Watermill Cafe in Harrogate

FANTASTIC afternoon tea .. delightful setting and wonderful friendly service .. so relaxing sitting by the dam /riverside .. thank you so much

Don't ask Satnav or Google to get you there by car, like I tried 🙁 it's a pleasent short walk from the humpback Bridge along the River Nidd, once there it's very picturesque & quite... Huge pot of lovely tea for 2, cups & saucers from the cafe a fiver 😋😋

Good cafe next to the river in Knaresborough. Ideal to cycle to, nice traffic free location. Good range of food and drinks. Service a bit sporadic, took about 15 minutes from 1st to last order to arrive at our table. Overall good and definitely worth a visit. Plenty of outdoor seating areas. UPDATE September 2024 - still going strong. Decent cafe. Pleasant staff and reasonable prices.

Just stopped with the kids. The lady who served us was cert friendly with a lovely smile made us feel really welcome and brought our dog a biscuit which was really nice. Coffee was really good. Great views.

Great location / setting , food is basic and not the best quality Service is slow and poor Basic white bread used for sandwich, cheap sausage and bacon. Ordered two extra coffees, paid cash, had to ask four times for them , then one turned up. Asked for the other one twice only to be asked if we paid for two? Then told we can do in a takeaway cup , not that useful when your on a bike. Eventually asked for a refund.

Lovely place next to the river, proper tea in pot, (selection of teas available)try a home made scone (howeverway you may say it) Have a look in the charity shed under the mill, bargains to be had.....books n gizmos Dogs welcome there's a loop at side of steps for your dogs lead, really nice relaxing place to visit.....def' recommended....

worst service I've seen in a long time, and that's a low bar to crawl under, but they managed it .

We had a takeaway Lasagne and chips with side salad, absolutely gorgeous, so good in fact, we went and had it again. Service was good, staff were friendly and couldn't do enough.

The adult meals we purchased were OK, tasty and reasonably priced. however the kids meals for £8 were an absolute rip off. A tiny toastie (one slice of bread so one teeny triangle each) one third of a packet of crisps, a drumstick and cup of juice - for £8!! I felt really ripped off. They also come with a toy / either a fishing net or bubbles - but the kids didn’t really want or need either (though we did take them as we’d paid for them) and I’d rather have had a cheaper meal. So disappointing. The staff were very good though and kind, really hard workers and the toilet facilities are very good as well

Venue..great, outlook..great… but that’s where it ends I’m afraid. My first time here and to be honest probably be my last. I was not impressed, too many dirty tables with dirty crockery which I moved ! You have to navigate steps to order ! Really ? So the fittest member of us did the deed. The sandwiches were pretty basic, I can do better myself. As for the salad ? Don’t you just love limp cucumber etc etc we asked for mayo which we never got, Shame might have improved the salad. Very expensive for a basic sandwich and to top it all free of charge parasols flying all over with no staff in sight. Too many young ones who haven’t a clue. I’ve done better thanks !

Me and the wife had a great hearty breakfast, Full breakfast cooked really well in great surroundings lovely place and good price! Beautiful picturesque views well worth a visit.

A lovely Waterside cafe at the lido on the river Nidd. The only drawback is the steps up to the cafe but the staff are very helpful and used to going up and down them.

Nice location besides the river Nidd. Lovely food and friendly staff. Sit inside or outside with a river view. mostly snack menu but all very nice.

Food nice staff nice view of wier from cafe beautiful

Went for a nice day out with the family, ordered a breakfast for me and food for the misses and young en . Mother and Father in law also ordered food the had received their food eaten it and gone off to play with young en before I had even received my food. Asked the question couple of times of how long , it was always 2 minutes. Waited a very long time, then the wrong order came out , I was very patient but it got to a point it was taking far too long and the family had to go . I asked for a refund which was held up and then the food came out as I was waiting for a refund . Received 2 stars and not 1 for the fact I got my refund . Really recommend some staff training and a new chef

Nicely situated & reasonably priced

Had a ploughman's 9.95 very poor not fresh salad not even a piece of bread with it and only 1 piece of cheese.

