WELCOME
The award winning Croft House Farm Café in Buttermere village is open every day from 10:00 until 16:00 but please do check our Facebook page for any last minute changes.
We have a a range of sandwiches, snacks and drinks for walkers to take with them, with hot food, cakes and drinks (including excellent coffee) for visitors and the tired returning from a hard day in the hills.
We also stock a basic range of items for walkers, campers and self caterers such as maps and guides, bread, bacon, emergency cagoules etc.
All this in a warm, friendly atmosphere with free WiFi.
So, drop in to grab supplies before your walk, gather round one of our large 'group' tables with your friends and family, or pick up a quick espresso and a cake to keep you going. Whatever you're after we'd love to see you.
We are open all year and very much hope that you will visit us soon.
Google Reviews
Friendly, welcoming staff. We were served quickly and didn’t have to wait long for our order. I didn’t get her name but one lady who serviced us was so helpful, she gave us directions to find the highland cows and was so lovely! Hot chocolate is delicious 🙂 toilets and cafe are extremely clean and welcoming.
Main issue is that we waited for our food for over an hour, freezing cold, and watched others being served before our party who had come in after us.Very odd and confusing payment system - you can't pay at the desk? Made things incredibly confusing to settle the bill.The service was really, really bad - staff missed and forgot numerous items on our bill, then accused us of lying when we asked for them. Felt embarrassed and humiliated. The main lady on front of house was quite rude.You had to wait to get condiments/ ketchup which took ages.Paninis where cold when they eventually came out.No apology from the staff.Really disappointing experience overall.Go to one of the other lovely cafes nearby instead.
We called for lunch i had soup to start which was excellent and we both had jacket potato which were very nice indeed, however I didn't get a side salad with my chilli one but the wife did with her cheese one which we thought was rather odd and it did not state so on the menu or if it did we didn't notice it.....🤔 plus, everything was brought out together which meant that if we had not sent the jacket potatos back (which we did) my jacket would have been cold ish and my wife would have finished her main before I started mine which again we thought was odd 🤔 even though the lady out front (when we challenged it) tried to explain "that's the way we do it we send everything out together" (or words to that effect) that may be so and they are entitled to do whatever they want to as it's there business (as we are entitled not to return) but it doesn't make it right 🤔 we also thought it was rather over priced.I give 5 star to the chef / chefs for the excellent food (well done 👍) and I minus 2 star for the general service out front.
My absolute favourite place for coffee and cake. The staff are all wonderful. As a local, I am able to collect stamps on a card, which works towards a free drink. (If i remember to bring it!) There is a wide selection of gluten free cakes and savoury options. I'm coeliac and never been unwell after eating here. Would definitely recommend them.
Very nice bacon sandwich and caramel latte before a day of hiking just what is needed to fuel me up for the day
This cafe is just the icing of the cake for our beautiful long walk by the lake. I really enjoyed the tuna panini and hot latte..😋We'll be back for sure..❤️
Small cafe but with a good selection of hot and cold food and drinks at reasonable prices. Staff are friendly and helpful. Worth a visit after your walk
Beautiful little cafe in the heart of Buttermere, plenty of lunch time options, not overly expensive, dog friendly and polite service - what more could you ask for after a morning hiking around the district
Very nice and quick service with a beautiful atmosphere and setting suiting the scenery and view of the location.
Leek and potatoe soup was delish and the warm rolls complimented it. Also the dog area was light and airy. Loved the leather settees
To enter the cafe you have to pay £3.5 for parkingThere is no reception in the whole area and to get WiFi you have to buy somethingWe ordered a nice tomato soup
Very nice food and drink served by freindly helpful staff, just what you want really.
Great place to stop for some snack, lunch or coffee. Recharge batteries after good walk around the lake.
Lovely café. Tasty bacon baguette. Recommend extra shot hazelnut latte. Coffee beans are a house roast - very good. Log burner when chilly.
Tasty bacon roll and very good coffee. Extra shot Latte very good using their own roast blend. Comfy seating, knowledgeable and friendly staff. Good WiFi and a Log burner when chilly.
Fantastic sausage and bacon baps and tea. Popped in for a late breakfast before setting off on walk around Buttermere 🙂
Bad experience one way in, one way out. You queue outside to get in, you find full famillies & dogs in the cramped queue, you have to wait to order to be seated, your told where to sit but not waitress service, chaos at the till with people serving. Young man sat at a table got told off he hadn't got a dog and he was in the dog area, so he moved, for a family of 4 who walked in the wrong door to plonk themselves down, no dog, they were not told to move, yet still a queue at the door and signs telling you do not sit down until served, so the rule does not apply to all.If you have a dog state you have a dog before you order, limited dog friendly area.The toilet mess everywhere.Message on the receipt 11/2 hours allocated for us at the table.No atmosphere, didn't enjoy my visit, couldn't get out quick enough.
Poor experience. Tried this place after a walk around Buttermere lake but not to our taste. Told where to sit like a school child, ended up crammed onto a small table for 3 when there were 5 of us. Matron type owner who looked to have a argument with anyone who requested something out of turn. Food poor, coffee cold.My advice is to go to syke farm just around the corner for a warm welcome and delicous cakes that will you'll struggle to finish they are so big.
