Palace adds new Champagne bar

Blenheim Palace is believed to be the first stately home to open a public Champagne bar, as part of ongoing refurbishments to improve visitor facilities.

The World Heritage Site is upgrading three areas to bring in new restaurants and cafés. The first stage saw the creation of the Champagne bar, as well as the Water Terrace Café.

A new family-orientated café will also be opening as part of the refurbishment to the Pleasure Gardens deli, which is next to the famous Marlborough hedge maze.

Blenheim Palace property director Roger File told the Oxford Mail: “The food offer we have now is superior to what it was. Customer feedback suggests they are very impressed and the Champagne bar is attracting lots of attention, perhaps because it is not something they expect to see.”

The multi-million pound refurbishment was designed to improve visitor facilities at the centre and it is the largest project seen at the stately home for more than 200 years.

Mr File added: “The purpose of the refurbishment was to create a destination-type catering facility that would help boost the spend-per-head of visitors and this has definitely been achieved.

“The new facilities have added more than 100 extra covers to the catering operation and, while it is still early days, I’m confident that the new refurbishment is achieving our objectives.”