enjoyed the fact there are several options for beans for coffees, as its a good way to try new coffees, and they have a big selection of Moon Roast beans available to buy too! The cafe has a really nice relaxed vibe, and a large outside seating area as well as indoor seating. We will 100% be coming back, especially as there is now gelato!

An absolute gem of a place - there is something very special about it - so effortlessly cool, the setting is idyllic, the look and feel of the place, not to mention the food and super kind and welcoming staff. A really inspiring place to visit whilst out on a solo adventure or with family and friends. Thank you!

Very nice stylish place. Bit noisy and a lot of children because of the festival on the farm grounds. Food and coffee were nice but maybe a bit overpriced. Well worth a visit.

Theyard is a great coffee/brunch/lunch place with a good mix of food, pastries and drinks. They serve Moon Roast coffee roasted bext door and now serve locally made gelato too. Good walks to get your appetite going!

Nice place but too many yappy dogs to my liking

Food very good, service was bit slow. One of our orders was not put through to the kitchen, unfortunately it was for a young child who got a bit fractious. I dont think the team have got service sorted yet. Wasnt a fan of the music, bit loud. But the atmosphere is a personal preference. But a good place to go.

Great spot in the Hampshire countryside serving light food and coffee from the on-premise roastery Moon Roast. Service can be patchy, but it is a large open place full of families, walkers, cyclists etc. so this is understandable

Excellent food and service we will be back 😀👍🏻

The Yard is a nice café. The coffee is moon roast and it is delicious (if a little on the small and expensive side). The place can get very busy and noisy so be prepared for this. The food is nice but small and it can be also be expensive. The food might not be to everyone's taste either. The Yard has a large outside area that is covered and it is well prepared for customers with dogs and for cyclists (which it is very popular with)

We found this place online and met up with some friends for lunch. It looked good but was apparently being run by teenagers, on a sunny Sunday they were surprised to find lots of customers. You have to queue to order which is odd, we ordered 4 cheese toasties and 3 soups, we waited over an hour for the food with people arriving after us getting food before us, lots of people asking where their food was and total chaos as polite but young staff unable to cope. Food was good but it was ridiculous to wait that long. A shame but they need a good manager and a plan.

Nice place, but be prepared to wait. We arrived about 11:25 on a Sunday and it was packed. Favoured by cyclists, we waited 20 mins for 2 coffees and over 35 mins for toast, by which time we had finished our drinks. Shame, because the concept is great. Food is over priced for what it is.

Beautiful little spot out in the middle of nowhere. The coffee is excellent and the food menu is nice and simple- the bacon and egg brioche with chilli jam was delicious! There are some lovely walks highlighted on the website too which are well worth it!

Excellent place to come to do some work or chill and relax, loads of good snacks and the coffee is very nice. Outside area when the weather is warm is wonderful to sit out in and just relax.

Coffee was cold. Back ground music was to loud making it difficult to talk to friends.

Good coffee and bacon & egg brioche rolls

Amazing spot in a beautiful setting, but gets exceptionally busy at the weekends. We waited 40 minutes for two hot drinks but you could see the staff were working really hard to keep up with all the orders. Just bear in mind if visiting at the weekend! It would also be great to see a vegan option on the menu and bakery

Extremely nice coffee! 10/10 coffee! Wouldn’t go much on the service, but I’d return for another coffee and to try the food. This time I only got a coffee and pastry to go, as there wasn’t any tables available, obviously very popular and you’d need to get there earlier for a table. 🙂

I can understand a wait to order, but the wait for coffees to arrive was far too long. Got to front of the queue and tried to order some cake; I was told the ones I wanted were "already on order". Only 1 hot chocolate of the two put through and paid for. Given a second one at no charge, which was nice. Cakes were very good and enjoyed by all. Coffee not quite lukewarm. Cappuccino looked the same as the latte and had no chocolate sprinkles. Tasted like OK coffee, nothing special though. Small and served in those awful glasses. No sugar on tables. Inside or out, it was cold as all doors open. Music outside very load and appropriate for a trendy bar setting. Tbh, I was disappointed after all the positive things I've heard. £24.50 for 4 cakes (quite small) and 3 drinks (glad I didn't pay for the 4th).

