Date visited: Wednesday 18th September 2024
Lucy’s Tearoom is on the west side of Market Square, Stow-on-the-Wold, in a Grade II listed nineteenth century building. Inside it has seven tables downstairs and five upstairs for those wishing to take tea. There’s also a rear courtyard and two tables out the front.
The menu extends to three pages: one for food, one for beverages, and one for speciality teas. The food is mainly light snacks, such as sandwiches and toasties, as well as a ploughman’s ‘plate’, cakes, scones, tray bakes and ice cream. There were five cakes and four bakes on display at the counter when I visited. As well as bagged tea, the beverages menu includes coffees, hot chocolate, soft drinks and a small selection of alcoholic beverages. The speciality teas menu was mainly devoted to tisanes rather than teas.
I chose a ploughman’s plate, with a choice of white or granary bread, a slice of coffee and walnut cake, and a pot sencha green tea. This came to £20. I’d expected it to cost more, given that tourists visit Stow-on-the-Wold by the coach load. The ‘plate’ was, unfortunately, a plank of wood, and the small teapot was of a design that dribbled unless poured with confidence. The tea had a slightly smoky taste that I wouldn’t usually associate with leaf sencha tea. The cake was a disappointment, with a strong artificial vanilla flavour. On a more positive note, extra water for the tea was available on request, and the butter served with the ploughman’s was firm but not too hard nor too melted to be spreadable. I’ve not had a sausage roll as part of a ploughman’s before, but it was a pleasant alternative to ham, and overall the ploughman’s was tasty and filling.
When I visited on a mid-week lunchtime, the ground floor room and courtyard were both busy. It was less crowded upstairs, perhaps because the first floor is reached by a steep staircase. A sign at the entrance noted that at busy times it might take up to thirty minutes for food to be served. This was the case when I visited, though orders were taken promptly as beverages served quickly – it was only the food that took a little time. Overall, the service was excellent.
Lucy’s Tearoom is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm.
