The Best Cafes in Chawton, Hampshire, United Kingdom (2025)

Stumbled across here by chance and so glad we did, a warm welcome and a warm restaurant on a chilly day. Staff were attentive and genuinely friendly and the food was wonderful. Definitely will return the next time we venture to Alton.

Food is tasty. Highly recommend the hand made pasta. Nice outdoor garden for seating

We absolutely Love @cucinadeisapori. The best restaurant in town, amazing cuisine and the best wine to complement the food. The outdoor garden makes you feel like you're in a Mediterranean setting. Such a welcoming and attentive team of people who want you to relax and enjoy your dining experience. X

A delightful culinary experience awaits at Cucina Dei Sapori.All dishes are prepared with fresh ,seasonal ingredients, and the flavors are simply outstanding! The service is friendly and attentive , and the ambience is warm and inviting. I highly recommend this restaurant for a special occasion or a casual meal! Lovely place!!

Lovely historic house with connections to Jane Austin. A good number of rooms open to the public lots of paintings and period furniture with comprehensive information on the history from room to room .a number of staircases leading to the different floors. and rooms. Nice cafe selling coffee tea's cake and light lunches. Inside and outside seating Large gardens around the house with walks free parking with disabled parking by the house. Other parking on the road outside the entrance. Gravel Road to the house about 300 yards toilets available at the house.

This place is just wonderful; full of history. I visited because I was doing a solo tour of Jane Austen’s England. Chawton House had been owned by her brother. However, there was much more to recommend it. It is a beautiful historic home and a center for the study of women’s literature. The exhibit that I saw was on Mary Robinson and it was excellent. When I first came in, one of the docents gave me a very interesting account of the time line and how the house came to be in Edward Austen’s possession. This woman clearly loved her topic and made it so enjoyable and she was informative on other topics as well. I spent a lot more time there than I anticipated and I regret not a moment of it. I did, in fact, stay until closing time!

If you are a Jane Austen fan, add this to your must sees! Stop at the church to see the graves of Cassandra and Jane’s mom. Beautiful grounds, lovely house you can take your time in and explore, amazing volunteers with lots of knowledge. Check the website before your visit- they have some lovely ticketed events throughout the year.

A beautiful Elizabethan house full of history. A must visit for its Jane Austen connections but also for the building itself, its decor (which includes William Morris), paintings, library, exhibitions and extensive grounds. They celebrate proto-feminist women writers and highlight other successful women of the 17th-19th centuries. We bought annual tickets as we missed seeing the gardens, church and tearoom and would love to return.

We bought tickets on the door and had to wait for 45 mins to enter, so we went to the cafe across the road for a coffee. I would recommend purchasing tickets online beforehand. Even though I've never read a Jane Austin novel as such, I found the experience very interesting. There was so much information on offer of her lifestyle and writings. The reason I put 4 stars is the property and grounds are not accessible friendly, which would make it difficult for some to be able to fully enjoy the experience. I would definitely recommend this wonderful experience to any Jane Austin fans.

Very well done and pretty good value for £13.50. Ticket gives you multiple entries for a year which is great but not helpful if you live in another country. Pack your lunch to take with you and picnic in the garden when you're done in the house. Chairs, rugs and cushions provided. Plus there are Regency dress up clothes to try on.

A must see for any Jane Austen fan! I was surprised how many original things of Jane they had - books, ring, bracelet, shawls, her desk, her quilt she made. Really incredible and well put together. Lovely gift shop. Wear walking shoes! You can walk here from Alton Station and can continue down the road to her brother’s house where Cassandra and her mom are buried. Check times and buy your tickets in advance! Rooms are small so there are limited tours going through and hours change for different seasons.

