Sunday, November 20, 2011

Richmond Tea Rooms


Yesterday Bailey and I had been out shopping in town since about 9am and were absolutely starrrrrving! We decided we couldn't be bothered to go home and cook something so lunch in town it was! I remembered having seen a Living Social deal for afternoon tea in a place called Richmond Tea Rooms and despite not having bought the deal, I had mentioned to Bailey that I wanted to try it out sometime.


We found Richmond Tea Rooms to be the most unexpected place as it was tucked down a little road near Canal Street and I don't think we would have ever found it had we not been looking for it. Which would have been a real shame as it is an absolutely beautiful building and great place inside.


Richmond Tea Rooms' décor and menu is inspired by Alice in Wonderland which makes for a very exciting dining location! We love, love, LOVED the amazing mirror that greeted us at the front door, although not too sure if Bailey was keen on me taking a photo of it before we even got inside...


Inside there were lots of nods to Alice's Wonderland with lovely fairytale furniture everywhere and the famous phrases "Eat Me" and "Drink Me" written above the bar.


Unfortunately the place was absolutely packed to the rafters and the manageress told us that she already had four tables' worth of people waiting next door in the adjoining bar The Lodge so we left feeling a bit glum... Until halfway down the road we just decided to go back and wait in The Lodge ourselves!

The Lodge was gorgeous too - decorated in the style of an old English huntsman's lodge and even though we were on the soft drinks, we had a look at the cocktail menu which looked great and decided we are going to take Craig and Francesca there next time they come to Manchester!


We didn't have to wait long at all to be seated in the tea rooms and the manageress was so nice helping us carry our shopping bags through. The menu looked ace - they have a great selection of light bites and exciting teas and the people next to us were having afternoon tea which looked amazing.

I decided to order a Green China Tea with Jasmine Blossom, which arrived very quickly... rather too quickly as the waitress suddenly rushed back apologising profusely that the tea was stone cold! It was really funny and she was so nice that I didn't mind at all. The tea was very nice anyway and another thing I thought was very good was that she told me that if I wanted a top up of hot water to keep the tea going I could just ask.


For our lunches, we both went for little sandwichy type plates. Bailey chose the Richmond Club Sandwich while I had Alice's Rarebit. Both came with yummy cress, salad and some salted Tortilla Chips which were a great accompaniment even though I swapped Bailey my tortillas for his salad - perfect.


Bailey loved his Richmond Club Sandwich, the chicken and bacon were cooked fresh, the bread was perfectly toasted and it was a great portion size. He commented that it was exactly what he wanted after a Saturday of shopping.


My Alice's Rarebit was amazing. I loved the combination of thick, soft, doorstep toast with gorgeous melted cheeses and flavoursome mustard, plus whatever the "secret ingredient" was which made it all amazing.


We loved our trip to Richmond Tea Rooms and thought the food was very tasty, the staff were lovely despite being rushed off their feet and we loved all the little details like the ornate plates and lovely candle holders on the tables. We will definitely be going back to try some of the amazing looking cakes!


Richmond Tea Rooms on Urbanspoon

7 comments:

  1. haha...so the group buy sites AREA a good way of advertising ;) This place looks so cute and fun, it's not hard to see why you wouldn't mind waiting for a table! The rarebit looks so good!

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  2. Hi Von, yes it was a great place! LOVED the rarebit!

    I do think those Groupon deals are a great way of getting advertising. However, did you hear about that lady the other day? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2064208/Cupcake-calamity-Website-discount-deal-leaves-baker-swamped-orders-102-000-cakes-wipes-profits.html
    It went a bit wrong for her :(

    Thanks for dropping by! xxx

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  3. Hi its jackie here , manageress of the tearooms thanks so much for your lovely comments :)

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  4. Thanks for a great lunch! We loved the tearooms, will be seeing you again! Jules x

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  5. Have returned to Richmond many a time since writing this, a few times for cocktails but for food again last week. I had the pear and stilton sarnie (ace) and the scone (AMAZING! Soooo much fruit!) with jam and cream! Nom.

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  6. Firstly, thank you for replying when I emailed asking your advice on where to go for tea, and secondly thank you for recommending this place; four friends and I went today and absolutely loved it! Three of us ordered the queens tea which came with four finger sandwiches, four little cakes, a very large scone and a pot of tea each. The food was absolutely gorgeous, and presented beautifully on an afternoon tea cake stand. The tea was lovely, proper loose leaf tea in a lovely tea pot. None of us were able to finish the food and the staff were very happy to put it in boxes to take home to enjoy later.
    One person had a scone and a drink and the other had a cocktail from the bar next door and both were also delighted with their food and drink.
    To top it off, the atmosphere was lovely, the décor made for a unique but delightful experience and I would recommend this to anyone else!

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    Replies
    1. Oh great, so glad you enjoyed. I love the cocktails from The Lodge next door!

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