The Bishop's Table in Mendip

Lovely place to go and have walk around.

Amazing place to visit and relax beautiful buildings and gardens

Love the place, have visited many times since moving to Somerset, but what a shock when we visited today, the price rise for annual tickets. We will not be renewing when our tickets run out in October, it looks like the Blue light card reduction is no longer available, so a 67% rise in ticket prices is disgraceful, I know things are going up, but not at this rate.

Beautiful place to visit, lovely gardens.

Stunning and surprisingly expansive grounds that are well worth exploring 🤩

Amazing spot to walk around. So much history and architecture to take in. The paid tour is worth doing. It’s a wonderful way to immerse yourself in the history of Wells, the local area and England at the time.

Great to see but not as big as I thought, a bit expensive unless you combine the ticket with the abbey.

Love the peace and quiet of the gardens.

Lovely garden which is always changing throughout the year. Excellent value if you get and use an annual pass. Very good cafe as well.

Such a lovely palace we walked around it. And was so detailed still and admired it's history. Love that it still has a moat around it and is so well kept it is a must see in wells

I thoroughly enjoyed strolling through the grounds. It’s going to be even more breathtaking once the trees don their leaves and the flowers start blooming. The architecture is simply magnificent. There’s also a charming little cafe serving delicious food, located outside the paid entry area, so everyone can enjoy it. I combined this visit with a trip to the Cathedral.

It is a beautiful 😍 tranquil and magical place ✨✨

Took Mum in law for a visit and Afternoon tea. Staff all lovely, gardens immaculate. Gardeners also very friendly and Afternoon tea was absolutely delicious. Came away having joined for the year

Always a wonderful day out in these magical gardens and the historic buildings of the bishops palace . These and are enchanting !

The palace, built around the 13th century with a chapel, moats, fountains, well pools and ducks, swans, multi-membered sculptures, grottoes and benches - we did not have time to go around everything in 2 hours, we definitely want to come back here! Very friendly staff, cozy cafe and shop

Wonderful to explore the gardens. The long gallery is an exceptional space and the chapel is of beautiful proportions.

I concur with the carefully worded review submitted by @RaqsMax (February 2025). We have used the Bishop’s Table for more than ten years but unfortunately the quality of its food has gradually declined. Today we each had a mug of leek and potato soup and a sandwich. I was dumbfounded when I was told to select a pack of sandwiches from the cold cabinet, - just as you might in a motorway services. In the past the food was freshly prepared, the bread was delicious and plentiful. The packed sandwiches were frankly (putting it politely) incredibly disappointing. But the soup was an even greater disappointment. It was impossible to tell what flavour it was meant to be, it was peppery but otherwise bland. I couldn’t finish it and would certainly not purchase soup there again. What is going on with the management of this café? The lovely wooden furniture has gone and in its place we have plastic chairs. The food quality is often poor. Is anyone monitoring the standard of service and the food on offer?

Beautiful and generally peaceful. Lovely setting and free if you don't actually go inside

Been several times. Each time, we see something new. Our dog loves a walk in the gardens.

This is an idyllic spot and should be a wonderful place to have refreshments. My husband and I are both members of the Bishop's Palace, but have stopped using the cafe for several reasons: 1) I am a diabetic. I have repeatedly asked both servers and duty managers if they could stock sugar-free syrups as other cafes do. My request is usually met with bored disinterest or a half-hearted assurance that they will pass the request on. 2 years later and still no progress. 2) in the High Street, we currently have a #Coffee 1, a Caffe Nero, a Costa, a Greggs and a couple of other independent cafes that all serve better coffee at a better price. There is stiff competition for my pound! 3) The cakes are overpriced in comparison to local outlets and frankly, there is an uninspiring selection and they are often dry. 4) The serving staff are often quite young (nothing wrong with that) but they do not always seem to be well-trained in customer service basics, such as smiling at customers, going out of your way to be helpful, etc. (Loren is an exception; she is consistently smiling and helpful).

This was a lovely place. The part of the building that you are allowed in was great, very informative, and interesting, the people who worked there were all helpful too. The gardens were beautiful and lovely to walk around, I will return in the summer, I'm sure there'll look even better in Bloom. It costs £14 or £25 with free return for 12 months or you can get a package to visit the cathedral as well.

A really beautiful place 😃 I really enjoyed my visit there. A serene garden behind the palace and a few streams around the area. A nice day trip from Bath (just take a bus over)

Sunday lunches at the Bishop's Palace are now located in the Undercroft - the interior door is only closed to stop drafts, so just go on through. The tables are arranged together bench style with candleabras and small white lights. It looked quite magical. Our party consisted of 3 adults and a 2 year old. She was more comfortable in a high chair. Our roast dinners were excellent (beef, turkey and vegetarian) and the portions were very generous. We ordered side dishes of cauliflower cheese. At the end we asked for some boxes to take home! The service was excellent. We will return...

