Imperial Garden Bar in Cheltenham

More of a bar than a cafe. Poor choice of “snack” type dishes! Pretty much none existent. Very nice outside garden / courtyard area. Coffee is decent and competitively priced.

Nice bar, terrible service. Pints never quite full to pint level and I ordered two ice creams for my daughters and one was half the size of the other. I said "they're not very even" and was responded to with a shrug... I'm sure any parent of two children would appreciate my pain.

Locked public toilet courtesy #alexchalk #toryextinction2024

Enjoyed a nice pint and shandy in the sun on the benches overlooking the garden, but those plus crisps cost £14! Potentially naïve but I wasn't expecting that price.. when did shandies (and pints to be fair) become so expensive?!

Love this little bar in the gardens I remember the stripey blue tent back in the day when growing up! Staff always friendly and there is a little walled garden where you can go and sit too with your drinks just very chilled. Love seeing the buzz of activity when a sunny day lots of people sat on the grass or plenty of benches dotted about. Very lovely.

Visited 20/04: first time visiting and decided to make the most of the weather. Plenty of people around but service fairly quick and not many at the bar. It’s accessible from one side but you’re limited to where you can sit as there are steps to get into the gazebo with the pond and while there is another indoor area, it’s got a ramp that isn’t flush with the floor and the incline is steep for mobility and door is narrow- ones of those not as accessible as it looks situations.

Such a great setting out in the park it's difficult not to like. However, not a very nice selection of beers, a bit pricey, and the one nice IPA always seems unavailable.

Wasn't open on a busy Saturday in November. No clue to why it was closed and no idea if it was to open later on. Tried to phone the day before to book a table but the phone system sent me around in a circle and nobody answered in the end either

Cracking mexican burger topped with charcoal bun.excelent food and yes we will return.Brill!!!!! We never intended to eat but could not resist seeing what other tables had.

Good beer and really great loaded fries. They were generously topped with loads of meat, cheese and sauce. I’ll be back for more.

Nice baguette served with salad and crisps. Delightful secret garden! Toilets are “public” and not very nice!

For our anniversary, my partner and I decided to have lunch at Imperial Garden Bar. We had pizza and cheesy chips, but to be fair, if you were to buy a frozen pizza to have at home or this one, would probably taste the same. It didn't look like it was prepared there, although it might have been, but not very sure. But the chips were very delicious, so I recommend them. The service, not much to say, as you have to go grab your food from the bar when it's ready. It wasn't very busy, but it took a good while to be ready to collect.

Lovely setting; and well maintained / presented. Friendly service. Shame when paying such high prices you have to have the drink in a disposable cup.

Nice place to be when it's so hot

Fantastic little bar and seating areas. Sat outside by the pond. Good atmosphere and probably a bonus with the weather being so nice. Good choice of drinks and the staff seem to be naturally friendly and would highly recommend.

Fantastic bar in the sun. Reasonable service considering how busy it is and prices comparable to other bars in montpellier. A little gem really..a superbar with tasty pizza to buy and well kept gardens..winner winner :)

Lovely place and atmosphere. Service a bit ponderous.

Lovely spot for a catch up with a friend before Town Hall event. Security staff was really friendly and he was clearing tables and empties - not the bar staff who seemed to be more interested in their own social circle behind the bar. My friend ordered food, Ciabatta with a portion of fries, and the portions are really good, and value for money. The young person who served us with second round of drinks assumed I wanted tonic until I shouted down the bar 'No thanks I didn't order tonic.' I already had half left from my previous drink, but she was quite rude and visibly 'put out' that she had to get her supervisor involved to make a refund. Note to bar staff - LISTEN to your customers, and if you're unsure, ASK to confirm. DON'T ASSUME. An 80's rock duo then proceeded to set up in the corner of the room. Far too loud for the size of the place and many people left within the first 5 minutes. Lovely setting, young bar staff who need training in hospitality basics, including maintaining a professional manner when on duty. Sadly lacking today.

