Where to take afternoon tea

Afternoon tea - where to find it

Afternoon tea is a real treat, and one of those traditions that should be safeguarded. So here\'s our roundup of some of the best places to take afternoon tea, with their regional specialities. Cock those pinkies, ladies!

And if you have a favourite tearoom, do tell us about it in the Comments box below... 

Juri\'s, Winchcombe, Glos

Winners of the Tea Guild\'s Top Tea Place 2008 Award, Juri’s - The Olde Bakery Tea Shoppe is run by Iwao and Junko Miyawaki and their daughter Juri and is strongly influenced by the family’s Japanese heritage and love of tea.

Irene Gorman, Head of The Tea Guild, said, \'Located in the picturesque Cotswolds, Juri’s offers a truly special tea experience. This attractive tearoom with its pretty outdoor terrace is a must for all tea lovers to visit.\'  

Tea up: Juri’s - The Olde Bakery Tea Shoppe, www.juris-tearoom.co.uk

The Lanesborough Hotel, London

For the second time, The Lanesborough has won the highest accolade of the tea world: The Tea Guild’s Top London Afternoon Tea 2008 Award. Irene Gorman, Head of The Tea Guild, said: \'The buzz of this popular tearoom, coupled with its stylish chic setting and soft music, creates a warm and elegant ambience, thus providing the perfect setting for afternoon tea. The Lanesborough offers all this and more.\' A tea Sommelier is on hand to advise guests on choice of teas.
 

Tea up:
www.lanesborough.com/ #culinary_experience/afternoon_tea The Lanesborough, Hyde Park Corner, London SW1X 7TA

Willow Tearoom, Glasgow

Designed in the 1920s by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, right down to the teaspoons, the Art Nouveau interior is a delight to be seated in. The \'willow\' name comes from Sauchiehall, the street where it is situated, which in Scottish Gaelic means alley of the willows.

There\'s a choice of teas, including fruit and herbal, and a pot for one costs £2.10. There are more substantial dishes on offer too, including Arbroath smokies and haggis.

Tea up:  www.willowtearooms.co.uk/ sauchiehall Willow Tearoom, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3EX

Betty\'s, Harrogate

Bettys opened in 1919, founded by a young Swiss confectioner, Frederick Belmont, and customers enjoyed teas and meals in the traditional English style. Who Betty was remains a mystery, although some say she was a little girl who interrupted the company\'s first board meeting.

It\'s still a family business and stays true to its founding principles: everything should be ‘fresh and dainty\' and that ‘if we want things just right we have to do them ourselves\'.

The menu celebrates the best of Swiss-Yorkshire cooking, and includes Rosti, and traditional teatime treats like pikelets (like a flat crumpet), cinnamon toast, and Yorkshire speciality Fat Rascals: large scones with lemon peel, almonds and raisins. Betty’s Tearoom Blend (Assam and African) is £2.80 a pot.

Tea up: Betty\'s, 1 Parliament Street, Harrogate, HG1 2QU. Tel: 01423 502746; www.bettys.co.uk. If you can\'t make it in person to one of the six Bettys branches, you can shop online at www.bettysbypost.com

Peacocks, Ely

Winning an Award of Excellence from the Tea Guild in 2008. Peacocks is a family-run, traditional English tearoom. It offers home cooking, a friendly welcome, a relaxing atmosphere and an amazing range of teas. Sit inside or out in the garden overlooking the River Great Ouse.

Among the selection of afternoon teas is The Full Monty, £12 per person, which includes a selection of finger sandwiches, two warm homemade fruit scones with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry or raspberry jam, and a slice of cake of your choice, all served with a pot of English Breakfast tea.

Tea up: Peacocks Tearoom, 65 Waterside, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 4AU.
www.peacockstearoom.co.uk

Sally Lunn\'s, Bath

An amazing variety of toppings, both sweet and savoury, are piled on to the eponymous - and enormous - Sally Lunn bun, from ginger butter to roast beef. Buns are on sale in the shop, buy three at £1.48 - get one free.  A cup of Sally Lunn House Blend Tea costs £1.68 per pot per person.

Tea up: Sally Lunn\'s House, 4 North Parade Passage, Bath BA1 1NX. Tel: 01225 461634. www.sallylunns.co.uk/

Pilgrims Tea Rooms, Brecon

Nestled next to Brecon Cathedral is Pilgrims Tea Rooms, housed in a 15th-century tithe barn overlooking a herb garden, where you can sit out. Their baking is award-winning, and a pot of tea for one is £1.30, and a Welsh tea is £5.50. This regional dish consists of home-made bread and butter, Welsh cheese, home-made chutney and jam, bara-brith, two welsh-cakes and a pot of tea.

Tea up: Pilgrims Tea Rooms, Cathedral Close, Brecon LD3 9DP. Tel: 01874 610610 www.pilgrims-tearooms.co.uk

Read all about it

Find the perfect place for afternoon tea in your chosen locale, with this indispensable book: \'Afternoon Tea - Perfect places for afternoon tea\' (AA Lifestyle Guides, £6.99) on www.amazon.co.uk.

Among the facts you\'ll find at your fingertips is information on facilities, including eating outside, whether dogs and children are welcome, and even the presence of a pianist 

At home

If you fancy a cream tea at home, try the Tregothnan Cream Tea by post. For £30, you’ll be sent six tea sachets (two each of Classic, Afternoon, Earl Grey and green), with two freshly baked scones, a jar of clotted cream and a jar of special-recipe Kea plum jam.  Your tea comes prettily packaged in a beribboned box for a sense of occasion.

Tea up: www.tregothnan.co.uk