I greatly enjoyed my visit to the illuminations on Monday evening. What a beautiful display! Though, being in my mid-seventies I found that it was a little difficult to discern the paths in the dark, and I felt a little unsteady. I wondered if edging the paths with fairy lights might give helpful definition to where we should be walking. Nevertheless, this did not detract from my enjoyment of the evening.

The Bishops Palace was stunning, we went for the illuminations and it was beautiful. Inside the palace was also beautiful and very interesting. I particularly enjoyed the Coronation display. I have bought an annual pass so look forward to many further visits. It will be interesting to visit in daylight to see the gardens.

Being the wedding photographer at Bishops Palace Wedding and Events Venue was an absolute joy and privilege. From the moment I arrived, I could sense the care and dedication that had gone into preparing for the big day. The venue itself is stunning, offering a variety of picturesque spots that made capturing special moments effortless. Whether it was the elegant interiors or the beautifully landscaped gardens, every corner of this venue seemed to be designed with weddings in mind. What truly sets Bishops Palace Wedding and Events Venue apart, however, is the incredible team of staff who go above and beyond to ensure everything is perfect. Their attention to detail, warm hospitality, and ability to handle every request with a smile made the day not only enjoyable but completely stress-free for the couple and their guests. I am genuinely excited to return for weddings in 2025 and 2026 and to work alongside this fantastic team once again. Thank you for making my couple’s day so magical and unforgettable. Best wishes, James Clarke at Just James Wedding Photography.

A delightful place for a stroll. Very interesting history

Visited using my annual pass to see the Christmas light show. Very magical all staff friendly and polite. The swans stole the show as usual.

Have a look what's on your doorstep before you venture far & wide.!

I have visited wells many times. With friends and family and alone. Always an enjoyable walk and the swans ringing the bell for food was a great hit with the children.

Bishop need to try his/her own cafe. What a terrible place to eat. food was cold, coffee's were cold and the service was diabolical. Young servers just stand around chatting while constantly playing with their hair and rubbing their noses. All very off putting. Our order was wrong, and we waited way too long on a quiet day.

A very nice place to visit, plenty of options for coffee cake and food

Great gardens and a very interesting palace.

Lovely place to wander around the gardens for free, but can also pay to go inside the palace. Very peaceful.

Just left there and will not go back. This used to be a nice cafe in a pleasant setting. It seems to have changed. We found a table but there were no menus - the only ones I could see was at a table that said reserved. I simply picked up one to have a glance and someone from the cafe comes charging over proceeds to tell me off and was extremely rude. Apparently you can’t have a 30 second look at a menu on a reserved table. Rather then provide a menu to us (is this not the job of the waiting staff?) I just got told to get one from outside. We eventually obtained one to discover the only option was a roast diner at £20. At that price they can keep it and their ride staff

Can highly recommend a wander around the gardens, they are beautiful. Well cared for and lovely views of the Cathry There is also a play park for the children, mine loved it even though they are older teenagers/young adults....never to old

An interesting collection of items and information about Wells and its Bishop. There are displays detailing 800 years of history. The Palace has gardens to enjoy. We went on a rainy October day and couldn't see a lot from the ramparts due to the mist. However, we would like to return on a clearer day to see if we can spot Glassonbury Tor in the distance. An adult ticket for the Palace and Gardens is £17.50 but this can give you entry for a year. There are some concessions and family tickets available, and there is a joint ticket that also gives access to the cathedral. That's worth getting if you intend to visit both sites (they're next to each other). Accessibility is good. The inside of the building is mostly level, and there is a platform lift. There is a clear even path around the gardens. The ramparts are only accessed via stone steps.

Magnificent little castle/church... To see and relax as much as possible🥰

A beautiful house and gardens, An absolute joy to walk around.

Fantastic morning walking around the Gardens and Palace. This is a must visit location at any time of the year.

Fabulous place to visit, lovely gardens and wonderful palace to explore. A must if you are in Wells.

This is a wonderful garden and has such interest buildings surrounding it. The walking is a bit uneven on the walls but the garden beyond the bridge is very peaceful next to the water and lots of benches to sit and relax on.

Busy little cafe with slow but mostly friendly service. Tea and coffee was a good price and OK. Sausage rolls were hot and tasty. Probably as good as any other cafe in Wells.

