Love Distinctly Tea and it is a must-stop when visiting Stratford! They have lots of cute and…read moreunique tea pots, tea cups, tea balls, tea makers, and tea kettles in the front of the store. The back of the store has loose leaf tea available for purchase. Tea is in large canisters and has a small canister in front of each if you wish to smell the tea. It reminds me of Teavana, which I wish still existed, and they have every tea you can think of like rooibos, puh er chai, oolong, tumeric tea, and flavored teas like chocolate ginger, orange ginger, and caramel apple to teas for good skin, weight loss, detox, and digestive health. Teas vary in price but generally are about $2 for 10 grams which probably makes a couple cups, $7 for 50 grams, $13.50 for 100 grams, and $33 for $250 grams (Canadian dollars). They have medium sized bags made up of most teas and they also have $2 smaller bags made up. You can also have any tea measured and bagged up for you. I bought a medium sized b of the orange ginger roobios tea and it was really good. It would be good mixed with a cinnamon chai. They also have ginger and framboise and maple hard candies and honey available for purchase at the register. Make sure to checkout Emerald Muse metaphysical gift shop and Wee Book and Photo Shop next door.

This tea shop has been around forever and I almost always make a point to stop by whenever I'm in…read moreStratford. The front of the store caries beautiful ceramic tea pots and mugs, plus accessories like tea cozies, steepers, etc. The back of the store carries their large selection of loose leaf teas that are well-organized in categories (black, green, white, rooibos, herbal, yerba mate). You are free to browse with a basket and smell all the lovely aromas (unlike places like David's where teas are kept behind the counter). The prices are reasonable at about $11 per 100g (slightly more for white teas). If you feel like a refreshing iced tea or a warm cup of tea to go, they also have that available.

Stopped by this coffee shop while visiting Stratford. They had lots of drinks and pastries…read moreavailable. I got the matcha latte and a cookie. Both were pretty good. I also love how it's dog friendly inside! I'll have to bring my pup next time I'm in the area.

Whoa, the pistachio croissant. Insane. What a great space! We sipped coffees on a rainy morning.read more

Best ground coffee in Stratford, IMHO…read more And that is a potentially volatile statement - as Stratford is the birthplace of Balzac's Coffee (now in Toronto's Distillery District too - This is my Dad's go-to place as well (he loves the French Vanilla flavoured beans, ground to order at the counter. It's my favourite flavour too, but I have a soft spot for the chocolate raspberry beans too)! Owner Nancy (Hotson) is AWESOME! She's half the charm of this place - ask her anything! You'll see. She knows everything there is to know about all the products she sells - coffees, teas and cigars, for the most part. Extra tip: You can now order their coffee beans online! YAHOO!

There are plenty of worthwhile shops in Stratford (one of the only touristy towns where I've found…read morethis to be true), and Buzz Stop is a great place to drop in for some coffee and/or tobacco. I was shopping for my best friend's bachelor party. Being from the States, Cuban cigars are impossible to find here, so he was hoping to smoke some while we were in Stratford. I had called ahead and, sure enough, they had plenty. Walking in, it smelled more of coffee and I thought for a moment I was shopping for the wrong thing; perhaps I should have planned to pick up a pound of some coffee too! Nancy, the proprietor, was very friendly. Not knowing much about cigars, I didn't know what I wanted, but she was very happy to help me decide what kinds to get. She even suggested some of the inexpensive ($5 per) cigars, saying that for my money, those would probably be best. She suggested that Cubans are not necessarily better cigars, so I ended up with a mix of cigars, both in origin and price. For a dozen guys, not all of whom love cigars, this was invaluable. Next time I'm in Stratford, I will definitely drop in!

Impressed they are open on Thanksgiving! Excellent service at this busy location in Stratford. The…read morespace is large and beautiful. There is a patio out front for those who prefer outdoor dining or have pooches. They keep a water dish for the canines too. Dogs are not allowed inside. Their Apple Chai Latte and Flat White were on point.

I'd been to Balzac's before in Niagara on the Lake and really liked it so I was glad to see it…read moreright by our apartment rental here in Stratford. I definitely hit them up multiple times during our stay. Caramel iced latte was great and my cousin loved the spicy yuzu lemonade. The shop itself is relatively spacious and the pastries looked great, though I skipped those this trip since we were a bit to full each time we came through. Alas. Next time!

Super cute little coffee shop! Stopped in for a quick break while walking around Stratford. The…read morecoffee and scone was a perfect refresher in the late morning. Great variety of pastry. Clean restrooms. Several different seating arrangements. Would definitely come back again.