Experience the house & neighborhood where Jane Austen wrote or revised her 6 major works in her last years of life. Stand next to the small round writing table she actually used, and visit her cozy bedroom. Learn about Jane's family & friends, who inspired some of her literary characters, her writing process, and costumes and customs of her times. Well curated gift and book shop. Walk the country lanes following in Jane's steps, and visit the ancient stone St Nicholas Church where she and her sister Cassandra worshipped. This compact area is worth a visit for history & literary lovers - this is the real inspiration for Bridgerton & regency romances! Thatched roof cottages, 13th C church, Chawton manor house, rolling fields, fences, walled gardens, a lovely tea room & lively pub in a real working village. Book your JA house admissions tickets online in advance. Tour the small house at your own pace, with knowledgeable volunteers on each floor providing intros to the collections, house & Austen family who lived here, and answering your questions. The non-profit that owns the house have recently found swatches of the historic botanical wallpapers original to the house and installed the recreated papers in many rooms, so it's delightfully decorated. Jane's well-off brother gave the house to his mother & his sisters for their use, as his own large Chawton House is nearby. I visited on a quiet Sat in November, with only a handful of other visitors there in low season. But the house staff are gearing up for Jane's 250th birthday year, starting Dec 16, 2024, with special events running all 2025 to celebrate, analyze & read Jane Austen, a great writer, wit and woman.

Stopped for a quick breakfast for me and the breakfast wraps for the kids. Quickly produced and quickly consumed. No issues with the food and plenty of seating. Certainly a good cafe to stop over at if you have time to kill for a bus or train.

If im in the area I always make a point of going in. It's a cracking little cafe, it's a traditional bare bones cafe run by really friendly staff. To be honest I only use it for breakfast and it never disappoints.

Love this place! Perfect place when only a full english will hit the spot. Well priced, the staff are great and service is quick. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but if you are looking for a genuine caff you won’t go wrong. A rubbery egg isnt going to happen, the chef is on it! Due to its proximity to station and being a biker friendly spot it’s great for people watching and spying some classic bikes too. Ticks all the boxes for us :)

Proper greasy spoon. This place let you actually customise your breakfast so you don’t have to take things off and ask to replace things, you pay £8-£10 (5 pieces for £8 and 9 pieces for £10) and it comes with a coffee. Parking onsite as well which is decent, staff are some sound people but the place feels like a proper caf

A little café hideaway with some beautiful canvas art on the walls and warplane nostalgia too. You'd swear you were sitting in a military bunker waiting for the order to fly. Great food as well.

Great little independent cafe in Alton, does the trick for a breakfast, snack or just a hot drink and a catch-up with a friend. One off thing is the pricing on the breakfasts, such small differences in price versus what's on offer. Given Spoons is down the road, lowering the pricing of the smaller breakfast to stay marginally competitive might be worth a shout.

The food was OK, only three small mushrooms on the big full English. Like the choice of breads, i.e., sourdough, white, brown. Staff were friendly. Cafe was clean good variety of meals.

Good value high quality fry up! Good location with parking on the street outside! Plenty of space and a bar table to sit and watch the world go by!

I had my wedding here on 24th August 2024 and I honestly could not have picked a better location, more perfect host and the MOST amazing staff. I wanted an informal and very child and family friendly wedding and Simon made our special day just perfect. My Dads dog attended and got spoilt rotten, there were 21 children and bouncy castles, the hog roast and BBQ was to die for, I highly recommend! If you want your wedding to be perfect please choose this venue. Nothing was too much trouble for Simon and his staff. I literally can’t recommend enough. All guests said it was the BEST wedding they had ever been to. We went back the next day to load up and everything had been packed up ready to load the car, we didn’t even have to do that. We had access three days before to do as much as we wanted in preparation and to decorate. I read reviews and never write them myself but on this occasion I couldn’t not because this venue is simply AMAZING. And what makes it is the personalised and friendly approach from Simon and the staff. Don’t hesitate just book… And to review the cafe, my friends and I and my family visited many times in the run up to the wedding, the food is to die for, especially hard when you are trying to be good before a wedding, the general vibe is so welcoming and I would not hesitate to recommend this as a cafe for a bit to eat with friends and family. You will NOT be disappointed. Thank you The Departure Lounge for making our day simply perfect ❤️🥰❤️

We had our wedding at The Departure Lounge Cafe and it was the best decision we made! Simon was so accommodating to all our wishes and needs for the day, we were able to create the day we had hoped for! Being able to have the venue three days prior then if day was really ideal, we were able to decorate and take our time setting up our wedding the way we wanted, Simon and his team did do a lot to help too! Our guests have not stopped talking about how amazing our day was from the food to the location to the atmosphere. We also got the cutest handmade gift, which was placed at our table setting. Thank you Simon and your team for helping create the best day ever!

