Cafe Graze — Restaurant in Winchester

We have been members of this zoo for the past couple of years and because we live so close we come here on a weekly basis.

Hence my review is balanced when I say that each and every time we come to Cafe Graze tables are “reserved” by often single adults sitting at the table with no food or drinks whilst their friends, family are queueing up to order something to eat or drink.

In the meantime parents with little ones like myself are waiting and queuing up with their already purchased foods and drinks waiting for a table to become available. Whilst there is plenty of sitting at a table opportunities outside during the colder winter months it doesn’t seem fit to feed a toddler in the cold.

However I would feel extremely guilty just sitting there for up to 10+ minutes only to wait for someone else to eventually as it was today bring a cup of tea around!! This is borderline antisocial and whilst I appreciate the effort of a particular staff member to clean up a table for us which was occupied by people bringing their own food?! I still struggle to understand how this is all possible and tolerated.

Never mind, the zoo is lovely but the table situation I heard will hopefully improve with square tables which can be separated when the need arises.

No more table...

Visited in August 2024

The food was very disappointing—tasteless and clearly pre-made. We tried lasagna, fries, and chicken goujons, and none of them were enjoyable. We were especially shocked to pay £8 for just 5 chicken wings—is this supposed to be Michelin pricing?

We spent a total of £40 for: • 1 coffee • 1 lasagna Bowl • 11 chicken wings • 1 portion of fries • 1 hot dog • 3 cokes (£2.40 each).

The food selection is generic, with no cakes available. Additionally, the park has a serious wasp problem—there were swarms of them everywhere. If you’re allergic, be warned. It’s baffling why they don’t invest in wasp traps to protect visitors.

We also purchased a burger from a nearby stall, but it was poorly prepared. The bread and other ingredients were served out the freezer cold, as they are apparently only allowed to heat the meat on the grill with other ingredients. If this is the case, they should consider an extra grill to ensure the entire burger is properly prepared—no one wants a cold bun straight out of the freezer!

Lastly, avoid the ice cream—it’s made with artificial colorants instead of natural extracts, resulting in a bitter taste in the mouth, that was unpleasant...

Lovely zoo cafe, big range considering it's just a cafe, the only thing I'd say bad about it was trying to pay. There was one person on a till serving someone who wanted coffee from the machine so she was sorting that out (takes a while as I am sure you've all seen at Starbucks costa etc. However there were at least 3 other staff members just standing around instead of quickly jumping on the till! Even if it was just to serve me it would have just shown good service. I know the till was open because someone was stood there when...