Management couldn’t run a bath…use young cheap labour, who are oblivious to what they’re supposed to do….service is terrible, coffee like mud

Lovely place to sit and watch the water well priced customer service amazing coffee was lovely. Will definitely go back

Amazing place set back by the water and service was amazing.. the coffee was delicious... will definitely revisit would definitely recommend for a stop off and dog friendly too bonus

The venue has the potential to be a wonderful place to enjoy tea and scones by the River Nidd. However, we were very disappointed by the service time and the lack of any explanation or apology for the over 40 minute wait for our scones. When we enquired we were told "They were on their way" and over 20 minutes later they arrived. It would have helped if we had been told they were going to be freshly baked and there would be a wait of 40 minutes! We had had a lovely day in Knaresborough and this would have been a fitting end to a perfect day. On the up side, we were able to watch a Heron on the opposite bank while we waited patiently for our scones! Get the service right and they will have people flocking to their doors I am sure.

Idyllic setting on the River Nidd. We walked from Knaresborough along the Riverside and stopped here for a coffee and a light snack before we returned the same way. Coffee was lovely but very small cups for the price. The staff were really lovely but very much run off their feet. The wait was quite long but we weren't in a hurry and it didn't matter too much. The view from the balcony is lovely, and there is a caravan park near to it. During the summer I'd imagine it gets extremely busy as it was quite busy on our visit in April. Overall good visit but just expected a bit of a wait.

1st time visit, found this place by accident, Oh my set in beautiful surroundings, so calm and peaceful listening to the water run by. Sat and watched a Kingfisher diving for fish. I will be visiting again when back in the area. This place has an indoor area, outside area, and a small balcony area, all of which would be pleasant to be seated in. There is a small area of sanded beach at the side where you can access the water, but not recommended for swimming probably more for dogs to have fun. I would recommend a visit.

What a nice scenic place we had lemon drizzle cake and coffee when over this way again will definitely be back

Absolute gem of a cafe! Gorgeous location right by the river. Our warm scones were delicious and the service was friendly. We will definitely return for lunch sometime!

It was not very good on the day I dined there. Might be a nice place to sit outside in the summer. But in early March, not so much. Was happy to forget that, but there was not enough staff and the coffee was poor and the buns were dry. So not for me.

See my below review following which the owner Rachel messaged me apologised that her trainee had made mistakes and invited us back . We came back today and true to her word she made us 2 of the best milkshakes we have ever had see my photos. Really really lovely My initial review- Expensive for a carton of orange and smallest milkshake for nearly £4 won't be coming again

2 of us called in for a meal after walking our dogs. We both ordered a breakfast. Sausage was luke warm, mushrooms were stone cold. The young lad serving brought 2 slices of toast 3 pats of butter and 1 pat of marmalade all on the same plate for 2 people to share. The coffee was out of a coffee machine, awful. Would be better serving instant coffee than that. No access for the disabled to the cafe but plenty of seating out side. My partner who has a disability scooter had a problem getting out of the lido because 2 vehicles had parked over the footpath blocking the entrance. Luckily a young man at the bus stop helped push him and his scooter onto the grass so he could get out. All in all a real shame the watermill is in a great location and could be a fantastic venue but it just isn't.

Beautiful setting. Long wait for disappointing food. So many dirty pots on tables and piled up in the cafe. Doesn’t seem the same as it used to be a couple of years ago Very disappointed

Decent cuppa by the beautiful river side views. Very nice fruit scone that was just the right size. Great view from the balcony and there's always some shade somewhere fort those super sunny days.

Been in today, and ordered 2 ploughman's which were amazing and 2 large breakfasts. To me the breakfasts were not large (if I ordered a normal one, I would be wasting away). The pot of tea came out at the very least 15 mins before the toast, and the breakfasts came out nearly 15 mins after that. One one of the breakfasts there was no tomato, on the other there was no hash brown, to be told later they'd run out (we should of been told that straight away, but we had to ask). IF I come again, I would expect everything to come out at the same time instead of a 30 minutes gap between everything. I am not blaming the waiting staff one bit, it's the kitchen staff who need to up their game.

