Courtyard Cafe - Ryedale

Disappointing experience overall .. despite the great quality dishes the table service was awful.. there was no leadership in the team and so staff lacked cohesion, they were really disorganised and ineffective… sorry !

Absolutely awful service. I don’t know what else to say that hasn’t already been said by other reviewers. The staff are completely uninterested in guests, are unapologetic, and seem unwilling to do basic things like take an order or even give you a menu. And Castle Howard are clearly not bothered about their guests’ experiences or improving the service as this seems to have been going on for years. I’d go as far as saying that our experience in the cafe ruined our day out at Castle Howard. We won’t be returning, and we urge you to try somewhere else in the area for food instead or bring a packed lunch and save yourself the upset.

So impressed with staff, service and food today. Husband in wheelchair and staff were very attentive, friendly and helpful seating us and making us feel welcome. Food was prompt and delicious. Really recommend it as a place for wheelchair users.

So in the unlikely event that anyone from Castle Howard actually reads these reviews... 4 years after my last terrible experience here, I ventured in again today for lunch, in the hope that there had been a staff turnover or a cultural overhaul at the very least. Sadly, no. We saw there were only a couple of tables occupied so asked the waitress if they were still serving food. She confirmed they were and we were shown to a table. And that was the end of any form of customer service whatsoever. 15 mins later, we gave up waiting for anyone to return to take our food or even drinks order. Unbelievably other customers started arriving and being shown to tables. We resisted the urge to warn them of their fate, and we put on our coats and left. Not sure if any of the staff noticed or even cared. This place badly needs a change in management. The same issues existing 4 years later points to a more serious issue than just some lazy and incompetent staff. The culture that has persisted here is one of disinterest and arrogance. This time, we won't be back.

What has happened to the courtyard cafe? For some time now the service has been non existent. It has become so bad that even though we are members, we have stopped going. On our last visit, we stood at the entrance whilst being ignored. Finally we were given a table and a menu and order taken. Our meal arrived and basically that was it. There was absolutely no interaction with us after that. We finished our food and waited for someone to clear our plates and ask if we would like dessert. After 30 minutes still no-one had approached our table. I looked around and several tables were in exactly the same position. There were plenty of staff but they are either chatting at the coffee machine or delivering a meal and then walking passed all the tables to get back to the coffee machine! One elderly couple asked twice for the dessert menu. Other tables next to us stacked their plates and pushed them to the edge of the table to get attention. Finally, we got up and went to pay and leave, feeling completely ignored. No-one was at the cash till. We waited and finally someone came. I explained that we would have like a dessert but no-one had come. The couple behind us who had also given up waiting said they had ordered a dessert but it never turned up. The service has been like this for a few months now and is getting worse. We shall not be renewing our membership but then will anyone at Castle Howard even notice?