Bradford on Avon's characterful tea rooms are one of the town's great attractions. Below are some of the favourites.
"The coffee in the grease caff is very slightly preferable to the tea: it hits like a hammer, a mild concussion, instead of permanent kidney damage. The dead egg slides off a damp white sheet of bread."
Iain Sinclair "White Chappell Scarlet Tracings" 1987
Luckily, Iain Sinclair wasn't talking about one of Bradford on Avon's great cafe's. Come and see for yourself how good they are!
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Cafe el Quetzal Cafe el Quetzal has had a firm following among Bradfordians. It's because proprietor, Ezvin is the king of cake bakers and soup makers in town - Sadly, he has had to close and the cafe will shortly be under new ownership. Rumour is that they will keep the best coffee in town. |
The fantastic Bloomfields fruit and veg store is great for filling the picnic basket. |
Mr Salvats This café is probably Bradford on Avon's most quirky! Mr Salvat and his team are attired in Georgian kit. If you believe his tale about the carpenter and the painter getting too close together when the Georgian (not 1970s!) decorations were being done, then you will be transported to a Georgian coffee shop in their panelled cubicles. The tea is fair-trade and quite delicious, and you can also drink this out in the garden. It's well worth dropping in for cosy, olde world atmosphere by a lovely fireside. Mr Salvat can be a hoot too. Open Thursday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, Mr Salvat's cafe can be found along St Margarets Street, just past the car park.
Ale and Porter
Owner of Ale and Porter, French chef Sebastien, cooks, bakes and prepares 90% of the food served here. Having tried all options of organic flour, he eventually had to import the croissants from France. Otherwise, he bakes the bread, makes the chocolates, roasts the coffee and spends all hours to bring Bradford on Avon good, well cooked, fresh food without breaking the bank. You can get an assiete anglaise (an English breakfast) or a lovely filo with roasted tomatoes and courgettes, topped with goat cheese and sun-dried tomato pesto served with lettuce and lightly dressed with herbs. Oh boy, was it good, and just £6.95. Well worth heading up Silver Street and locating them on the right - a real treat for Bradford on Avon.
Maples Maples has a café within a deli. If you don't mind people shopping around your table then you can get a particularly scrummy lunch
here. If you do, you can always opt for the pretty chairs and tables outside. It's packed to brimming most of the time, and has a tastefully
enticing interior. This is along the Shambles. Open seven days a week, closes at 4pm on Sundays. More information here.
Bridge Tea Rooms This is all very Victoriana and beams, with frilly-aproned waitresses
that your granny would love. Tea is served with overflowing cake stands
and this is regularly voted best UK tea shop. If all this is your cup of cha, you can't miss it by the
old town bridge, leaning so far out it looks like it might tumble into
the street! More information here.
For invormation, click here. The Lock Inn Café You don't go here for the quality of the fare, but for the bustling
atmosphere, where barges and ducks pass by and fellow customers jump out
of their canoes or off their barges, or families just drop in on route from their dog walking. You can find it where the canal meets the Frome
Road, just before the canal bridge. Cheap and cheerful and great fun on a Sunday Morning when many other cafes aren't open.
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Stowford Manor Tea Rooms This exceptional place is worth the four-mile drive or cycle ride. Your reward will be a very relaxed cream tea in an ancient manor parlour, with huge helpings of home-produced, thick Jersey cream. There's a juke box in the corner with lots of 80s tracks. You can also take tea out in the garden. It's in a deliciously green setting by a river, which you can walk along to the medieval Farleigh Castle. Gorgeous. Take the A366 turning off the Frome Road, and it's a few 100 yards on the left. Cyclists need to take care on the busy, narrow road. |
Open daily from Easter to September, 3pm to 6pm. |
These are my recommendations. There are other cafes in town, including The Scribbling Horse and the Cottage Café and many of the pubs and wine bars serve coffee, teas and cakes too. You will never be gasping for a cuppa in Bradford on Avon, as help is at hand around every corner.