Beautiful place. Very tranquil. The gardens are stunning. And the resident cat was more than willing to pose for photos 😄

Wonderful architecture steeped in history stunning City plenty of green spaces lots of shops cafes restaurants

The tour guide Melanie was superb! Thank you to her and all the staff

Beautiful place to visit and lovely to see the swans ring the bell for food too. The cafe was lovely and had the most amazing gluten free millionaires shortbread and coffee, highly recommend a visit

Stunning gardens palace guided tour if required we went around on our own plenty of information sheets giving history about each room nice up-to-date cafe with toilet facilities at two locations We spent 4 hours her only managed to see half .will definitely be going back.

I generally grab a sandwich or pasty for my lunch, something I can eat on the go. Today I ordered the soup as it was such a horrible day and I needed warming up - it was delicious! Homemade leek and potato with croutons plus plenty of bread too. It’s great to know there are plenty of takeaway options, and the packaging was all recyclable, extra bonus!

Only visited the cafe but that provided excellent cakes, teas, and coffees.

Lovely gardens, but tends to be a bit busy.

Unfortunately due to the weather 🌧️ we didn't get to appreciate the gardens and outdoor areas. Interesting history, definitely better to get joint tickets for the cathedral, as it's quite expensive.

Beautiful place to visit , soo much to look at , inside the palace and in the garden

Very interesting you could wander around with lovely gardens

Beautiful gardens and structures. It's a pleasure to wander. There are snacks and breakfasts at a fair price. You can feel the history.

Absolutely beautifull ..peacefully and serine.

Beautifully kept area of Wells. Situated at the top of Wells High Street, through the archway, is the moated palace. It is free to walk around the moat and free to enter a part of the grounds. There is a good quality cafe and toilets on site that can both be used without paying to enter the Palace gardens proper. I would say if you are visiting Wells, this and the Cathedral green and Vicar's Close are the places to see.

Very dissapointing. We had to have beef in a roll rather than pork which they had ran out of. There was so much horseradish in the roll that it was burning my mouth. The price of the meal was almost £13 each and definitely not worth it. We won't be dining in there again.

We got a joint Wells Cathedral & Bishops Palace ticket. It was well worth it, the Palace and gardens are very scenic. Loved it.

Beautiful, was lovely to explore, the gardens are fantastic.

Wonderful garden s and so much to look at and see the spring water flowing with ducks and other water birds and when we visited wells it was market day wonderful . Market and very nice shopping area and there is one bakery's am that stands out and the muffin s t

Well worth a visit, really interesting place, also nice food in the cafe,friendly and helpful staff.

I would recommend coming here if in Wells. Really enjoyed the walk about. 🙏😊

Amazing step back in time. Wonderful gardens . Of course the Cathedral is breathtaking. Much of the surrounding area gas been used in TV series Good cafe. Well worth a visit

Beautiful! Unfortunately we had our dog with us so were unable to go in, but being able to go as far as we could was pleasure to see. With a lovely little cafe in the grounds for you to sit outside and enjoy the views. Would definitely go back and explore more without the dog.

Just a nice place to visit, got all necessary for a holiday maker.

Magnificent palaces and gardens. However, the palace deserves to offer an audio guide to share more stories and information about these places.

Beautiful, tranquil, elegant, sophisticated, romantic… just wonderful. I love it here. Don’t miss it. I pay once a year and go at least once a month. A single ticket for as many visits as you like - excluding their ‘special’ events, which is fair enough.

A beautiful place to visit with fabulous gardens. Our children loved the trail to collect letters from around the garden, and also enjoyed the play area and ice cream. We were impressed with both the Palace and Wells.

This place is amazing. Very well organised even when very busy like today. We found a table and I queued to order and pay. I really thought they would take ages to bring the food but it was with us in no time. Delicious too. Staff were very courteous despite one or two difficulties with a few customers. Highly recommend this place.

Over priced sub-standard food. Suggest that you wander into the town to one of the many local cafes & restaurants for a far better experience.

Yes £6 extra to the ticket for the cathedral to include the gardens. Well worth it.

Free to historic house members and also if you are visiting the cathedral you can get a joint ticket which will save you a fair bit of money. First up the gardens are simply breathtaking , and well worth a leisurely walk round multiple times. The palace itself isn't particularly grand but is interesting, with a fascinating history. The architecture is beautiful and paintings and objects are interesting. There is a lot too read which can be tiresome by the end. But don't let that put you off this wonderful place. There is a nice cafe on site too . It's a must visit if in the area

Beautiful place and such beautiful shops and market to have a wonder around. Its a shame no one in the building to chat about the rooms The cafe was awful and slow is not the word! Also annoyed that the girl who served us did not offer us a joint ticket for here and the cathedral so it cost us an extra £28

Visit regularly with our year membership. My son’s fav part is obviously the swans and lovely gardens.

Gorgeous gardens Great coffee Friendly helpful staff

Large sprawling palace with a moat! Lovely gardens and grounds. Lovely cafe onsite as well.