We held our wedding reception here, on can not recommend it enough, Simon and the team were amazing with a professional can do attitude delivering the wedding of our dreams. The value for money is in the setting, the layout, flexibility and the extra touches already in place to make the wedding go well. We loved all the fairy lights, barrels, easels and decor all available for us to use included in the hiring fee. The quality of all the food, service and team were first class. The reception was even packed up for us to collect which made it so much easier to do the following day!! Thank you to everyone at departure lounge for achieving our dream wedding!

We chose the departure lounge as our wedding venue and had the most amazing time. Family and friends all unanimously said what a wonderful place this was and how beautiful the scenery was. Simon was incredible working towards the wedding, he was extremely transparent with his services and open to what we wanted to do. Extremely good value for money too. We had set-up time a couple of days before so we didn't feel too rushed. Great food - go for the Hog Roast. On the day, he and his team were extremely pleasant and working round all of us to make the most special of days, special. Nothing was too much to ask. I would seriously recommend this place as a wedding venue. I've got in mind some birthday parties I would like to host in the future here too. Thank you DL for making our day! If I had to, (I hope not), I would do all of it again, there.

Delightful little cafe opposite Jane Austen's cottage, very cosy and friendly. There is a pretty little outdoor seating area opposite Jane's cottage, so you can enjoy the tea and Cakes and soak up the atmosphere and listen to the birdsong. There is a free car park and some lovely walks through woodland close by. Could be improved with a greater range of vegan/dairy free options, but my crumpets and marmalade were delicious. Excellent tea.

Met a friend here for a chat. Pleasant and helpful young lady behind the counter. Atmosphere quirky, tables clean and relaxed feel. Please get some unsweetened iced tea!

We came in here after viewing Jane Austen’s House which is across the road. It was nearly closing time and we ordered a latte, tea and red velvet cake. Most of the cakes had finished including scones. Overall, it was ok and the price wasn’t that expensive. I really enjoyed the decor and the ceiling with teacups. They also had a small booklet with events that would be happening in the area for the month of June which was quite nice to see what else can be done in the area. The staff were friendly and polite.

Pleasant cozy tea house. Offers a variety of drinks, pastry, and goodies. Staff were so nice. Inside and outside seating available. Dogs are welcome outside only. Restrooms are available, but are very small.

Great pub and fantastic food. Particularly careful with allergies which is reassuring. Fish and chips were fantastic and my friends had the roast which was really good. Desserts were pretty special too- cheesecake, crumble, sticky toffee and Bakewell tart, all recommended.

Happened to come here on the day the new owner signed the lease. A great pub, with good food and drinks, but above all, a good community atmosphere!

I was NOT expecting this level food from this pub’s outward appearance. Just goes to show, can’t judge book by its cover… but maybe its Google review?! Not your usual pie and chips pub. Delicious and well presented. Friendly and helpful staff. We sat inside which felt like the dark dingy pub it looks from the outside, but truly the food and people made up for it!!

I adore this pub. Inside is cozy and they welcome dogs inside. Look on the bar for dog treats. The food was very good and everything was reasonably priced. The staff were wonderful.

Best scone we had on our entire visit to England! Only wish it was served with fresh clotted cream, rather than hard, prepackaged. Also, it was odd that the cream tea wasn’t served with tea. Still, the kitchen was incredibly charming and the staff was lovely…again, aMAZing scone! 😋

Very old vibe here, delicious camomille tea, everyting tasted good, good surprised by the price,

Visited on the recommendation of a friend. Lovely location, very pleasant courtyard area beside the tea room. Excellent watermelon and feta salad, nice pot of tea, very nice lemon cake. Not cheap bit excellent quality, nicely presented, and plentiful. Worth the visit, and I would recommend, I will visit again soon.