New café to open in Museum Gardens – plans to serve up perfect summer picnics

Nothing says summer like a picnic in the park – so there will be a lot of love for a new café planned for York.

The empty pavilion in Museum Gardens is to be opened as an in-park cafe serving al fresco treats all summer.

It will be run by the team behind the acclaimed Café No 8 on Gillygate. They went on to open Café No 8 At York Art Gallery when the gallery reopened last August.

Chris Pragnell, Ashley Hyde and Matthew Hyde, the team behind No 8, broke the news on their Facebook page:

Can’t wait for summer

So what kind of food is going to be served from the pavilion? The menu includes all the ingredients for the perfect picnic – the sort that Enid Blyton’s Famous Five used to devour on their adventures.

Chris and Martin are planning to serve “cakes, pastries, soups, quiches, scotch eggs, sausage rolls, tea, coffee, smoothies, strawberries & cream, traditional soft drinks, scones, afternoon tea – and much more!

“We will also be hiring out picnic baskets and blankets for people to use and bring back when they are done.”

Regular trader on Shambles Market Yorkshire Blankets will be supplying the picnic blankets.

The pavilion is just behind the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey. It is close to the path which links Museum Gardens with the newly developed art gallery gardens.

Recently installed in front of the pavilion is a mosaic created by artist Janette Ireland, inspired by the first geological map of Britain by William Smith.

The news comes as local campaigners continue their plans to turn a disused building in another York park into a heritage centre and café.

The Backhouse Project is planning to breathe new life into the former park lodge in West Bank Park, to celebrate its connections with the famous James Backhouse Plant Nurseries, known as the Kew of the North.

Museum Gardens is a beautiful spot for a picnic. All that needs to be added to the mix is some warm sunshine.

As Chris, Ashley and Matthew said: “We can’t wait for summer… can you?”