Since coming to the States in 1988, we never could find the type of tea room you’d find in London: not prim, not proper, not ultra-Victorian - just good tea in good china in a relaxed but cheery environment and a nice selection of cakes and the like to accommodate that which had been missing from our lives: an afternoon tea in the city, being amongst others out for the same: a rejuvenating break in the day to sit back, have a cuppa and reflect. Reflect upon what, you may ask? Being English of course.
A lovely idea. But it was the bottom of the page that made me realize, I liked these people!
Open Tuesday through Friday from 7:30AM to 5PM.
Saturday and Sunday from 9AM to 5PM.
Please schedule your lives accordingly.
Then I clicked on the tab for “Menu” and, like Alice in Wonderland, I was confronted with two labels: “Drink me” and “Eat me”. Hmmm. I clicked “Eat me” and looked for scones.
Might be called the cornerstone of our culinary array. Fluffier than cornerstone though. Choose from our daily variety. Or don’t choose. Have one or ten of each. We’re not here to judge.
Eventually I found the phone number and passed it along to a friend I was recommending it to. I’ve been to The London Tea Room a few times, the first time with one of my book groups. The staff was wonderful to us. The tea menu is enormous and was really fun to read. For instance Monks Blend: Black tea infused with grenadine & vanilla. First created by monks (like all worthwhile beverages, most notably ale, espresso and the appletini), this one is sweet and toasty. And of course Any tea may be Americanized; that is: “iced.”
We had such a great time drinking tea and discussing books and Beatrix Potter (the theme for the day) that I decided it was going to be a regular place to visit.
See? Love of books can lead you to really nice places.