Stopped here as it was half way on our walk. It was raining but we managed to get a table under the outside covered area. Bit confusing as you have to order at a window but because it was raining I went inside and asked a young man if I could order. He said I needed to go outside to the window to order. So I did. However it turns out that he didn't mention to anyone that I was there waiting to order! A few minutes later a woman appeared at the window and apologized that she didn't know I was there. I ordered a latte, scone and toasted teacake and went back to my table. After a long time the latte came (which was good but the smallest latte glass I've ever seen) A while later the toasted teacake appeared (which was standard) and I asked about the scone which I was told was coming (no idea why they didn't bring it with the teacake?) Another while later and the scone appeared. It was quite small and was slightly warm on the outside but it was cold on the inside (like it had just come out of the fridge?) I opted to have jam and cream with the scone. For £1.10 extra I expected real cream so getting a small plastic pot with squirty cream is not just a rip off but really not what you expect with a scone. The staff were all very nice but the whole thing just seemed very disorganized and slow. There were only a few other people sitting inside while we were there so no idea why it took so long for everything to arrive? Might stop here again for drinks in future as the coffee was nice, but we need to make sure we've got plenty of spare time!

Been to the Watermill today, would highly recommend this hidden gem. Home cooked food and portions excellent, loverly staff who gave attentive service. Will certainly visit again.

A friend treated me to afternoon tea at this cafe. The setting is idyllic, and it was a lovely experience. The staff were polite and efficient, and the food was not only delicious, but also good value for money. We ended up bringing a lot of the cakes home. Strongly recommended and on a sunny day, unbeatable. Even had it been raining, and we had been indoors, it would have been worth it for the actual food, and the ever present sound of the weirs. thank you.

Good service and friendly and a nice view over the river 👍.

Very nice surroundings. Did not eat but good coffee and service.

Nice little place. Food is good. Location is lovely. Very quirky little cottage type building. Has steep steps to the entrance to get served. Dog friendly but keep them on a lead as there is wildlife in close proximity.

Nice little cafe for a coffee and cake stop. Lovely views on a sunny day.

Nice honest caff, nothing fancy but friendly and good food at a fair price (including vegan options). It was very cold so we couldn't sit on the balcony over the river, which would have been really nice in the summer.

What a lovely cafe, the staff were absolutely amazing, we had afternoon tea with two of my lovely friends. We had the option of sitting outside by the river and it was such a lovely sunny day we sat out. The sandwiches were lovely and fresh and the homemade cakes were to die for, topped up with loads of tea. Thankyou Christine for the lovely treat x. Definitely recommend.

Had a lovely breakfast here this morning, amazing to see the cafe open, warm and welcoming- even when the autumn weather was against them! Delicious food and fantastic service- thank you very much for your hospitality!

Horrible, £4.20 sausage bap. Cheap bread bun, asked for butter in bun with sausages. It came out no butter bun just shoved on a plate no care, microwaved sausages not even cut not hot shoved in bun. That’s it was revolting and no pride of work in kitchen just vile.

Very friendly staff,tasty food,a great place to stop for good food

Picturesque. Good food, nice staff, dog friendly, little charity shop is an added bonus too.

Hidden gem of Knaresborough! Lovely cafe with a charity shop.

A lovely friendly cafe right next to the river with seating overlooking the Nidd. Nice food and friendly staff.

Excellent place to stop off for a coffee ☕ while having a walk 🚶‍♂️ by the river. Good facilities to eat inside 😋 and out, also has toilets 🚻 and can get busy being next to the caravan park.

Great place to bring the family for a day out on a nice summers days. Food reasonable priced.

Stopped off on a walk along the Nidd. Great coffee and such relaxed surroundings. Staff were excellent. Lovely place for a coffee

Great setting.had probably the worst sausage butty ever via microwave and luke warm coffee

Had lunch here lovely food and friendly staff would return but live far away but highly recommend for light bit 2 eat

Lovely food and lovely girl serving

Thoughtfully prepared food, served by conscientious helpers in stunning location.

Food is ok, I had an egg mayo sandwich on granary, the bread was very thick so there needed to be a lot more egg mayo in there. Also it’s served in a plastic tray, my coleslaw seeped out through the gaps on the tray and the paper it’s served on all got gathered up into my salad, I think you need plates for salad and coleslaw. Lovely setting tho and perfectly reasonable food at reasonable prices.

