August 2025 by Julia Adamson
The Grist Cafe at Cold Harbour is a little slice of peace and tranquility made all the better by the wonderful volunteer staff team.
July 2024 by Sarah Jane Causton
What a lovely, charming place to sit outside and have a brew. The café it's self isn't anything special but the staff are lovely and the grounds are beautiful. I was with my mother whom is in a wheelchair and we managed o.k. It's a bit of a funny dip into the café but we managed and the lady kindly bought the coffees out to us. Even the wooden bench had a cut out in the middle where my mother could fit in nicely and we felt more seated together. It's a very charming place to sit and watch the ducks on the water and have the swallows dart through the sky above. The outside is kept very tidy and the flowers and plants really make it special and it's nice to see some trees around. If you like the cottage garden feel then it's the place for you. We didn't go in and see the mill as such. We just popped in for a coffee but it was well worth the visit. Charming place, fee parking and the people are very friendly.
May 2024 by Bethany Thomas-Braithwaite
Great coffee shop! The staff are so lovely. Will be back!
September 2023 by Pete Denver
This Cafe is way to expensive. Other people I've spoken to agree they'll get more local customers if their prices weren't so high. They seem to cater more for the better off locals of the village, rather the pensioners who are struggling to get by.
August 2022 by Wendy Tucker
We had a great visit - 4 adults who variously love history, engineering, craft, wool - and cake! All were well catered for. it's a beautiful setting with room for kids to run around if you are bringing them. It's all well set out and curated. We went on a Thursday when volunteers were running the machines and keen to tell us about the process and answer questions - all really friendly and enthusiastic. You can buy the beautiful product in the shop too, which we couldn't resist
Definitely worth a visit.
July 2022 by Thomas Warner
Lovely spot by the river for a coffee and food. Couldn't fault it at all. Great setting to relax and enjoy the scenery
June 2022 by Daniel Edge
This cafe was a disappointment for me and my family. It is highly likely that something out of the ordinary was happening on the day we visited as most of the food boards had been covered over with paper and there was only a limited selection of food available that wasn't cake (which unfortunately we did not try). And by limited I mean 3 types of jacket potato (you could have it with beans, with tuna mayo or with cheese). The potatoes were not even well cooked and were barely hot, served in take out containers. Not really worth the approximate £6 per potato. Four drinks and 3 potatoes cost me just over £20!? Hot drinks were also limited as, despite having a fancy coffee machine, no one was using it (again, probably due to the unique circumstances which had not been advertised as "out of the norm").This only got 2 stars purely for the staff who were all lovely and, I believe, volunteers. On that note, however, I counted about 6 people behind the counter on and off in the 20 minutes or so we spent there. It does not take 6 people to pour a coffee and/or tea and heat up several potatoes. The same result could easily have been achieved with two or three and the surplus could have been doing other stuff.Overall, a disappointment which I hope was a one off. I will likely return again in the future, just to see if my experience is the same as it was today. I hope not as the setting is lovely and, as others have said, you do not need to go into the mill to access it. It has a lot of potential and a wider (even small) selection of hot foods and cold foods could go a long way to improving the overall experience.
May 2022 by Lynne Brady
Small friendly cafe. You can visit this cafe without doing the tour of the mill if you wish. Limited selection of meals and drinks on the mill steam day tour's. Only open at weekends on tour day's which is a shame as makes it so limited as to when I can visit due to working week day's. Other than that you can only visit the cafe during the week. Discount available to annual members of Coldharbour Mill.
May 2022 by Michael and Julie Bowell
Lovely cafe and small gift shop set on the ground floor of the original grist mill. The staff are friendly, hot & cold beverages available and quality homemade cakes plus a limited selection of hot food. Gifts include textiles produced in the mill and souveniors of the museum etc. Pleasant outdoor seating alongside the River Culm, good disability access & toilet facilities inside the cafe. Recommended to visit!
September 2019 by Jenny Watts
Recommended on past experience as I know it can be a great day out. Today though, the cafe only had crisps or three slices of cake at 3.20 pm and the shop and museum were closed at 3.40 in spite of listing last entry at 4 and closing time of 4.30. Disappointing.
