Rest A While Tea Garden (Open from Easter to October) — Restaurant in England

Rest a While is easy enough to find if you are doing a walk along the coastal path from Padstow. However it is a difficult place to get to by car. You need to park on the main road at the top of the hill and walk down the 800yards to the Hamlet where you will find the Tea Garden.

Also note that it is not easily accessed unless you are totally ambulant. I suspect that if you have difficulty walking you would not find the access to this place to you liking. Similarly if you are disabled or have very small children in buggies/push chairs then again this place is not “access friendly “

Once there the place is, as others have commented, small. After all it’s just the small front garden of a small terraced house. The views from the garden are lovely.

The food in offer is reasonably extensive and there are a few Gluten free options too.

We had a slice of cake (large) with a Tregothnan tea. Also a Cream Tea with two small plain scones, a very small pot of jam and a decent pot of clotted cream. However this was probably the smallest Cream Tea I have had in Devon or Cornwall. This came with either a tea or an instant coffee. Yes Instant! So I asked for a “proper coffee” and paid the extra.

Now the food was nice, there were no issues regarding its quality. I am sure that all their food is of similar quality. The people were nice. We enjoyed our morning break here. But my bill for this was over £12 which I consider to be rather a lot of money for what we had.

So 5 stars for the people and the variety of menu.

4 stars for the food

3 stars for the price

Therefore I will average this out as 4 stars. But beware the...

Rest A While Tea Garden is an absolute gem! The scones here are hands-down the best I’ve ever had – fresh, warm, and perfectly baked. Pair them with tea or coffee and the stunning panoramic views, and you've got a truly unforgettable experience.

The concept behind this little back garden place is brilliant – a peaceful spot nestled in nature, making it well worth the drive and scenic walk to get there. The atmosphere is welcoming and the staff are incredibly friendly, adding to the charm of the visit.

One small suggestion: I’d love to see a move away from single-use cups and plastic jam pots – a shift to more sustainable options would make this special place even better.

All in all, a must-visit for anyone who loves good food, beautiful surroundings, and a bit of quiet magic...

Just as my wife was ready to lay down and die after nearly 3 miles of gentle walking we staggered down the hill towards what appeared to be someone's back garden. "Leave me", she said. "You go on. Tell the boys that I love them, but I prefer the dogs, even the one that yaps all the time." As I cast about with tears in my eyes for a decent sized stone to hasten her end I espied I sign with the most beautiful phrase in the English language. "Cream teas". Crying with relief and exhaustion I dragged her like a sack of potatoes into the delightfully Bonsai-rich Tea garden where we had lovely a lovely cream tea with home-made scones and the dogs didn't miss out as they got some nice dog biscuits. If only they served alcohol we would have given...