Great coffee and baked goods, nice walks nearby

Food was great! We had to come back twice due to no seating but that wasn’t a problem as we went on a drive around the beautiful and scenic Alresford 😍

Gorgeous cafe, delicious food & kind staff. I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the cafe and the coffee was superb.

I don’t like to leave negative reviews for independent places but this is the second time we’ve been let down at the Yard. We arrived at 11 (5 hours before closing) and ordered tea, coffee and cake. By the time we got to the front of the huge queue there was very little left to choose from so we chose a cake, were given two less than generous slices and sat to wait for the drinks. 40 minutes later and no sign of the drinks. People in front of us in the queue were also without drinks and asking whether their orders had been forgotten. By this time it was past 12 and we had to leave with no drinks having spent £14 on two meagre slices of cake. With a lot of time to contemplate whilst waiting, I have a few constructive suggestions: 1. Hot drinks are a clear bottle neck and therefore you need more than one person making them and/ or an additional machine. 2. The queue should be moved away from the centre of the cafe, it’s uncomfortable for everyone and makes it likely a waiter will trip over dogs and babies etc getting in the way. More timely order taking may also resolve queue size or could use QR code ordering via phone 3. Remove the table reservations, you have enough footfall without blocking half the cafe capacity with lunch reservations. This creates a lot of wasted table space and is unnecessary. Won’t be coming back but hope this helps! :)

Very over priced. Menu very limited. Not much to choose from. Very disappointed. I had a hot chocolate. It was very weak and watery. It's was horrible to drink. I had pancakes not much maple syrup on them and quite dry in places. I won't be coming back again. Trying to find a parking space was difficult.

Excellent cafe - good atmosphere and great food - located in the middle of know-where

Busy Sunday so understandable for the wait to be served in the queue. Limited cakes (2 plus a tart kind of thing) none with names, prices or allergens listed...not sure that's allowed? Could save extra questions at the til and speed up service if they did. Drinks arrived 25 mins later but one drink missing. Staff not very smiley and gave no eye contact. Even the apology for the missed drink was a throw away. Love the look and feel of the place but attention to detail would make it a much better experience. Will give it another go but maybe staff could do with a bit of customer relations training.

It was very busy at midday on a Saturday in January. Lots of cyclists visiting at the time adding to the already busy cafe. I like it quieter, so it was not great for me, but people were definitely enjoying themselves. I would recommend going out of peak time, if you like a more peaceful time!. Rustic rural sophistication draws people in. Plenty of parking is an attribute too.

Service was coolly indifferent, and there were a lot of dogs sniffing round the tables, which didn't feel massively hygienic. Food was great, and an exceptional flat white.

Breakfast with my partner and 1 year old. The Yard was easy to find, well signposted, great atmosphere and child friendly. Food and drinks were excellent and locally sourced.

I really like visiting the yard. High quality coffee and cake in a unique setting. Summer or winter, it's a fabulous venue. Sadly not 5 stars this time. It was very busy but our coffee was forgotten and it feels like the trend of making coffee cups smaller is getting out of hand....... I absolutely can't fault the Moonroast coffee or the barista who made my latte though, 5 stars for them.

A great location for a cafe. Potato brioche was fantastic. Coffee was excellent. Bike rack, work stand and pump was a nice touch.

Glad we got here early it fills up fast, foods good.

Absolutely brilliant coffee shop with lovely staff, great food and nice walk up the hill behind too. Highly recommend!