Really nicely done cafe, top quality. Great place to retreat if a bit of rain. Food was delicious, enjoyed the vegetable stroganoff jacket potato.
Lovely little cafe in buttermere. The staff were friendly and helpful. It was a nice place to have coffee after our walk around the lake.
Popped in for ice-creams, nice big scoops of English Lakes ice-cream, double scoop in tub £4, double cone £4.40, very good value
Saved the day on an extremely wet walk around Crummock Water allowing our entrance despite being drenched😊 Very yummy toasted teacakes with delicious warm drinks!
Lovely soup and roll after a wet walk part around the lake. The wind turned us back earlier than we expected as we had a little one with us. Lunch was welcome by our party. Hot drinks also.
A nice place to stop for refreshments if visiting Buttermere. The Cumberland sausage bap was nice.
I cant really comment on the food as we only had coffee. Lovely place, friendly staff. Good place for a break. However the coffee was awful. Bad word to use but it was so weak that only the color reminded vaguely of not being water with hot milk. Better to avoid.
Excellent little find. Well worth a visit if you going that way. It has it's own car park, which is handy.
Even though it was a very busy lunch service the staff were great and the service time wasn't too long from ordering to getting the food, the sandwich and sausage bap were very tasty.
Came down here today for a walk around Buttermere and decided to stop for a quick lunch and drink before we set off. First of all the staff seemed so uninterested and unfriendly that was a put off. When paying for our food it felt very expensive for what we had, I do realise we are in a remote location but it sours the experience. All in all food was average at best and also no toilet paper in the toilets!!
Brilliant coffee in a great wee cafe, WiFi slow to connect, it's needed due to lack of mobile signal in the area.
Very nice location and cafe.Can get busy but don't moan if the Q is too long. It's not there fault it's just the location gets super busy with tourists at peak times.Food and drink are good and the Nice and relaxing if you get a seat
Lovely decor but very slow service from staff who didn’t seem very interested. Dry and tasteless scone. A shame considering they obviously spent a lot of money on making it look nice.
Situated in really nice spot in Buttermere however, the cafe is totally under staffed young staff having to run around yet over priced! You are expected to queue at a counter for 20 minutes 'simply to order coffee;' the queue was running outside the cafe door when seats are "vacant!" They have no system or any understanding of catering management and then when you go to sit down they advise you where to sit.....They had run out of scones by 12 midday and other than that it was a total shambles.
Lovely cafe with friendly helpful staff, we got stuck in our car and staff went above and beyond to help us get back on our way ☺️
A very popular cafe in a great spot; the staff are friendly, welcoming and helpful. The scones are to die for.
Great, very ‘cosy’ coffee. Perfect for a break after a walk along the lake.
Never saw service as slow in my life, waited 20 mins to buy 2 cans of pop while they faf on with lattes etc.... what about getting people payed and giving them a receipt to wait, pathetic queuing out of the door
Sat outside of this café in the midst of Buttermere and had a lovely sandwich and given the link for the free WiFi. The weather was also kind to us, a nice sunny day to enjoy the views.
Ideally situated after a hard trek however the place is very popular and there seemed limited staff, which is understandable but the prices were far too expensive .. they say you can park in their car park for free if you use the cafe … well I certainly paid for my parking!Two jacket potatoes with beans and cheese and two fruit juices … wait for it… £26! How can this be justified?
A big caffe with sandwiches, cakes and salads. Theres a parking for the guests. The price is okay considering the big portion. Very close to the lake and the waterfall
Pretty cafe in buttermere, good place to have cake and coffee before the walk around the lake 🙂 , friendly staff , good ambience and amazing coffee.
Quite a limited menu and doesn't cater well for customers with a toddler (only adult-type drink selection, for example - not a 'Fruit Shoot' in sight!). Not unfriendly, but not particularly personable staff.
Very beautiful place, quite nicely decorated. We had 2x sausage and bacon baps, two coffees and a soup. Quite a bit pricey for the items but quality and taste is top notch. Nice little place for some walking fuel
Shocking poor. Avoid during busy periods (when it's queuing outside). Obviously lacking staff to run in busy periods but didn't warn us of this. Took 30 minutes to get served to be told there was a 30 minute wait for food. There were only 10-15 people in the queue. My partner only wanted a scone and to use the toilet to be told we had to be served first and get a code for the toilet, which I respect stops non customers just using the toilet, but my partner had to desperately wait 30 minutes 😔 The person in front of me ordered the last FOUR scones, meaning we ended up getting two small cake slices, two hot drinks for nearly £20. There were staff just stood about, I think the manager was calmly walking around putting glasses back whilst the front of house was painfully slow.
Absolutely brilliant. One of our party is a coeliac. The cafe staff could not have been more helpful, careful and understanding. The food was great especially the GF cappuccino cake! Thank you!
