Great for lunch as well as for coffee, Boston Tea Party puts all its efforts into sourcing ingredients that are free range and local. The result is a small gem of a cafe where neither the food nor the drinks disappoint.

The Venue
Boston Tea Party is a small chain of family run cafes in the West Country. This branch is not their biggest, and there is just one table in front of the bar, wedged between the entrance and the fridge. Walk down a couple of steps and you'll enter another room with more wooden tables and chairs.

The space is bright with lots of big windows, but it gets so busy you'll need to fight for a table at peak times. Luckily, the space of Boston Tea Party is doubled thanks to the metal seats outside. This spot is great for people watching and very enjoyable whenever there’s good weather.

The People
This place is always packed and at weekend lunchtimes expect to order, pay and then wait for your dish for 20 minutes without being able to find a table. The cafe is located in the centre of Bath, and Kingsmead Square is a bustling hub of people throughout the week. At the cafe you will find not only those appreciating the ethical stance of Boston Tea Party, but also tourists and random passers-by of all ages, rightfully attracted by the food descriptions. Any age, any face, and anybody makes up the clientele.

The Food
Dishes are priced between £6.25 and £7 and include a country burger, West Country club sandwich, falafel wrap, meze platter, Boston thali, or the interesting Moroccan chicken wrap with West Country free-range chicken marinated in homemade harissa with roasted vegetables, rocket, olives and tzaztiki in a tortilla wrap and served with tabouleh, sweet chilli and mixed leaves. Phew. Do not expect a fancy preparation but the flavours are genuine.

For a light meal, opt for a salad (£6.25 to £6.75). The ones at Boston Tea Party are tasty and satisfying, in particular the feta, pine nuts and courgette fritters. For something more substantial, you can get the free-range bacon and egg salad or the rich Boston super salad.

They also serve panini (£2.75 to £5.25) and jacket potatoes (£2.50) with a variety of fillings. If you’re an early bird, there is a selection of breakfast options (up to £6) including West Country breakfast with local pork sausage, all sorts of nice cakes and pastries (£2.25), muesli with yogurt and many more.

The Drink
There is a great variety of coffees and teas. The coffee (£1.70 to £3.10) is fair trade and you can sample the house blend or the continental roast in a Boston latte, cafe au lait, mocaccino, chai latte, and others. The teas (£1.50 to £1.95) are loose and you can enjoy tastes from all over the world with Darjeeling, Kenyan Assam, Ceylon, Japanese green tea, Chinese gunpowder, rooboish and more.

For something fresher, try their summer, banana or mango smoothies (£2.75 to £2.85) and their cold drinks with elderflower or ginger and lemongrass (£1.75). The white chocolate can be hot or iced (£2.10 to £2.90). You can also get a glass of house wine (£3), the whole bottle (£9.50) or a Bath Ales Gem (£3). If you are picking your meal from the fridge to go (it means jumping the queue), grab homemade lemonade, ice tea or orange juice to down with your sandwich.

The Last Word
Grab a chair (steal one if you have to), sit outside with your fair trade coffee and organic burger, and watch the day go by in beautiful Bath.