book your visit!

An hour of cat cuddles, coffee & cake (and more!) - what's not to love?
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We recommend booking in advance as far as possible as we regularly book up - especially on weekends & school holiday times. We have a strict maximum capacity of 24 to ensure our café does not get overcrowded, with staggered entry of 12 guests every half hour to ensure our small kitchen can fulfil orders in a timely manner.
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Please see our FAQs page for any questions you may have, and we have booking specific FAQs at the bottom of this page.
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Agreement to our
House Rules is required for all bookings. We have an age requirement of 8+.

thank mew!

Booking Info & FAQs

before booking

Please check our FAQs, and ensure you have read our House Rules before placing your booking. Our age requirement is 8+. 

Agreement to our House Rules is required for booking

house rules

Before your visit please read our House Rules to ensure safety and security for all. You will be required to agree to these upon booking, including our age requirement of 8+.

Any booking parties arriving with underage guests will not be able to enter the café (we may be able to welcome part of the group, age dependent). The booking would be considered a no-show and would be non-refundable. See our full Refund Policy here.

More information on our age requirement can be found in our House Rules and FAQs

how to book

Set the quantity of guests you are booking for using the selector, then click "Schedule Your Time". This will allow you to choose your visit date & time from our bookings calendar.

Complete our pre-booking questions, please leave blank if not applicable.

Entry will then be added to your cart. You are able to add additional session times if you would like a longer time at the café - your bookings will be grouped. Please note: Our sessions are an hour long, but entry is staggered every half hour - eg to book a 2 hour session starting at 1pm, book for 1pm and 2pm, skipping the 1.30pm session start time.

cancellations & rescheduling

Bookings are able to be re-scheduled up to 24 hours in advance, and cancellations made up to 48 hours in advance.

You can access and make changes to bookings by logging into your customer account, if you create one at checkout, or via links included in your booking confirmation email, sent after checkout. Please remember to check your junk folder if not in your inbox.

No-shows and cancellations made within 48 hours of a booked session are non-refundable, as due to our limited capacity have a large impact on our daily running. Thank you for your understanding.

See our full Refund Policy here.

changing a booking / amending a mistake

Additional group members can be added to an existing booking, space permitting. Simply complete checkout again for the same date/time using the same details (eg name) and our system will group your bookings.

To cancel part of a group booking, follow the cancellation link included in your booking email or login your customer account. Select the quantity of guests you wish to cancel, and click done. Cancellation terms apply.

If you have made a mistake in your booking, please do not cancel and rebook. Just contact us with your issue and we will help you out!

general booking info

Bookings can be made online up to 45 minutes in advance.

We may accept walk-ins at the door, space permitting. We advise booking in advance to avoid disappointment. 

Drinks and food can be purchased on-site during your booked session. See our menu here. We also have a gift shop on-site with a wide selection of cat-tastic goodies & gifts. 

Late arrivals are unable to have additional time added to the end of their session as this will interfere with guests in the next booking slot. We appreciate your understanding.

booking confirmation

After completing checkout you will be shown on-screen confirmation.
You will also receive an auto-generated booking confirmation email shortly after checkout. Please remember to check your contact email is correct at checkout, and check your junk folder if not in your inbox. 
The email is not required for admission as we will have your booking on our system. 

working carer's discounted entry

We offer half-price entry for a carer accompanying the person they care for. Carers will need to book their entry along with standard entry for their ward before their visit, as we are a new and small independent business, and are a booking based establishment with a strict maximum capacity in the interest of welfare for all, including the cats.

Carers will be required to provide proof of carer status upon entry to the café (eg app/card).

getting here

We are located at 8 Mercery Lane, Canterbury, Kent. CT1 2JJ United Kingdom.

Our closest car parks are Whitefriars, Watling Street, St Radigunds and Northgate.

Click here for a list of all Canterbury Car Parks

There is also a Park and Ride service

We have a wheelchair accessible sloped entrance, but please note our street is historic and has uneven paving slabs. Orange Street car park is the closest blue badge holders car park.

booking for a birthday?

After selecting your booking slot you will be prompted to answer a few quick booking requirement questions, one of which is if any member of your booking party is celebrating a birthday. If applicable, please enter the birthday-person's name and age they are turning, so we can prep table decorations and a card for their special occasion.

In the future we plan to offer speciality birthday booking slots with more tailored fun, but right now as we are still new and finding our feet aren't quite ready to expand our session offerings.

If you would like to enquire about private hire of the café for your own event, please contact us.

Make sure to follow our socials and join our mailing list to be fur-st in the know for future speciality session availability.

speciality events & private hire

We are currently only taking bookings for entry to the café, but once we have established ourselves plan to host speciality sessions including exciting options such as: afternoon tea, kitty yoga, craft sessions, community groups, student study specials, and more!

If you would like to enquire about private hire of the café for your own events, please contact us.

Make sure to follow our socials and join our mailing list (below) to be fur-st in the know for future speciality session availability.

dietary requirements

After selecting your booking slot you will be prompted to answer a few quick booking requirement questions, one of which is if your booking party has any dietary requirements eg. allergies.

downstairs seating

After selecting your booking slot you will be prompted to answer a few quick booking requirement questions, one of which is if your booking party requires downstairs seating. This lets us know beforehand and enables us to allocate appropriate seating.

security & recording

Please note Canterbury Tails uses security cameras in the interest of safety and security of the cat crew, and all customers and staff. By placing a booking you acknowledge and agree that you may be recorded on video. Please be assured the footage is only used for security purposes and is stored securely. We value your privacy and will only disclose the footage as required by law or to investigate any incidents that may occur on our premises. We are ICO registered. If you have any concerns or questions regarding our use of security cameras, please do not hesitate to contact us.