Great bar, now with extra bench seating outside, lovely coffee and cake

Booked through open table to eat before a show at Town Hall. They No knowledge of booking though place was empty. Didn’t realise you have to order at an outside Chalet pay upfront and take a “buzzer”. And when meal is ready you have to negotiate in poor light through and open difficult door to collect your food. Wasn’t expecting an upmarket experience but this was not acceptable. Both of us experienced an upset stomach later that night though in all fairness food didn’t taste bad but was not good. Emailed complaint following day but apart from automated email saying they were experiencing a lot of emails not had a response after five days

Four of us went to the cafe at 18:30 last night for a glass of mulled wine in the alpine bar after seeing it advertised on visit cheltenham. The member of staff at the bar said they’d be closing early as it’s quiet. I asked if closing time is actually 20:00 and she said “yes it is but it’s quiet so we’re closing early”. So 4 people turned away 1.5hrs before closing time for no other reason. We left disappointed baffled at no service and won’t be going there again.

Went for dinner on 9th November before an event at the Town hall. Had booked a table as had 2 other couples. Staff had no idea. Chef wanted to leave and go home so was hoping to shut down. Finally agreed to serve the 3 of us that were booked in. Initially told we had to have take away boxes no plates or cutlery as "the system was down" unclear how this would affect that? Then told the opening times listed are wrong and they shut at 6 so shouldn't be able to book after that. Reservation made through OpenTable who are still taking bookings up until 11:30pm for this venue. Food came on a plate with cutlery and was nice. However once they got the food out they pulled down all their shutters and disappeared. The whole experience was bizarre. Comes off as extremely mismanaged as all staff were young and blamed.it on "having no supervisor working". Ridiculous and so disappointing given that this was a birthday treat :( would avoid

Booked a table before an event at the town hall. Staff didn't know there were any bookings (this happened to two other couples too). Chef told bar staff he wanted to close and go home. After much waiting about they agreed to serve the 3 lots of people there and then close up. Buzzed us to collect our own food and then pulled shutters down and disappeared while everyone was still eating. Most buzzare experience. Severely mismanaged, avoid

£4 for a coffee in a take away cup is ridiculous! I've never been charged that much anywhere in Cheltenham before.

Great location though £42 for a bottle of warm prosecco and large G&T not good value

Great place to sit out in the gardens or in the orangery. Reasonably priced drinks and a range of hot and cold food available. We went on a Saturday night and the toilets weren't flushing and needed a good clean but other than that a lovely setting for a summer cider.

Lovely place for a drink. The prices are very good. Perfect for a summer drink. I will definatley return.

Food was ok. Nice location I didn't appreciated the pizza, heavy and cooked in electric oven - not worth 9£, but maybe just because I am Italian The chips with truffle and parmesan cheese were good

I arrived here at 4.50 pm with my wife and daughter for drinks and food. First time I went up to the bar I asked what time last orders for food was. The barman thought 7.00 pm but he went into the kitchen to check and was told 6.30 pm. We had a couple of further rounds of drinks and the same staff gave me no further update on food service time. At 6.03 I went up to order food and was told the kitchen had closed. No one could find the chef or tell me why. At 6.15 pm the manager (guy with ginger hair and beard) told me the kitchen had closed at 6.00 pm. Lucky these guys don't have to organise a drinks session in a brewery. Totally inadequate treatment of customers. Shockingly bad customer service.

Lovely place, good service for food and drinks. Yummy pizza!

Booked a table in advance for 5.45 as the singer was starting at 6. No table reserved for us but got the last one. Singer turned up at 6 which seemed to come as a shock to staff. They started to set up speakers etc. We ordered food at 6.20, still no singer as they never had the leads for the equipment. Food ready at 6.30 and then the singer left. A note was then put on the garden bar door that they were closing at 7 for a private event. We had driven 50 mins to start our evening here before going to cinema. Staff had no clue what was going on. Really disappointing when what was advertised did not happen after serving food before telling us we had to leave.

Called in for a couple drinks earlier today and had the exact same experience as last time. They must only want to employ blind teenagers who haven’t a clue how to serve behind a bar. Just as my last visit I got so fed up of waiting and watching numerous others be served who join the bar after I did that I had to ask to be served! I could go on and explain the full calamity of blunders but I’d be wasting more of my time. Just truly awful.

Great bar that also serves pizzas, friendly with indoor seating if its too cold. It closes at 7.00 during the week and 9.30 friday and saturday.

I visited for the first time today with a group of Disabled Students. Custer care representative "Matt" (A red haired gentleman with beard), went 'Above and Beyond' to help support our students to have a positive experience, from trwaring our students with dignity and respect and talking directly to them (something which is rare), from recommending more accessible friendly routes (directing us towards the wheel chair ramp, to locating and checking a local disabled friendly wheelchair toilet was available for us to use. Matt also went that extra mile to carry our drinks from the bar over to where our group was seated near the fountain area . As a former Team Leader in both the customer care and retail sectors, I can confidently say that I was incredibly impressed with the level of detail enthusiasm and customer service we received, you are a credit to your team Matt well done! You really did make our trip to Imperial Garden Bar a positive one! And we will recommend your Bar and be back!

