One of my favourite places to visit in the West Midlands area is the beautiful town of Stratford upon Avon, otherwise known as Shakespeare Country. I have been making trips there since I was a very young child and I never get bored of its Tudor buildings and traditional English charm.

Being a hotspot for tourists, the town’s restaurants have got steadily better over the years at catering for those with allergies. There is a wide range of establishments such as Bella Italia, Carluccio’s, and of course, my personal favourite, Le Bistrot Pierre that caters for gluten free eaters.

The one problem I have always had however is the lack of cafes that offer gluten free lunch or snacks. I despise having to visit a large chain coffee shop when there is only usually one gluten free choice on offer at a ridiculous price, so I was relieved to stumble across Henley Street Tea Rooms on a recent visit, which is situated just opposite Shakespeare’s birthplace quite conveniently.

Not only was gluten free available, I was presented with an extensive list of choices, ranging from an all-day English breakfast, to sandwiches, soup and cream teas. To be quite honest I had only popped in for a small bite to eat, but upon seeing the menu my appetite suddenly escalated and my original choice of a sandwich turned into me asking for the biggest breakfast on the menu. Priced at a very reasonable £7.95, my breakfast came with rashers of bacon, fried eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, chips and two slices of toast with orange marmalade on the side. I have to say, it was delicious and I was more than satisfied with my choice.

Luckily for me they also did soya milk so I was able to order a cappuccino, which if truth be told had a bit too much froth and not much coffee in it, but at the end of the day I was just pleased to be somewhere where I could safely eat and drink without hesitation. The normal menu also offered a lovely variety of traditional British dishes which diners would enjoy and were freshly prepared by staff.

Another plus point for the tea room was that they offered more than once choice of cream teas, including ones served alongside cucumber sandwiches and champagne if you feel like moving away from the traditional cake and cuppa.

If you’re a tourist looking for somewhere to stop for a gluten free breakfast, lunch or tea in the beautiful Stratford upon Avon then I would highly recommend Henley Street Tea Rooms.  Unlike many cafes that are situated so close to a major tourist attraction they do not rip you off and you come out feeling full and happy. I shall definitely be making a trip back when I am next in town.