Frequently asked questions

Yes! We love four legged friends, dogs are welcome inside the café and in our outside seating area, we offer free dog biscuits and if your dog is thirsty, please ask our staff for a dog bowl, as we have them behind the counter. We do ask that you keep your dog(s) on a lead, keep them near or under your table and don’t allow them to sit in walkways, or wander around the café unsupervised. Please be aware if you are bringing a dog into the café that at certain times, weekends and school holidays, we do get very busy and there are a lot of other dogs and children around. If your dog is nervous about crowded places, other dogs or children, then our café may not the right environment for them.

Yes! The loop around the lake is approximately 2.5km. The path is partly grass and partly hard standing, and it is buggy friendly. If it has rained recently (quite possible with our British weather!) then you will want to bring wellies, particularly for any children as it can get muddy. It is also dog friendly but we do ask that dogs are kept on a lead at all times, not allowed in the water and any dog mess is cleared up and taken with you. There is a charge for the walk around the lake, and you can buy a day wrist band in the café, these are £3 per person or £5 for up to a family of 4. This price does include our children’s trail, Wanda’s quest. Passes can be purchased until one hour before the café closes. *We no longer offer the walk for free when you have eaten in the café, this was an offer during covid only*

Yes! We offer a 10% discount to Blue Light Card holders & members of Oxford Wake Board and Ski club.

No, unfortunately we do not offer the café out for weddings as we don’t like to close for our loyal, regular customers and we open very early on Sunday mornings for our swimmers breakfast and the turn around time isn’t possible. We are able to offer the café out for evening private hire for Christmas functions during December. If this is something you would be interested in please email the WK team (thelake@thewanderingkitchen.co.uk)

Due to having a very small kitchen, cooking from scratch (using all 14 allergens) and serving a very large number of people, we cannot guarantee that any of our food or drink is ‘free from’ allergens and therefore our food is not suitable for severe allergy sufferers. We consider a severe allergy, one that could cause an anaphylactic reaction or coeliac disease.In an ideal world we would have an allergen free area, but unfortunately we are extremely limited on space in our kitchen, but serves a huge amount of people and with the volume that we produce and the very tight time restrictions that we work to, we cannot cater to a severe allergy within these parameters.It is not a decision that we have taken lightly, but we have as a company dealt with an anaphylactic reaction happening in the café. It was unknown allergy to the person at the time and therefore it was not disclosed to us and was no one’s fault but it was horrendous for everyone involved, our staff and other customers. The person was fine in the end, but it was extremely traumatic for all involved. We work with a lot of young people and that circumstance was a lot for them to deal with, we are responsible for our staff as well as our customers and therefore after this event, we vowed to never let this happen in our café again. We do allow severe allergy sufferers to bring their own food into the café, please just let a staff member know when you arrive.We are able to offer food that is suitable for intolerances, please speak to a member of staff about what we are able to offer.