3 neighbourhoods·14 cafés·last updated May 2026
Farrer's has roasted here since 1819 and still sells direct from the roastery. Penningtons, Podda & Wren, and Red Bank all roast their own; Rinscoffee operates from a food park down the road in Burneside.
Our top picks4 picks
01
Kendal
“The Lake District roaster where Tom can walk you through every lot he roasted.”
A working roastery you can walk into, with named single-origin lots on the counter and staff who roasted every one of them. This is a sourcing-led operation, not a cafe that happens to stock bags.
02
Burneside
The roastery in Burneside's food park whose Casa blend cancelled two specialty subscriptions.
03
Kendal
A working roastery that supplies the region and teaches the craft from Elephant Yard.
04
Kendal
Single origins and barista certification from Britain's oldest working roastery.
3 villages
Farrer's has roasted in Kendal since 1819; three more roasteries have followed. The town now supplies cafes across the Lake District.
A working roastery that supplies the region and teaches the craft from Elephant Yard.
Single origins and barista certification from Britain's oldest working roastery.
The shortest roast-to-bag chain in the Lake District, with Summit Special to prove it.
Dark Woods Coffee on the bar, surrounded by people who came for the sourdough.
Duffins roasts on-site in Staveley, a small Lakeland village just off the Lakes corridor. One stop worth the detour; the roastery is behind the counter.
A working roastery in a food park just outside Kendal, Rinscoffee pours its own award-winning Casa blend and rotating filter.
Farrer's has roasted here since 1819 and still sells direct from the roastery. Penningtons, Podda & Wren, and Red Bank all roast their own; Rinscoffee operates from a food park down the road in Burneside.
Last updated May 2026
Kendal
A working roastery you can walk into, with named single-origin lots on the counter and staff who roasted every one of them. This is a sourcing-led operation, not a cafe that happens to stock bags.
Burneside
Rinscoffee roasts in a food park on the edge of Kendal. The filter coffee is good enough that coffee-literate regulars have cancelled their specialty subscriptions to order exclusively here instead.