Café · Cambridge
The Orchard Tea Garden
Choose a day and party sizeInformation
- Price
- €€€€
- Where
- Grantchester
No booking for coffee, light lunches or cream tea · may close earlier in bad weather
What is it?
An apple orchard in Grantchester, on the banks of the Cam, where tea has been served for over 125 years. You sit in canvas deckchairs among the trees, or in the Rupert Brooke room of the pavilion if it is cold, which holds more than a hundred people. Wittgenstein, the poet Rupert Brooke and generations of students passed through here.
What to order
Coffee in the morning, light lunches and, above all, the cream tea: homemade scones with jam and cream. They also do a full afternoon tea, which can be booked. The rest cannot: you arrive, order at the counter and find a place.
Getting there
On foot across the Cam meadows from Newnham (a flat hour), by bike or by punt. It opens every day from 10:00 to 16:00; in bad weather it may close earlier, so if the sky looks threatening, phone before setting out.
What to order: the cream tea, with homemade scones, jam and cream, in a deckchair in the orchard.
Practical details
- Phone
- +44 1223 840230
- [email protected]
- Opening hours
- Mon–Sun10:00–16:00
- Cuisine
- tea room, British
House specialities
- Cream tea with scones
- Light lunches
- Afternoon tea
Tips
- Walk there and come back by punt Or the other way round: the walk across the meadows is half the fun.
- Arrive before twelve in summer The best deckchairs go early.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to book?
Not for coffee, light lunches or cream tea; only for the full afternoon tea and groups of ten or more.
Is it open in winter?
Yes, from 10:00 to 16:00, with the indoor room.
Is it far from Cambridge?
About 4 km from the centre: an hour's walk across the meadows.
With young childrenAs a familyWith teenagers