At our cafe, the Thirteen Valleys Kitchen, our passionate chef team recreate classic dishes that prioritise regional produce and seasonal ingredients. Realistic about the Cumbrian lifestyle, our menu encompasses delicious fresh bakes, warming soups, chunky toasties, and classic scones – everything you need to fuel a hike, a sightseeing wander, or just to restore your smile after a day of Lake District rain.
Our specially trained barista team use Lake District coffee beans by local brand Carvetii to whip up classic lattes, a reviving tea, or a more exciting concoction, and our range of thick hot chocolates are the real deal (never powdered).
What’s more, our focus on exclusively Cumbrian and UK provenance means we work in close collaboration with many local suppliers – helping boost traditional Cumbrian industries like farming and cheese-making, as well as protecting our planet by reducing the ‘food miles’ of our ingredients lists.
TVK is the perfect place to start or finish an outdoor adventure in the Grasmere valley. We’re very proud to have already been mentioned by the Times newspaper, as a must-visit destination following a hike around Grasmere, and in Jo Moseley’s best-selling guide to Stand-up Paddleboarding in the Lake District, as the perfect spot to get warm and refuel after a long paddle.
Our Menu
Our menu changes seasonally, as our chefs prioritise local suppliers and use produce at the peak of freshness for their recipes. This also guarantees the quality of their ingredients, which we see as a fundamental part of good food.
Whatever the season, in the Thirteen Valleys Kitchen you’ll be sure to find a classic mega-toastie, a lighter lunch like homemade soup, or a delicious piece of freshly baked cake, alongside barista-made coffee and artisan drinks. Please consult the cafe counter and menus when you arrive to see exactly what’s on offer during your visit. Like the Gather, everything is limited as it is made fresh and dependent on local supplies. This means we cannot guarantee your favourite dish or cake will be available every time you visit, but we can guarantee the quality of what we will serve you.
How it works
Thirteen Valleys Kitchen menus are available at both of the café entrances, if you’d like to look at what we have available before ordering. When you’re ready to order, please queue up at the café counter and one of our staff will be ready to help you. If there’s any waiting time you should have an excellent view of our freshly-baked scones and cakes, which change daily, to occupy you!
Once you’ve placed your order at the till, hot or cold drinks and baked goods can all be collected at the counter as soon as they’re ready. If you’ve ordered any hot food from the kitchen, you’ll be given a table number at the till and one of our chef team will bring your freshly-prepared food over to you as soon as it’s ready.
Our ingredients and suppliers
All our suppliers are carefully selected, representing the best of local producers who share our core values. Prioritising Cumbrian or UK-based producers greatly reduces the distance our ingredients have to travel, decreasing emissions – so we protect our environment as well as traditional local industries.
You can find a list of all our suppliers below, along with some key information about each business. Most of our suppliers are Cumbrian-led, family-run, or part of diversified farming initiatives – exactly the kind of production we want to support.
Four legged friends
We love dogs, but we’re afraid we can’t allow them in the Grasmere Gather shop area, due to the delicate nature of many products and the Lake District climate, which makes for muddy wet paws and fur.
Dogs are more than welcome in the indoor upstairs seating area of the Thirteen Valleys Kitchen, which has door access from the road or car park, and in our outdoor seating areas. Many of our outdoor tables are under cover in case the weather takes a Cumbrian turn, and blankets are available for a bit of extra warmth.
Left wanting more?
If you loved the taste of the Thirteen Valleys, many of the ingredients used in the cafe are available to purchase next door in the Grasmere Gather shop. Have a browse in the deli section as you leave: they’re perfect for gifting, or to take a bit of Cumbria home with you.
Thirteen Valleys – what does it mean?
Our name is inspired by the iconic Thirteen Valleys of the English Lake District, which Grasmere sits at the heart of. The concept was originally created by William Wordsworth, who spent much of his life living in Grasmere, and later used in the Lake District’s successful nomination for World Heritage status. Each of the thirteen valleys shows incredible variation – in their landscape, culture, topography, history, architecture, flora and fauna. This rich tapestry serves as inspiration for our products next door in the Grasmere Gather shop, and in our menu here at TVK – including doing our bit to support traditional Cumbrian artisans and farming communities.
The Thirteen Valleys Trail, a route which links up all thirteen valleys of the Lake District National Park, passes right by our front door, so it seemed right to include it in our cafe’s name. Taking inspiration from the world-famous Tour de Mont Blanc, the circular route was created to show the best of the Lake District and its varied landscapes – including many of the lakes, meres and waters that give our region its name.
The Thirteen Valleys Kitchen is a perfect place to start, end, or plan your trips out on the trail – whether that’s an attempt on the full 180-km route, or shorter out-and-back sections to visit the various valleys we have on our doorstep. The OS Map of the Thirteen Valleys Trail can be purchased next door in our shop, the Grasmere Gather. We have also loaded many routes of varying lengths and technical difficulty onto the app Skamper: this can be downloaded for free ahead of your visit, or whilst you have a TVK coffee and use our in-house wifi.