Good atmosphere and good food. Basic but good quality and great service 🙂 a lovely place to go for a summer evening drink. Great place to people watch!

Very nice discovery. Great food, drinks and prices. Great location.

Friendly staff (hi Matt) and a nice enclosed greenhouse style patio to sit in with French brasserie style chairs. Pizza was pretty good. Very cheesey! Service was quick. No complaints.

Thank you to everyone working today, between them they went out of their way to help us with some food for my one year old who was off his food. They made us a warm baguette, a fresh cut up orange and some fresh milk to drink. They even bought it out to us on the grass so my son could crawl around. Thank you 😊

Stopped in on a sunny afternoon for some nibbles and drinks. It’s a great outdoor spot (with an enclosed greenhouse for colder days) in the middle of a park. The food was good, the drinks were cold, and the bartender, Matt, was ace. He couldn’t have been friendly or more professional, and he poured a perfect pint of Guinness! 10/10 would drink in the park again!

The staff seemed half asleep . No eye contact no please and thank you. It was as though I was an inconvenience. I stood and looked at the girl at the till where you placed the orders.She finally noticed me ,saying nothing. I ordered my two drinks , one a non alcoholic beer and a black coffee..She tapped some buttons and looked at the card machine.I assumed it was now time to pay. I then moved along the bar . Girl two placed my small bottle of beer on bar and started to walk away . I asked for a glass which seemed a request too far.She gave me a pint glass,I asked for a smaller glass which she begrudgingly gave me . Girl three then plonked a paper cup on the bar about two feet away from me and walked off.I raised my voice to attract her attention and said”excuse me ,is this mine then” ?. She raised her voice and said she was very busy . I replied all I expected was a bit of civility ,a bit of human interaction . I got back to my table which hadn’t been cleared and low and behold the black coffee had milk in it . They had my £6 so I guess that was what they were employed for. .A bit of training in how to interact with people wouldn’t go amiss. My advice would be to buy a drink in the nearby co-op and sit on the grass.

Such a lovely venue sitting in central cheltenham, enjoyed our drinks in the sun, very disappointed that the nearby public toilets shut and left all customers without an option other than to leave and go elsewhere, this should be sorted out if you are taking money for drinks you should provide toilet facilities

Use of single use plastic within one hour of closing is unconscionable in this day and age. I didn't ask how this effected their inability to clear tables, something else that still very much necessary. Warm wine and average service. Won't be 🔙 any time soon. Avoid.

Nice place for coffee, food and drinks. Great central location on edge of nice park area.

Great place for coffee in the park. Ordering two coffees took ages as goodness only knows what the staff were doing - but the covered seating area over looking the park made the wait worthwhile

Lovely bar and beer gardens. Reasonably priced

Fantastic atmosphere, feels like green house , the staff is very nice , they treated me well , a recommanded place to sit in quite times and have few points . The only concern in my mind was the glasses they were using are disposable ones might be coz of Festival but glass utensils do make a difference and you feel your drink. Over all recommanded

On a sunny day this is super place to sit and enjoy the surroundings of Imperial Gardens. The food though is pricey for what you get and the antipasti is a British version of the Italian dish.

Nice little bar in the city centre ,

The best location and great staff and service... just beautiful

Great place great place great staff

Lovely spot. Beer a bit pricey!

Beautiful location, very clean tables and floors. A relaxing atmosphere. However, would have given 5 stars had it been table service, and/or hot beverages served in cups rather than disposable cups. Given their fairly high prices Plus toilet facilities are porta-loos and quite some distance away from seating area.

So, we walked past the imperial bar and wished we had carried on walking. From first impressions, it looked amazing. We ordered 2 glasses of wine and a cheese board for two. Wow what a disappointment. Wine that was £9 a glass was served in a plastic cup. The cheese board, came with Jacobs crackers as they had run out of artisan bread. The pickles were a large pickled onion and a slice of pickled gherkin each. Total cost £35 , an absolute rip off ! Disappointed to say the least ! Anything positive to say well the gardens were nice !

A fantastic place for a drink...

Nice place for a drink. Recommended. Gardens looking lovely at present.