Nice place overlooking the the river

Owners seemed to be resting on there laurels, need to pick it up a bit, no food because it was hot in the kitchen, get some aircon, there was plenty cold drinks and some ice lollies and 3 choices of ice cream, board had 8 to choose from, we loved its situation and seating area but just not enough choice, 😉

Great location and cafe. Shame no public road leads to it.

What a lovely spot for a walk and a quick lunch break,found it completely by chance,knaresborough very busy drove past a sign and stopped,a little hidden gem

Coffee perfect sadly the food was not. Great location however.came in yesterday service was polite and quick. Bacon and egg barm was not nice as thick fat on bacon not cooked enough also sausage barm similar as sausage only just about cooked

Lovely relaxing place for a bite to eat or coffee overlooking the river

First visit, it won't be the last! Hidden away at the side of the river, we sat and watched the water flow over the weir as a heron hunted from the bank. Idyllic! Food was simple, fresh and tasty, sandwiches, scones, and fruit juices. Well worth a visit on a summer afternoon.

The afternoon tea at the Watermill cafe, The Lido, Knaresborough was the best we have ever enjoyed. The staff were extremely pleasant and helpful.

Best cafe I’ve ever been too. Fabulous people nice staff. Can’t wait to go again

Awful coffee, served in disposable cups even though we were sitting at the café. Bin next to coffee was full of disposed cups and lids. Scenery was the redeeming feature. (Edit) When we arrived there were 2 people having drinks and before we left 2 more arrived, hardly a rush so I'm unsure why disposable cups were used and the lids are plastic! As for the quality of coffee - I'd not expect a £2.60 flat white coffee to be made from a sachet. My wife tasted the coffee when I turned my nose up and she agreed it wasn't particularly pleasant. Re the bins. The bin being full is one thing the fact it was ALL disposable cups seemed wasteful and hardly environmental.

Went with friend fantastic food fabulous coffee very friendly staff very good value for money. Would highly recommend

Cant comment on the cafe. Came here by car from 30 miles away as a half way meet up point with elderly relatives. There is no way to access this cafe by car so had to abandon our plans as my elderly relative couldnt make it on foot. This wasnt immediately obvious from the photos or reviews.

Friendly staff and lovely surroundings to enjoy drinks and light meals. The food was very tasty and good value and the location added to the experience

Visited here previously and really enjoyed it but not today. The cakes were lovely but not the coffee which came in paper cups!! When asked for a proper cup we were told they didn't have any as the washing up hadn't been done!! I explained that if we had been told that I would have ordered a cold drink - I don't expect to go to a cafe and not have my coffee in a proper cup - I can go to Macdonald's down the road for that and at a cheaper price. The girl did rectify the problem but was very surly about it just slamming the cups on the table, customer service is not one of her strong points. Lots of other cafes in the area which will now be getting our business.

Out walking and came across this pretty little cafe. Plenty of outside seating with picture perfect outlook to the river. Bit confusing getting served I think the young staff were new but they were nice and polite and eventually we had our cake and Ice creams. Very small portions of cake for the price charged but ice cream was good.

Lovely position for a Cafè. Nice food served in quick order, nice friendly welcome.

Lovely place over looking river Nidd. Good place to take the kids for a play in the river lovely food in the cafe

Lovely cafe, good choice of food and lovely coffee. Staff are friendly. If you can, sit upstairs where you can have a beautiful view of the river.

Lovely food, amazing setting and the staff couldn't be more friendly. Highly recommend

we had a beautiful americano coffee,lovely pleasant staff,we,ll be back 👍👍👍👍👍

We often visit this cafe especially in dry weather due to the lovely view from the outdoor seating. Today we had the Valentines Afternoon Tea inside the cafe which is tastefully decorated. The food was reasonably priced and delicious. The staff were friendly, helpful but not intrusive. Highly recommend a visit.

Great bacon butties or any breakfast butties. Coffee, Latte, tea, and Hot chocolate served. Cup cakes are often over priced but they have to make a living so don't mind paying it as the breakfast butties and cafe is so lovely.

