Right in the heart of the Candover Valley is The Yard, a cafe offering a unique location for a coffee, food and curated special events.
The stunning chic converted barn, outdoor yard and friendly, relaxed atmosphere are just a couple of the reasons you’ll fall in love with the place.
I spent a morning tucking into savoury treats, sipping coffee and enjoying the sun as the farm’s resident swallows ducked and dived over my head.
Here’s why I’d urge you to travel into the centre of Hampshire to discover The Yard…
Converted Barn
The Yard is in a converted barn space that is truly magnificent, like all my interior design Pinterest boards come to life.
A beautiful grey scales the barn walls, accented with dark matt black features, aztec carpets and old wooden furniture.
It’s something you’d find on the pages of Monocle or Cabana design magazine. I love a good aesthetic and The Yard balances farm house vibes with a blend of modern and classic styles.
The outdoor yard is huge, and a real sun trap. There’s plenty of seating for you to enjoy your feast and catch up with friends and family.
There’s lots of helpful amenities too, bike racks, a focus on recycling, and a car park on the farm.
Coffee
One of the major benefits at The Yard is the fact that Moon Coffee Roasters are the neighbours. Yes, they have a coffee roasters on their doorstep. Can I move in? 😂
I’ve been a fan of Moon Coffee for a while. I am currently sipping the Kenyan blend as I write this! I first discovered Moon as they supply coffee to some of my favourite cafes in the county.
There’s a good selection of coffees and I will be going back to have an affogato soon. Coffee and gelato, my two favourite things.
The coffee set up is epic and a whole counter full of coffee machines is in full view so you can see the coffee pros at work. Great if you’re a nosey coffee geek like me.
Take a trip round the corner to see where the roasters is and pick up a bag of beans to up your coffee game at home.
Food
A concise curated menu existed when I visited, they first opened in July 2020 as the first ease of the global lockdown happened. Please keep in mind that naturally changes may have been made since my visit, so take a look at their Instagram or Chilton Manor Farm website for the latest.
The menu was a joyous celebration of the sourdough toasted sandwich, total comfort food and a wonderfully indulgent meal.
I went for the cheese, leek and béchamel sauce toastie and this was a game changer. Why have I never thought to put leek in a cheese toastie before? Mega.
The outside was crunchy and the cheese was perfectly melted. It was very filling and set me up for my nine mile walk around Winchester later in the day.
I took my Mum here for her Birthday breakfast and she had the special, a garlic mushroom toastie which smelt fantastic. I think I scored lots of daughter brownie points as she liked everything about The Yard and it was a brilliant start to the day.
There was also a selection of cakes, pastries and sausage roll bits on the counter on the side. I saw one cyclist tucking into a very nice looking piece of carrot cake.
Oh, and of course, don’t forget to check out the counter full of ice cream. If you read this blog regularly you’ll know one of my weaknesses is my love for ice cream and gelato. It took all my strength not to have it for breakfast. 🙈
The Yard
The Yard is the best of British cafe culture – excellent coffee, food and location. If you want to escape to the countryside for a couple of hours this is the place to head to.
It’s also an excellent pit stop for cyclists, and we saw easily twenty turn up to rest their legs for half an hour and grab a drink and snack before heading out again to finish their rides.
The Yard are planning on doing a series of supper club experiences, so I’ve signed up to the email newsletter to find out more about it. I know, I know I’m such a keen bean. But, I love the more unique experiences coming to Hampshire instead of places like London, Bath or Bristol – it’s been a long time coming.
Let me know if you’ve been or are discovering The Yard for the first time in the comments below.
If you liked this, take a look at these other great places to visit in Hampshire…
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Hi went to the yard on sat the coffee was amazing . I also bought a cinnamon bun for the children delicious but would have liked it warmed up can’t wait to come again
Yes Mood Roast coffee is excellent and so smooth! Oh I’ve not tried one of their cinnamon buns yet and I am rather partial to one of those! I will have to go back. Oh that’s a good idea – I wonder if they would warm it up for you? Worth an ask!
So glad you enjoyed it. 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
Visited The Yard for the first time today. The service was a little slow but staff apologised for this.
My main gripe is that you allow noisy dogs into the building, this particular dog kept barking and to add the owner sat it on the bench where customers sit ! This is so unhygienic and really not acceptable, If you have to allow dogs the owners and the dogs should use the seating outside so not to disturb other customers . Disappointing………
Hi Debbie, All feedback is good feedback, you might want to email The Yard and share your experience with them.