Was lovely, loved the new greenhouse seating area they have outside with the fairy lights, so exquisite and unique would definitely recommend for a few drinks with the girls, a romantic date or even a first date. Got a bit loud since the older generation were drinking there and were laughing alot but thats only due to them having a good time.

Lovely bottle of wine in orangery . Nice setting

First time what a great find, music as well, do reserve table.. Get there after 6 free parking. Pretty park all lit up, lovely.

Nice bar in the park plenty of outside seating which was nice as it was very warm.

Always seems to be a queue at the bar, service can be slow. Drinks served in plastic even if sitting in the marquee

Nice latte, lovely location with huge outdoor screen showing Olympic Games etc

Good service great location on a sunny afternoon.

Very nice and clean, relaxed atmosphere bit pricey but I saw people coming in with food and drink purchased elsewhere. Menu rather limited but good for a park cafe

Had a nice drink watching the Italian job on the big screen. Like the new conservatory.

Live music end of month with savanna caprice lee ..realy good

It’s Climate Awareness Day and we are outside the Imperial Garden Bar to watch Wall-E - a film about a planet overcome with trash - on a thirty foot high screen. I went into the bar and I asked to use my keep-cup for a coffee. The guy who served me looked a bit put out and said they couldn’t take it. After a bit of discussion he said he could put it in a disposable cup then pour it into mine. Which he did. Then he chucked the paper one in the bin with, in my opinion, just a bit too much ceremony. One nil to him. Then I asked for a croissant. He got out the tongs, fished one out and started putting it in a box. No need for a box, I said, because I’m going to eat it right now. This time he stood firm - it had to stay in the box. So I picked the pastry out and left the box on the bar. As I left I said I hoped he would be able to use it for something else. He gave me a look which made me think I had just gone two nil down. Outside watching the film about 80% of the people had drinks in disposable cups. It was hard to know if they didn’t think it was ironic to be unnecessarily creating trash whilst watching Wall-E, or if they had been similarly defeated at the Garden Bar. Other than that, the bar and the setting were great. Climate awareness.

Great position and place to meet up. A truly great place to have a morning coffee and croissant or a sundowner with s pizza. Just right for a summer’s evening

They don’t reply to enquiries about bookings and dietary requirements. Ended up spending our money somewhere more welcoming! Not impressed

We visited with family on a very wet Saturday afternoon in May 2021 when we were only allowed outside due to covid. We were grateful that the venue was under cover due to the bad weather. The staff were excellent and put a lot of effort into finding us a table as quickly as they could. The drinks and food arrived promptly and the live music was an added bonus. Would definitely visit again.

I found the staff to be friendly and approachable and the setting is ideal if you like people watching. The only niggle was the price... £9 for a plastic cup of red wine. I appreciate they have overheads, but think that's bit excessive.

Live music and comedy (Alt Book Club) plus 2-4-1 cocktails. What's not to like.

Good beer on a nice late summer day. Staff can be a bit more attentive behind the bar. Tables are well spread out under the tent but not kept very clean. A bit more from the management is required.

Love coming here for a couple of drinks. Service is always friendly and there is lots of choice of drinks. Have had food here before too and the pizzas taste fab. Great place to come and relax with friends and family and was great for the baby to have a little walk around and play.

Ok.But expensive for what you get.

Very nice depending on the weather

Great spot for a cheeky lunch time pint

Had a beer outside in the sunshine

Me alegra verlo abierto de nuevo, uno de mis lugares favoritos para pasar unas horas en un buen día. Solo tomamos unas copas aquí junto con patatas fritas, pero la cerveza (y la sidra) eran buenas y, de nuevo, un lugar encantador para ver pasar el mundo.

Great atmosphere, nice to be out in the sun with a few drinks. Food also very nice and reasonably priced.