Brilliant place for a coffee stop food very good love the coffee staff fantastic

Chanced on this cafe by the river completely by chance while out doing a walk at Knaresborough along the the river. It’s accessible by the adjacent holiday home park, or along a short track by the river from the main road. It was a welcome find as although it was in October it was really hot and sunny day, so some snacks and cold drinks were needed. There were people swimming and fishing in the river, and this is a good place for dogs - under control. There are nice (and clean) tables and chairs outside if you want and there’s a traditional cafe selection of hot and cold food and drinks and snacks. Very reasonable price and definitely recommend, particularly as a half way break if you’re out walking. Will be back. Thanks !!

Just enjoyed a fantastic breakfast at the watermill cafe. Everything was hot & delicious -the perfect start to your day

Lovely location next to the river with a good selection of loch lunches, ice cream and snacks.

Beautiful place, people take advantage of the lake for swimming in and the water is calm. I had a walk round with the dogs while my friend was swimming and it was so tranquil. Has benches around as well to sit and watch the world go by. The only downside was that for some reason the cafe was closed, would of loved to have a coffee as well.

Very friendly staff , good cafe food and even have dog treats and water bowls 😊

Beautiful spot but not impressed with the food. Sandwich was worse than supermarket, 2 slices of bread with thin bit of ham.

Lovely cappuccino and breakfast sandwiches overlooking the river.

Lovely food and fantastic balcony to sit on overlooking the weir and the river Nidd.

A wonderful old building in a stunning location. However, to be given plastic cutlery, cardboard beakers and polystyrene food containers felt very out of place in such a setting. Added to this was the poor quality white bread used for our toasties.

A lovely location in a very peaceful spot next to the River Nidd in Knaresborough. A perfect location to sit enjoying the view with a cup of coffee, unfortunately won’t be going back unless they improve their coffee.

nice place to sit and watch river go by

Good value food, lovely location, attentive staff.

Nice little cafe in a great spot next to the river. The coffee was good and the scones were nice and fresh. It was only doing takeaways when we visited but I guess that might change with the Covid restrictions being relaxed.

Lovely views on balcony with happy friendly staff and delicious fresh afternoon teas

Lovely food, great value. The cakes are amazing. Obviously the riverside setting is a bonus!

Finally got to visit this fabulous place yesterday. Weather was glorious and sat overlooking the river. Good system for ordering food, friendly staff. Excellent breakfast bun, the skinny chips were hot and crispy, and the freshly baked fruit scone came warm with jam and cream. Ideal place for families. Have read some bad reviews, which after visiting seem really unjustified. If your in a hurry, don't go or plan your visit at a quieter time. This is a small busy place and the staff were working hard, just be patient. We were more than happy to sit and relax in the beautiful surroundings for our food and will be back real soon

Love the outdoor space provided beautiful setting and great coffee and food options. Owner and staff lovely too!

Beauriful views (see below), good coffee and a nice toastie. What's not to like!

Sat outside upstairs...no one allowed in cafe area 're Covid but ploughmans lunch chips sandwiches ice cream tea etc. Spot on. Setting beautiful, River Nidd...sunny day, peaceful.

Nice cafe but as it is a take away there is no toilet.

It was a lovely location to have a cake and the ice cream was delicious. Toilets are mentioned in previous reviews but I was told I had to go to the retail outlet centre.

We visited bank holiday for two toasties, we waited around 40 minutes for the food and asked where the food was very politely, the woman who looked to be the chef came out after didn’t apologise for the service just said you have been waiting 20 minutes not 40 and was very rude and abrupt saying that she told us we would have to wait And it was busy, which they didn't and most tables were emptying. Terrible terrible rude staff and we were not the only ones they were arguing with when I went to ask. Need to learn some customer service skills. Update: I have been contacted by the owner of Watermill on my own private facebook harassing, obviously not with good intentions, she has asked me to remove my negative review. Being trolled isn’t what I want for leaving a review that isn’t positive. Very unprofessional hunting me down on facebook and messaging my personal account in an aggressive manner.

We visited bank holiday for two toasties, we waited around 40 minutes for the food and asked where the food was very politely, the woman who looked to be the chef came out after didn’t apologise for the service just said you have been waiting 20 minutes not 40 and was very rude and abrupt saying that she told us we would have to wait And it was busy, which they didn't and most tables were emptying. Terrible terrible rude staff and we were not the only ones they were arguing with when I went to ask. Need to learn some customer service skills.