Went there not that long ago and they had a very limited menu. When I asked if they had a certain…read moreitem, they said no and asked where I saw that they had that. Showed them the standard online menu for the coffee culture chain and they had no idea what it was. Disappointed right from the start. One of the workers put the straw, uncovered in my drink with his bare hands at the top of it. And my chicken caeser wrap had soggy lettuce and burnt pieces of chicken in it. Nice people, but very unsanitary and overall would not recommend this place to anyone who usually likes coffee culture food.

I went looking for an iced coffee. I asked the server if the "ccino" had sugar in it. She sighed…read moreand said, "it's "frappucino"." I asked again if it was sweetened. She sighed again and said it had ice cream in it. I'm not sure how I bore the shame of causing her such displeasure but the "ccino" was pretty good. There's lots of coffee houses in town, I won't bother with this one again.

This clean, modern cafe in the cute little town of Stratford, Ontario checks all of the boxes!…read moreDelicious coffee offerings, fresh baked goods, and exquisite toasts make it a lovely spot for a bite for breakfast, lunch or brunch that doesn't involve a tray of greasy food that might be good at the time but lead to regrets later. Trust me - there are no regrets here.

The Ashborne Cafe is a cafe in downtown Stratford. We stopped for an afternoon drink. The decor is…read moreminimalist and comfortable. It was pleasing to have glassware for drinks and water. The staff were helpful and efficient. The dining area offered a nice view of downtown Stratford. The Ashborne offers a full menu of coffee drinks and a limited number of food items. There are two small restrooms accessible to patrons.

Super nice ladies working behind the counter and really tasty butter tarts! Definitely recommend…read morechecking it out!

While I really enjoyed watching the cats roam around, the drinks were underwhelming and quite…read moreoverpriced. My small-to-medium latte ($10.17, as shown in the photo) was nothing special, and the pricing felt more geared toward tourists than actual quality. I had assumed the charge included access to the cat room, but there's an additional fee on top. The service also wasn't particularly warm or welcoming. That said, the cats seem well cared for, and the space is clean and comfortable for them -- and at the end of the day, that's what matters most.

This is a centrally-located cafe that is perfect for before the theatre (or, at any time of day,…read moreactually). There's a front room that is the cafe, and then you can pay $4.50/30 minutes, to go into the side room and hang out with the cats. In the front room, there are 4 tables (one had a laptop playing music, so some people had to stand or sit at a counter). It's decorated cleanly, in white, with super cute cat things (of course!). The coffee is available in medium or dark roast, in a pump pot. This is why I downgraded one star: not interested in that. We actually got tea, and they use Pluck Tea from Toronto, which is an incredibly ethical brand. SO: Good. There's also food (good prices!), and cookies (we got one: so delicious). The business works to support cat rescue, and the windows are filled with donations for cats in need. I love this! While we were in town, that cat room was ALWAYS busy, so I'm really happy that this business is doing so much to promote cat rescue, and I am happy to support them. :)

We were in town for the Festival and needed a quick and easy lunch that didn't consist of burgers…read moreand fries. My son spotted Stratford Thai and we decided to try it. It's a small restaurant, I don't know if they take reservations but if they do you should make one. Service was friendly but spotty. We were seated promptly, got our menus right away but we had to remind our server that we ordered wine to go with our meals. Onto the food, the food is the reason it's got 5 stars. My son is a connoisseur of Thai food and he said his basil stir fry was the best he ever had. I had Panang curry and it was so good I used my serving spoon to eat all of the sauce. My granddaughter ordered the Pho. I've had Pho before and this was as good as I've ever had. The next time I go to Stratford this will be one of the places I plan on eating

Clean and cozy little restaurant with friendly, helpful staff…read more We ordered off the lunch menu and I enjoyed the Pineapple Chicken Currry with the side of Spring Rolls (you have a choice between the spring rolls or salad). Fragrant Jasmine rice also accompanied this dish. It was absolutely delicious! Crispy spring rolls with a light, delicate dipping sauce. Savory flavor bomb of coconut curry with just a hint of heat. There was a decent amount of chicken breast and the bell peppers and pineapple were a perfect balance to this wonderful dish. My friend ordered the vegetable stir fry with a side of pineapple which she said was delicious. It also came with Jasmine rice. I hope to visit again before we return to the States. So darned delicious and their Pad Thai looked amazing that another customer near us had ordered. Highly recommend!