Great place for a coffee and cake

Nice coffee, nice cake, pleasant friendly service. Why not 5 stars, well, the coffee quantity is small. When ordering a latte I expect a decent mug full, not a small glass and the cakes whilst nice are expensive. Will return but not as often due to this

lovely coffee and a beautiful cafe:))

Great place to pop into after a dog walk around the adjacent fields. Lots of parking available on hard standing and there is an overflow car park also for busy periods. Great venue with a nice atmosphere and friendly staff. Highchairs available also, which is great for little ones. Seating available both inside and out, with a large covered outdoor area if the weather isn't favourable. Dogs are welcome and there are water bowls for your pets to fill up on outside. The prices are on the expensive side, so keep that in mind when visiting if you're expecting a cheap stop. It was just under £13 for the two drinks pictured and a ham/cheese croissant (which were all very nice) but remember you're paying for quality. Will definitely be returning.

Tasty food, great coffee and dog friendly! This is clearly a popular spot, particularly for cyclists, where we just managed to get a table. There were many good bakery options availability too, as well as coffee to buy. If you’d like the beans ground in a specific way, they can do that!

Revisit Aug 2023 Great V60 this trip, everything good want from filter coffee, delicious ************* You'd expect a coffee shop sited next to a roastery to be pretty good and you won't be disappointed. Excellent espresso for a mixed cycling and dog walking crowd with the bonus of equally good Aeropress. Cakes and toasties also top notch

Awesome laid back atmosphere, super friendly staff. Great location and dog friendly which is always a bonus to us. Delicious food and coffee (try the breakfast burrito). Would recommend and definitely visit again.

Think numbers on table would help, confusion when bringing orders out. As much as I love dogs and have dogs, sometimes the barking can be annoying,there just happened to be a lot there on Sunday. Food good, staff nice, all round nice place to visit

Wonderful! We went to Friday night's music evening and everything about the venue was just perfect - the music; the street food courtesy of Earth to Oven; indoor and outdoor seating which interconnects beautifully in one space, and an overall 'holiday' vibe in tastefully designed surroundings. We will definitely be back!

Stunningly beautiful location, great atmosphere. Delicious selection of coffees with different origins. High quality local produce. Staff were very friendly and informative.

Been meaning to go here for a while and considering it was very busy the service was quick and very polite staff! The coffee is outstanding and highly recommended! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Been meaning to go here for a while. A really cool setting in the grounds of a farm. Well thought-out layout with indoor, outdoor and covered outdoor areas. Didn't seem overly busy but food took a while, and if you don't like dogs, not a place for you. Food was lovely when it came and managed to sample a couple of craft beers from a brewery in Eastleigh. On a calm, sunny day I bet this is a really top spot.

Lovely space and fantastic ice cream

What a great find - going back soon !!

المكان جداً حلو وشرح .. فيه محمصة قهوة ممتازة 👍🏼

Great coffee and a good spot to stop for cyclists

Great atmosphere, the coffee here is amazing - all varieties, the food fantastic... Carefully thought through, local ingredients and elevated - could almost be fine dining. Good vibe amongst customers and staff

Absolutely fantastic coffee! Beans roasted on site! Even bought a bag of beans for home

So nice, great choice, perfect for cyclist 🚴‍♂️🚴🚴🚴

An excellent rural coffee/snack experience!! This is our first visit, having previously looked regularly at the menu, but feeling that it was a little too accented (or even restricted) towards Veggie/Vegan style for our tastes when requiring a 10 mile drive!! However, we were recently encouraged by the online additions/adjustments to the fare available and vowed to have our first experience asap. We were not disappointed in any way. Highly enjoyable and now a wider ‘range’ for all. So much so, that I made a point of going back inside, before leaving our outside table, in order to congratulate the enthusiastic and very friendly and efficient staff. ❤️ Extensions to the parking, were also welcome, hopefully indicating an upsurge of interest and attendance. We will 100% be returning.

Beautiful spot in the countryside. Cracking coffee, staff are v cool and friendly. Hard to come by places like this, very happy to have found it

Fantastic cafe in an idyllic location, with delicious food and wonderful coffee.

