Best Bars & Coffee Shops in Cheltenham

How the list works

Every pub, bar, café and coffee shop here is in Cheltenham, and we take places off the list when we find they have closed. Each has an editorial score out of 10, and equal scores list alphabetically. Nobody can pay for a higher place: featured businesses are labelled and kept apart from the ranking. Each profile also shows the Google rating and the number of reviews behind it. Older profiles took their opening hours from Google, so check the venue's own site before you go.

Editor's picks by occasion

• An after-work pint outside: Sandford Park Alehouse on the High Street has 10 cask and 16 keg lines, a south-facing garden it calls the biggest in the town centre, and dogs are welcome.
• A neighbourhood pub with food: the Hewlett Arms on Harp Hill in Battledown, with rotating real ale, a south-facing garden and quiz and live music nights.
• Cocktails: 33 The Rum Bar on Prestbury Road stocks over 150 rums. It is over-18s only, dog-friendly and closed on Sunday and Monday. See the cocktail bars guide.
• Craft beer and tacos: Planet Caravan on Bath Street pours 16 craft beers on draught and serves smoked meats and tacos until 9pm.
• A bottle to take home: Bath Road Beers stocks around 450 beers and ciders, with four keg lines and a cask line to drink there. For wine, The Grape Escape on Regent Street is a bar and merchant in one, and Chapter Six Bar in Charlton Kings is a wine bar, bottle shop and café.
• Specialty coffee: Suffolk Coffee on Suffolk Parade, with beans from Triple Co Roast in Bristol, open every day from 9am to 4pm. Moosh started in Charlton Kings in 2020 and serves Clifton Coffee with bagels and brownies.
• Brunch with the dog: Curious Cafe & Bistro on Bath Road welcomes well-behaved dogs on a lead. It takes bookings on weekdays only.

What a round costs

From the venues' own sites on 21 October 2026: pints at Planet Caravan start at £4.50, and on Thursdays from 4pm its Caravan Classic Margarita and Lageritas are £5. Cocktails at 33 The Rum Bar are £11, or two for £15 in happy hour, 5pm to 7pm, and a 25ml rum starts at £2.90. The Grape Escape takes £10 off every bottle on Thursdays.

Browse by type

• Traditional pubs: real ale locals and pubs that do food. Read the best pubs, beer gardens and Sunday roast guides.
• Craft beer: taprooms, alehouses and bottle shops with a bar, such as Sandford Park Alehouse, Planet Caravan and Bath Road Beers.
• Cocktail bars, from 33 The Rum Bar to Sotto Lounge Bar under Settebello on Imperial Square.
• Wine bars: see our wine bars guide.
• Coffee shops, where the coffee comes first: read the best coffee shops in Cheltenham.
• Cafés, for breakfast, lunch and cake: see the breakfast, bakeries and afternoon tea guides.

By area

• The Suffolks and Bath Road: the busiest strip for independents, from Suffolk Coffee and Curious Cafe to Bath Road Beers, The Five Alls and The Brown Jug.
• Town centre: Sandford Park Alehouse, Planet Caravan and The Grape Escape, all a short walk from the Promenade.
• Montpellier: The Montpellier Wine Bar and Slō Coffee.
• Charlton Kings: Moosh, Chapter Six Bar, Roasted Café and the Langton.
• Leckhampton, Pittville and Battledown: The Wheatsheaf on Old Bath Road, 33 The Rum Bar and the Hewlett Arms.

Good to know

Our dog-friendly guide lists the pubs and cafés that welcome dogs inside. Expect the bars at their busiest during Cheltenham Festival in March.