Right beside the Daffodil Line bus stop and the lake in the centre of Newent you will find The Ark: a great cafe and so much more . . .
Set over two floors and multiple rooms there’s plenty of indoor seating, a sensory room, soft play for younger children, a private upstairs lounge and a fabulous garden space with outdoor seating.
Good food is available to eat in or take away and dietary needs and preferences are taken very seriously with a particularly good selection of gluten free and vegan options. Hot drinks and milkshakes can be made at request with plant based products.
You can order from the varied menu or children’s menu or children can shop for their own lunches in adorable mini shopping baskets as part of a lunch box deal. Ask for a picnic to eat at the lake or select your own from the grab and go fridge and choose from the sumptuous array of cakes and bakes on display.
You can even treat your dog to a sausage, puppaccino or a dog ice cream, with pet friendly zones indoor and out for well behaved pooches.
Afternoon tea picnic benches are fully loaded, a real treat and available with advanced booking all day.
The accessible sensory room and upstairs soft play are reasonably priced and both spaces are also available to book exclusively in hour-long increments or as part of a birthday party package. You can book these on the website www.thearkcafe.co.uk
to avoid disappointment or ask at the till. The cafe operates a loyalty card system for both soft play and hot drinks.
The food, drinks and welcome are great at the Ark, but above and beyond this, the team are committed to making this place a true hub for the community.
From 7.30am to 8.45 a free self service breakfast of toast, cereal, tea, coffee, juice and fruit is available for anyone in the community who needs it. This is a quiet time for reflection, prayer and devotion to start the day.
You can also pop in to purchase some last minute lunch box supplies or a takeaway coffee from 8am and the kitchen opens for the breakfast menu from 9am.
After 3.30pm during the week a 2 course meal deal is available for £5 particularly good for those evenings when you are too frazzled to cook. This meal is a family friendly, freshly cooked, main course, desert and drink.
For times when money is short there are always free of charge meals available, donated by the Ark team and the community. Call or message ahead if you would like a free meal and this will be managed discreetly when you arrive.
The Cafe is working in partnership with Anne from Baby College to offer a free sensory and social session for parents and babies up to around 8 weeks, with complimentary tea and an additional free sensory room session for attendees. Book your space!
Following a successful burger night and an all age board games evening the cafe has plans for more regular and pop up evenings, and to run courses to support families and individuals.
Daffodils Line customers can claim an additional loyalty card stamp when showing their bus ticket on the day of travel with the purchase of any hot drink or iced tea/coffee of choice.
Contact the Ark:
Tel: 01531 821 520
Email: ADMIN@THEARKCAFE.CO.UK
Website: https://www.thearkcafe.co.uk/
Address: The Good News Centre, High St, Newent, GL18 1AN