Queued for hours just to have poor Indian food

Great stop for cyclists (tea / coffee cake etc) but our overpriced sausage sandwich was ok. Not bad but nothing special

Lovely coffee and food. The only negatives I would mention are the parking, which was hard on Saturday, there was a overflow but it was on a muddy field. The cafe is quite narrow and people tend to stand around etc, so it felt a bit of squeeze to move around, although once you've ordered at the counter they provide table service. Overall I would recommend a visit here, and definely would return if I was passing through the area.

Excellent service, great food, perfect coffee. Definetly will be visiting and recommending.

Great for friends out and about to stop for drinks and food.

This has been my favourite local coffee shop since lockdown. Always excellent coffee, beautiful space to sit in (or out) and excellent pastries. So going for my birthday last weekend was an obvious choice. Unfortunately I was very disappointed with the visit for a number of reasons. One pastry (cinnamon roll) was overbaked, the other (almond croissant) was actually a dry croissant smeared in excessive amounts of sweet lubricant and with marmalade and almond flakes. Neither of us enjoyed the pastries. Secondly the prices of the pastries were steep. I expect a very good croissant for £5! Thirdly please close the stable door between the kitchen and the cafe. If you were a bakery, wafting the smell of fresh bread is one thing. Cooking breakfast is different. The coffee was up to the normal high standards. Please go back to ensuring that you nail the basics, they are the reason you are so popular. Unfortunately you are only as good as the last visit!

Genuinely the best coffee I’ve ever had in my life and I live in London so this is high praise

A bit of a disappointment really. Nice coffee but the expensive chocolate Brownie could have been hidden under a 1st class stamp.

Fantastic food, and the team is even better!

An out of the way tea/coffee shop serving fresh food. I tried the bacon, egg and chilli brioche and it was very fresh and tasted excellent. I will hopefully return again.

Wonderful, great location, lovely food. Ideal for a bike ride into the Candovers!

What a lovely place ... Food a tad expensive but great coffee n atmosphere

My other half and I were out for a bike ride in the Candovers and came across The Yard - it felt like a little haven in the middle of nowhere! There’s a bike rack to leave your bike, outdoor heaters if you want to sit outside, lots of delicious cake and great coffee/hot choc! Our ham and cheese toastie was just what we needed towards the end of our ride! And my partner was a big fan of the coffee and the on-site coffee roastery!

Good coffee. Thinnest slice of cake ever☹️. Too busy for just one taking orders. Staff very cheerful and welcoming.

Very nice. I was recommended here, well worth the visit.

It's a bit of a trap for yummy mummies and folk in Barbour jackets. To get inside you walk through the actual unadorned yard of a farm. Oh, how rustic! The food is tasty but there is limited choice. Good coffee.

Just wished this place was open during the week. 😉

Lovely atmosphere and great food - a hidden gem if you love a good coffee as there’s a roasters next door who also run barista training for us coffee muggles! It can be a little slow on service but it kinda goes with the vibe - needs some more sofas for you to chill on maybe. Just to update on the situ I found - no booking system - food and drink is on plates/cups and yeah you have to find your own table and order at the front 😉 don’t go here though as it might get too busy for me to get a table!!!

Great food, great coffee, lovely service. Was bustling with families and cyclists on a Saturday morning. My only want would be a sign on the door to say find a table and order at the bar, so people know what to expect when they walk in.

I've stopped here several times mid-very long walk with friends, and the cake and coffee has always been very good indeed. I'm vegan so having cake was a lovely perk (they have ice-cream and sorbets too). However, their vegan sandwich options are a little limited in my opinion; they have vegan cheese, but little to go with it (alas, no tomatoes on three consecutive visits). It would be great to have the option of a vegan cheese and tomato toastie (or possibly even Branston pickle). The servers are always very polite and friendly and service is generally pretty prompt. To finish on a happy note: nice, needs tomatoes :D

Really like this place and love the ambience. Staff are very polite, friendly and helpful. Would appreciate a wider menu choice possibly including lunch time salads such as Caesar and maybe a traditional English breakfast. Great vibe.

Very comfortable place, friendly staff, nice coffee, drinks and food. A nice chill sunny afternoon well spent!