Really fantastic place, you have to pay to enter the Palace, which we didn't do. However, the gardens are free to enter. There is a small gift shop, and also plants and books for sale. Lovely large cafe, where we stopped for a coffee in the outside seating area.

The Bishops Table used to be one of the best places in Wells to get really good food, fresh and good variety. The last 3 times we've eaten here, it's been a huge disappointment. The menu is extremely limited, especially for vegetarians. The staff are unfriendly and unhelpful. The tables don't get cleared or cleaned, and it's not because they're understaffed. There were many waiters/waitresses inefficiently plodding around. Slick training, better management and a broader menu and this place could be really special. It is in the most beautiful setting.

A local lady overheard my husband groan at the idea of visiting ‘another old building’ ( to be fair I have taken him to quite a few this holiday); she suggested a compromise of having a coffee at this cafe within the palace grounds. Very pleased that we did; sitting in the court yard with a drink and cake we experienced the tranquil surrounds of the palace.

We’re local and have been coming to the Bishop’s Table for years as we’re members of the gardens. Unfortunately, today will be our last visit to the cafe. We thought we’d give the new owners/chef one more try since some awful fish and chips a few months ago. Sadly the food remains bland, badly cooked, with poor flavour combinations and limited menu choice. This is a real shame as the quality of the food used to be excellent, (you only have to scroll through older reviews to see how wrong they’re currently getting it) with high quality local ingredients and a real care in its presentation. Even the decor has gone downhill, used to have such lovely wood interior and benches but now looks cheap.

Lovely visit today for the Viking and archery event, kids loved it and then afterwards we walked around the gardens and park 👌🏻

Great, family friendly place. Plenty to explore and a decent cafe too.

Absolutely beautiful building, lovingly cared for. We were at a wedding reception there and it was amazing..

Elaborately designed garden worlds in an 800-year-old environment. In the middle of the small town of Wells. The entry price of £14 is already quick. For £17 you can buy an annual ticket and enjoy the garden as often as you like. What was strange was that they also charged £14 to visit the cathedral. Additionally.

I visited this place after the Cathedral on a combined ticket of £20 for both, which lasts a year, which is good value. In all honesty I wouldn't want to be paying the £17.50 entry fee for this place alone so you should definitely get the combined ticket. There isn't enough to see for £17.50 but the gardens are very beautiful and tranquil and you get to see some of the wells/springs from which Wells gets it's name and made it a significant place, so that was cool. The moat around the outside is a really picturesque one and you don't have to pay to walk around that.

Driving from London to see this impressive place , but close all day due to filming . Will be back 🫣 We come back . It's the perfect 👌 time to see the garden when all plants and flowers are bluming. Amazing garden, well maintained, beautiful flowers , 🪴, 🌳 It's totally worth seeing when visiting "Wells Cathedral," which is not free anymore, by the way.

Very interesting and beautiful building and gardens. Unfortunately we didn't see the swans pulling the bell rope for food. A deal of dual tickets for here and the cathedral was the best value at £20 per person.

Fabulous cafe in the grounds, nice walk around outside and go into the palace as the grounds are fabulous cas are the swans

No one really around to ask questions or point you in the right direction but a lovely place all the same. Only worth it if you do the Cathedral too!!

Beautiful building and great garden. The springs that flow out there are particularly nice. Well, well! Wells Cathedral is also worth a visit. I'm not a church fan, but this one was really impressive

A beautiful garden in the city of Wells

£17 is far too expensive for what it is walked around it in 10 minutes

Visited the gardens and it’s well worth the entry fee. Well maintained, great range of plants and designs. Spent hours admiring what I consider to be high end horticulture and the wells that give the City its name.

Had only 2hrs but more than enough to see the palace as quite compact and the highlight is the gardens including allotments and lovely borders & stream into a moat. The original wells that spring water came from establishing Wells is still there.

After the Cathedral, I of course also visited the Bishops Palace with my combination ticket. The Palace has been the residence of the Bishops of Bath and Wells since the 13th century. Construction began in 1210 and a chapel and large hall were added in the 14th century. The great hall fell into disrepair and was partially demolished in 1830. Until recently there were 2 swans who rang a bell to get something to eat...according to my information, this has been discontinued because the people who trained the swans and gave them food died and no successors could be found . I enjoyed my time in the buildings and the very beautiful garden with all my senses. Simply beautiful here and of course a must if you are on holiday nearby 👍

We visited with friends and we were greeted warmly by all staff. So much to see, both indoors and out. The gardens looked stunning.

A hidden gem in the heart of Wells.

Lovely place, quite tranquil & calming given how busy it was, the cafe serves nice food too

Amazing place. Its absurd to think that the Bishops in medieval times lived such a grand life.