Mi amigo y yo descubrimos el Imperial Garden Bar durante un viaje de compras a Cheltenham. El menú se veía delicioso y, dado el clima glorioso, decidimos tener uno, el último almuerzo al aire libre de este año.El pedido implicó una espera bastante larga, probablemente más de 15 minutos. Fue un sábado de septiembre inusualmente hermoso, pero aun así, el personal, tanto de servicio como de cocina, parecía completamente abrumado.Después de hacer el pedido, uno de los empleados vino a buscarnos para decirnos que la cocina se había quedado sin el pan que habíamos pedido, así que me devolvió el dinero. Cuando llegó nuestro pedido, no había salsas con las papas fritas (a pesar de que yo las había pedido). La camarera fue a verificar, solo para regresar y decir que no estaban en el pedido. Si bien el menú se ve delicioso, desafortunadamente, la comida que llegó no fue tan buena. Era perfectamente adecuado, pero la "piel sobre papas fritas" era claramente papas congeladas; Las aceitunas deshuesadas no tenían sabor y eran directamente de un frasco y los pimientos rellenos eran similares.Todas estas son cosas pequeñas y mi amigo y yo aún nos lo pasamos muy bien, poniéndonos al día y charlando a pesar de todo. La ubicación no podría haber sido mejor, con el pequeño estanque y la fuente en el fondo. Es una pena, ya que habría sido un lugar al que habríamos regresado una y otra vez.

Pretty cool place, you can either sit in a nice courtyard surrounded by well kept flowers and shrubs or sit in seats out front with views across the park. Drinks are a little expensive but would still return for the pleasant surroundings.

Best squid rings ever - melt in your mouth tender! Hubster really liked his gluten free veggie pizza. Relax in the Imperial gardens in the evening sun before a show, in our case 'Let it Be'.

I really enjoyed my visit. Second one in recent months.

It is a pity that the bar has decided to rip customers off with child sized baby ice cream cones at adult prices. Otherwise in all other respects it is a good bar with good food.

Always hard to find a different venue for business meetings... especially when you want to eat outside in this beautiful weather and fortunately for me a client's office is nearby. We had the most perfect working lunch - good food, lovely location in the garden... a real hit! Well done!

Lovely evening so thought it would be nice to sit outside and enjoy a drink - how wrong we were.Service slow, music blaring from bar difficult to hear the staff.Only wine on offer - one white, one red in plastic bottle - undrinkable.Will not return

Great location but staff pay little attention. Tables left with finished plates and food all over them for 15 mins after we arrived, so who knows how long they’d been there. One member of staff walked through, looked at all the tables and then left without taking anything with her. When the tables were eventually cleared they weren’t wiped down - just left covered in mess and food crumbs. Not a great view and not very enticing for people to come and sit.

Great little bar in the middle of the park.

Lovely garden bar in the centre of Cheltenham. Outside only. Draft Bath Ales.

Great place to meet friends for lunch and after work drinks. We tried the pizzas last week ok but could be better to match the venue. Lovely uce creams. Drinks not cheap.

Nothing better on a warm afternoon, cold beer in the sun.

Love this bar. Seating area is the best. Gorgeous surroundings. However, the choice of beer has just gone down. Used to have a great selection. What’s happened to the beer? Why aren’t you serving battledown beer, a local brew at the very least? Sorry, not coming back until the beer improves.

The bar is lovely with a nice selection of drinks, however the staff are unprofessional and inconsistent with prices. In one day I was charged £5 for a half pint sized pimms and later the same for a pint sized pimms. The next day I waited at the bar for far too long before two girls stopped having a chat to serve me. I order a gin and tonic with a blackcurrant squash and paid £9.50 with the guy serving having to ask how to make both. I later ordered the same two drinks and was told that would be £6.40. I then told the waitress I had earlier paid £9.50 and thought it seemed steep expecting to be offered a discount on this round to compensate for previously being overcharged. Instead she said "oh" pushed some buttons on the till amd requoted me £8.20 with no apology or reference to the 3 different prices. We had a lovely afternoon but were disappointed by the unprofessional service.

Been here before on our Motorhome travels.A very civilised open air bar in a smart parkland.After our second jug of pimms we decided to eat alfresco.The pizza and salad was excellent and served by very polite helpful staff.You must go here next time the sun is shine by!!

We got married here at this beautiful walled garden. (July 2014) We were blessed with perfect sunshine. I always wanted to get married outside and it was a dream come true. Guests could get drinks at the bar to enjoy during the ceremony which was an added bonus. We even got a red carpet to walk down and make us feel special. Wonderful memories here.

Perfect for a pint during summer time

Lovely bar serving great drinks and food. Professional and relaxed service. A great place to enjoy the evening sun. Will be back.

Lovely little gem. Great atmosphere, good service with a smile. Excellent value for money, nice place to sit, eat, talk and watch the world go by...

What a little treasure on a hot day and staff were great! You can just have a drink in the lovely walled garden or sit outside in the park, food was tasty and simple!

Beautiful location overlooking the park and the amazing buildings around the park. A perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of the high street on a warm sunny day.