Nice setting but terribly weak coffee. Color looked like tea. Disappointing ripoff paying more than £3 for it
A real treat for coffee and cakes before setting off on a walk ..... And an extra special treat for the ice cream when you finish your walk. A great seating area with leather sofas and big tables , and plenty of outside seating too . Only had coffee and cakes and ice cream but the service is great just as if we had had a 3 course meal.
only nipped in late afternoon after a long hike as they were winding down to close, but cake and coffee were lovely.
I had a lovely ham and cheese panini with a latte here today. Despite being very busy and a big queue when I arrived, the lady serving was very professional, polite, friendly and efficient.The food was fresh and the coffee was very nice indeed. I liked the added touch of free jugs of tap water and glasses for guests to help themselves at the end of the counter, what a nice touch and much appreciated. You get the Wi-Fi code on your receipt when you’ve paid which another good idea 😊I’d definitely return when back in the area. Thank you.
Absolutely fantastic place, we stopped off for a cup of tea, and ended up having the Italian tomato soup, large bowl of soup and a bread roll. Great price great value 5*****
Stopped for a quick takeaway sandwich but a wait of over 25mins for a cheese and ham sandwich to takeaway was a bit too much for us. Sandwich itself was good. £4.40 so premium lakes pricing. Maybe make some takeaway sandwiches ready to grab and go.
Welcome stop after a wet walk with the kids. Nice place with good food and drink. Bit of a queue for the only two toilets.
Beautiful cafe, good ice cream, coffee & hot chocolates after a day in the nearby lake 😊 staff were nice, would definitely go back.
Called in mid afternoon on a very busy July weekend and as expected they had sold out of most cakes. But a very good cup of tea, great ice cream and lovely staff and great service.
Had a great pit stop after walking around Buttermere fantastic service the girls were all very switched on and the service was excellent
Only called in for a couple of cans of pop. Food looked really nice though.Took 25 mins to serve 6 people. Every time somebody wanted a coffee this added to the delay.I'd been in there that long, when I left it had changed seasons.
Beautiful setting, but average offerings and weak coffee (extra shot asked for). Lots of potential to make this place a true jewel, but in our opinion it falls short when compared to other places that we've visited.
Lovely wee spot just at the carpark/bus stop in Buttermere. It was a gorgeous day yesterday so it was busy. Decided to wait until after our walk before we got our ice-cream!Served fairly quickly by the friendly staff. Lots of seating, indoors and out. Ice-cream was scrummy. And large! Coffee also nice. Their menu for lunch/food looked good, although we didn't order anything from it.Would I recommend it? Yip certainly.
We came on a very busy afternoon, by 3pm they were out of mostly everything bar sausage rolls. Nice experience overall.
Absolute chaos inside despite the fact it was only half full, the management didn't appear to be able to cope. We paid £25 for two sandwiches (made with Hovis bread loaves, that didn't even have a bit of salad in them despite me requesting it), one mixed meat Ploughman's salad which consisted of three small slices of ham, three small slices of turkey, a side salad, tomato chutney and pickle (not even a chunk of cheese or a bit of pork pie), and three slices of shortbread. I know these places can be on the pricey side, but it wasn't even decent quality food or portions. £4.20 for a tuna mayo sandwich made with cheap processed bread, a couple of spoonfuls of tuna and a teaspoon of mayo is a very poor do indeed.
After walking around Buttermere water we called into the Croft house farm cafe for a well deserved drink and a snack, very pleasant atmosphere with friendly and helpful staff, the coffee was excellent quality and a very tasty scone with cream and jam.
Amazing cafe. The staff was friendly and nice. Great stop on the way. Food was delicious too
Fantastic Café with excellent food and ice cream. Loved it! Obviously a phenomenal view too. Top tip: Free parking at Cafe while dining there. So move your car from the parking spot to here while eating to save on parking.
Lovely clean place with plenty of seating after a long walk. Selection of ice cream and hot drinks to choose from.
Lovely coffee shop, staff very friendly and the home made scones were devine
Lovely vibes, coffee was nice and there were a few milk alternatives thankfully! The tray bakes were also good and seemed fresh, and there are even some light lunch options such as paninis, salads, etc. The views are beautiful and it’s less than a 10 minute walk from the lake and waterfalls!
Great stop for a quick bite in this cafe. Prices were reasonable and the food itself was really good. I had a tuna panini and my husband had the soup of the day. Staff were great at helping us with heating our baby's food too. Would recommend for anyone coming by this area.
Lovely cafe to visit after a wet and windy walk. Clean and socially distanced. Great prices! Gluten Free, Vegetarian and dog friendly too
Lovely tea rooms, fresh soup and lovely sandwiches with quality ingredients. Definitely recommend stopping in here, if in the area. Lovely staff and spacious and modern inside
Good coffee, cakes and bacon bap for reasonable prices. Nicely set up with entry well spaced indoor and outdoor seating. Staff friendly and efficient, even with lunchtime rush building and cheeky customers trying to jump the queue for seats!!
Mad busy here today, New Year's Day, but still a pleasure to lunch here (as always). Never have I seen staff work harder yet remain so good humoured. Unlike some eejit customers, who would try the patience of a saint ...
For me the best place in Buttermere.Great coffee lovely cakes, perfect little place to refresh after a great walk.Highly recommend.
