Time for Tea....The Exclusive Cake Shop and Vintage Tea Room

Hello there,

Well its been a tea filled year...we've enjoyed all sorts of afternoon teas in lots of different places with a variety of friends, both old and new!

My last afternoon tea of 2013 was taken in the Exclusive Cake Shop and Vintage Tea Room in a small town called Midhurst, West Sussex. The shop is owned and run by Carole, and offers homemade bespoke cakes and afternoon tea experiences. The tearoom was found by my friend Alex, who knew it would be right up my street.....and she wasn't wrong there!

The interior of the tearoom is just lovely....full of wonderful vintage china and decorated beautifully. As you walk through the door you are greeting by a rather scrummy looking cake display and a wall of teapots (that I was very jealous of)...



Cakes galore!

The tearoom's tea menu is extensive with a wonderful choice of different teas...everyone will find a tea that suits them on the menu! I am also pleased to report that the tea is served in teapots in pretty vintage china....

The menu is also full of wonderful sweet and savoury treats and the tearoom prides itself on sourcing a lot of their ingredients from the surrounding area.

You can pick from a specials board or from the extensive menu. There are individual tea sandwiches on offer plus other toasted treats such as crumpets. You can also enjoyed homemade scones and a wide range of cakes. It probably doesn't surprise you though to read that I wanted just one thing....the full afternoon tea experience!

Once we had picked our teas we were presented with a wonderful cake stand full of freshly prepared sandwiches....

Afternoon tea sandwiches

We were given egg mayonnaise, salmon and cream cheese, ham and mustard and cucumber. The sandwiches were so fresh and tasty, the fillings very generous and the bread was soft - the perfect afternoon tea sandwich! This little lot was for just two people and we were asked if we wanted anymore!

Once we had decided that we could not eat anymore sandwiches, this cake stand was removed and it was replaced by this....

Sweet treats!

 On this cake stand were scones topped with cream and jam, mini coffee éclairs, mini strawberry cupcakes, mini cherry bakewells and slices of chocolate tiffin.

I have to say that everything tasted wonderful, and was the perfect size to enjoy. I think either the éclair or the chocolate tiffin was my favourite part.....but if I'm honest it was all rather tasty!

Rather controversially our scone was already sliced and dressed for us.....

The controversial scone!

The cream and jam were the wrong way around (Lorna wouldn't have been impressed!), but it was a very generous portion!

The service throughout was brilliant and very friendly. We were offered more sandwiches and the hot water in our teapots was refilled several times.

At £16 per person for this tea I think it was a real bargain and I would definitely go back again. As well as enjoying the food and drink in the tearoom, you can also buy items to take home with you - an added bonus to the experience!

Tea With Me and Friends enjoyed a lovely traditional afternoon tea

All in all this is a lovely tearoom, offering fresh, homemade treats at a very reasonable price. I was very pleased to end the year on a high note!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel