Eating and drinking at Stowe

A building with a glass front is in the background of an outdoors courtyard with tables, chairs, and sunshades for cafe customer to sit on in and amongst flowers on sale from the plant centre — Take a seat in the vibrant cafe courtyard for a view of the Corinthian Arch at Stowe.

Stowe's Potting Shed Café Kiosk is open serving takeaway refreshments — Our Potting Shed Café Kiosk is on the way to the garden, why not pick up a hot or cold drink for your visit

The café entrance at Stowe from the courtyard — Enter the café from the courtyard at the back of New Inn

Our café is open with outdoor and indoor seating and takeaway food and drink everyday, 10am-5pm (closes at 4pm from 1 Nov). Hot and cold drinks and food are available from our Potting Shed Café Kiosk during our busier times, with a fuller menu from the café. You may find our Potting Shed Café Kiosk open during our busier periods such as weekends and school holidays 10am-4pm.

How it works

You can find the café at the back of the New Inn, via the plant centre and next to the shop, on the way to and from the garden.
The New Inn is free to enter, and free to park. Enjoy meeting friends of coffee, or pop by for a bite of lunch whenever takes your fancy, we would love to see you.
You can enjoy your food and drink as a takeaway from the café, or take a seat in one of our courtyards or inside
Our Potting Shed Café Kiosk is on your way to the garden, serving takeaway hot and cold drinks, ice creams and refreshments. You may find our kiosk open at our busier times such as weekends and school holidays.
There are protective screens at the till and collection points, and hand sanitiser available.
Face coverings are recommended in enclosed, crowded spaces
We prefer card payments, contactless whenever possible, but we do accept cash.

When to visit

Our café is open 10am-5pm everyday
You may find our Potting Shed Cafe Kiosk open at weekends and busier times, such as holidays.
The New Inn where you find the cafe is free to enter. The garden is free for National Trust members, but normal admission applies for the garden.

The menu

We're serving hot and cold food and drinks, and light refreshments. You'll find freshly made sandwiches, sausage rolls, pasties on the menu as well as freshly baked cakes, confectionary and crisps to choose from. All of our food is currently available as takeaway, or take a seat if you are buying from our cafe. Please note some days in August and early September our hot food menu will be limited to pasties and sausage rolls. You'll still find freshly made sandwiches, cakes and hot and cold drinks to enjoy. If you are planning your visit, please call in advance to check our food offer - 01280 817156.

Plants not plastic

The takeaway packaging you will get your food and drink in are made from a plant based material - not plastic. This makes them fully compostable after they've been used, and helps the environment in the future too.

Help us recycle as much as we can at Stowe – please place your vegware takeaway containers in our bin for composting. This waste gets composted here at Stowe, and in 12 weeks time, will be back on the ground at Stowe enriching the soil.

What to expect when you visit

A visitor's hand holding a National Trust takeaway coffee cup

The cafe courtyard at Stowe with tables and chairs

A brown dachshund dog stands on a bench at Stowe

Take a seat indoors

Enjoy a seat indoors and shelter from the rain, enjoy a catch up with a friend over coffee or treat yourself to a slice of cake with a cup of tea.

To takeaway

Currently all of our food is served as a takeaway. Why not warm up with a takeaway coffee on an early morning walk or enjoy the sunshine in the afternoon and cool down with an ice cream.

We have two outdoor courtyards

We have our two café courtyards open for you to take a seat while you refresh yourself. Pick up and pay for your food at the café and then find a seat. Don't forget to check in using a QR code for track and trace.

For families

Amongst our other drinks and snacks we’re offering children’s hot chocolate, Pom-Bear crisps, chocolate bars and cartons of fruit juice. You'll also be able to make up a lunchbox for your adventure at Stowe.

Visiting with your dog

Stowe is a great place to bring your dog for walkies and when you're finished the café is the perfect place to refresh yourselves. You'll find tie up points and water bowls for your dog to take a rest whilst you pop into the café. We welcome assistance dogs only inside the café.

Visitors sitting outside the cafe at Standen House, West Sussex

Allergen information

Most of the food and drink served in our café’s, restaurants and tea-rooms is prepared on site in our kitchens, using a wide range of ingredients. As a result, we can’t guarantee that any of our food and drink products are completely allergen free. If you have an allergy or intolerance, please ask the café staff who will be happy to advise on the ingredients in your food and drink.

If you have quetions about our food and drink offer, take a read of our FAQ's to help find your answer.

Thank you

We look forward to welcoming you back, and know that you’ll support us to make this a safe experience for everyone. Each time you spend money in our café, it helps keep places like Stowe special – thank you.