Bensons Restaurant & Tea Rooms
Quick info
About Bensons Restaurant & Tea Rooms
On Henley Street in Stratford Upon Avon, Bensons Restaurant & Tea Rooms is a cafe and tea room serving breakfast and afternoon tea alongside sandwiches, with a champagne afternoon tea offered for special occasions. The menu runs across 56 dishes, including fish and chips, scones with cream and jam, and a beef burger. Orders are placed at the counter, and a wait for a table is common. The room keeps a fireplace and a step-free entrance for visitors with mobility needs, and high chairs are available for families with young children. Outdoor seating extends the space, and dogs are welcome there. Free Wi-Fi runs throughout for anyone working or browsing over a pot of tea. Reservations are recommended, though the venue opens daily. Food is also available for takeaway for those eating off site.
Good to know
- ReservationsAccepts reservations
- AccessibilityHas wheelchair-accessible entrance · Has wheelchair-accessible seating · Has wheelchair-accessible toilet
- Good for kidsGood for kids · High chairs available · Has kids' menu
- DietaryServes vegetarian dishes
Menu & Prices
56 dishes · mains £2–11- Carved Cotswold Ham£6.25
- Tuna£5.50
- Cheddar Cheese£4.95
- Brie£5.50
- Bensons Garden Salad£6.95
- Fish & Chips£10.95
Reviews
What reviewers say
Reviewers most often mention scones with cream and jam, fish and chips, afternoon tea and slow service.
What reviewers say
Reviewers most often mention scones with cream and jam, fish and chips, afternoon tea and slow service.
Customer Review Summary
Afternoon tea draws the most consistent praise, with reviewers highlighting loose leaf teas, freshly made sandwiches, and scones with jam and cream, plus seasonal touches like mulled wine and mince pies. Close behind, lunch regulars single out the fish and chips and the beef burger as satisfying choices, and several mention friendly, welcoming staff even during busy periods. Service is where the pattern splits sharply, though: alongside the warmth, multiple diners describe long waits, being ignored at ordering time, or missing menus, and one reviewer calls the fish and chips flavorless with stiff, cold fries. A more serious account describes being overcharged for bacon, having the discrepancy disputed by staff, and, after threatening a review, being followed outside and asked not to post one before the owner offered a small refund. Another visitor found the cafe not clean and the overall experience poor. Despite this split, several reviewers say they would return, and one recommends the afternoon tea vouchers as gifts.
Customer Review Summary
Afternoon tea draws the most consistent praise, with reviewers highlighting loose leaf teas, freshly made sandwiches, and scones with jam and cream, plus seasonal touches like mulled wine and mince pies. Close behind, lunch regulars single out the fish and chips and the beef burger as satisfying choices, and several mention friendly, welcoming staff even during busy periods. Service is where the pattern splits sharply, though: alongside the warmth, multiple diners describe long waits, being ignored at ordering time, or missing menus, and one reviewer calls the fish and chips flavorless with stiff, cold fries. A more serious account describes being overcharged for bacon, having the discrepancy disputed by staff, and, after threatening a review, being followed outside and asked not to post one before the owner offered a small refund. Another visitor found the cafe not clean and the overall experience poor. Despite this split, several reviewers say they would return, and one recommends the afternoon tea vouchers as gifts.
Featured reviews
- Sue “Suzie” Griffin
“Flew in from Spain 🇪🇸… (used to live in uk) stopped as we were thirsty.. Asked if they served any gluten free?… pleasantly surprised..YES… they had quite a few options too, sandwiches, mains & even scones with cream and jam …. It was heaven 😋.. excellent service, very helpful & friendly… thank you for a fab experience…. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️”
- Max Bp
“Probably the worst meal ive had in quiet a while. Service was slow and nonchalant. We ordered fish and chips. Fish tasted like frozen hungry fisherman pieces in the states and fries were stiff and not hot. Picture the taste of old McDonald's fries is as close as id come to describing it. I expect its location to an attraction keeps it going. We come to the UK regularly and this was a sad disappointment”
- Jaye Lawton
“I came here to write a review on Bensons because I was honestly confused by some of the reviews I’d read beforehand. We visited for the first time this week and had such a lovely experience. …”
- Adam Yould
“Judging by the reviews which give this place a high rating either these are misleading or we dined on a bad day. Long wait, food not great, Pepsi tasted like it came out of a supermarket bottle and not the best atmosphere. Food was edible …”
- Stephanie Du Preez
“Beautiful tea room , very festive this time of year and we had the fabulous deal of free mince pies with a mulled wine and a Bailey’s coffee , delicious!!A delightful place to rest and refuel between shopping and museums , highly recommend!”
Hours
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday
Highlights
“Breakfast and afternoon tea, with champagne specials, plus sandwiches, in a classic-style venue.”
- Has fireplace
- Serves great coffee
- Serves great dessert
- Has great tea selection
- Popular for popular for breakfast
- Popular for popular for lunch
Amenities
- Has Wi-Fi
- Has wheelchair-accessible entrance
- Accepts reservations
- Has outdoor seating
- Dogs allowed
- Offers takeaway
Show more amenities
- Serves dine-in
- Family friendly
- Serves vegetarian dishes
- Serves alcohol
- Casual
- On-site services available
- Dining options· 7
- Serves breakfast
- Serves brunch
- Serves lunch
- Serves dinner
- Serves dessert
- Has seating
- Has table service
- Facilities· 2
- Has gender-neutral toilets
- Has toilet
- Accessibility· 2
- Has wheelchair-accessible seating
- Has wheelchair-accessible toilet
- Offerings· 6
- Serves beer
- Serves coffee
- Has free water refills
- Serves healthy options
- Quick bite
- Serves wine
- Family-friendly· 3
- Good for kids
- High chairs available
- Has kids' menu
- Pet-friendly· 2
- Dogs allowed inside
- Dogs allowed outside
- Highlights· 4
- Has fireplace
- Serves great coffee
- Serves great dessert
- Has great tea selection
- Popular for· 3
- Popular for breakfast
- Popular for lunch
- Good for solo dining
- Atmosphere· 1
- Cosy
- Crowd· 2
- Good for groups
- Popular with tourists
Location
How Bensons Restaurant & Tea Rooms compares to nearby cafes
- Bensons Restaurant & Tea Rooms · This shop4.3398 reviews
Mentioned in reviews: scones with cream and jam, fish and chips, afternoon tea
- 174 reviews6.5 mi
Mentioned in reviews: cheese scone, dog friendly, toblerone brownie
Bensons Restaurant & Tea Rooms This shop | The Village Cafe | |
|---|---|---|
| 4.3(398) | 4.8(174) | |
| Price | £10–20 | £1–10 |
| Distance | — | 6.5 mi |
| Open today |
How this listing is sourced
- Where the data comes from
- Name, address, hours, contact details, amenities, ratings and review counts come from the business's publicly available profile data — not from the owner and not from paid submissions.
- How it stays current
- Every listing is re-checked on a recurring crawl, and anything reported as wrong is corrected at the source rather than patched on the page.
- How it is ranked
- Placement is never sold. Every business on the page is ordered and compared using the same public signals, so an owner cannot pay to move up.
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