Date visited: Monday 29th April 2024
The Halfway to Heaven Café & Tearoom is located at 7 Well Walk in a Grade II listed building dating from the eighteenth century. It is close to Cheltenham Minster, which no doubt led to the tearoom’s name.
This is quite a small tea room, with only five tables. The menu offers a selection of eleven different main lunch items, as well as a choice of nine different sandwiches. Half a dozen cakes were on display, with citrus flavours featuring in most. The beverages menu was slightly disappointing, with only two teas offered plus a few tisanes. Coffees and soft drinks were also available.
I chose a coronation chicken sandwich, a slice of millionaires shortbread, and a pot of English breakfast tea. This came to a total of £13.40. The coronation chicken was a little too runny for my liking, but came with a very neatly presented salad, with all the items held on a curved iceberg lettuce leaf. The millionaires shortbread was pleasantly sweet and chocolatey, with the caramel layer not too gooey. The teapot was sufficient for two cups of tea. The shortbread was definitely the highlight of the meal, with the rest being sufficient but not as heavenly as the establishment’s name.
When I visited on a Monday lunchtime, three of the five tables were occupied, which was enough to keep the one waitress and one cook busy but not rushed. Indeed the whole establishment had an air of hushed calm. Much of the quiet conversation appeared to be of an ecclesiastical nature, suggesting the nearby minster is a source of significant trade.
At the time of visiting, Halfway to Heaven Café & Tearoom was open Mondays to Fridays up to 3 pm.
