Whitmore Tea Rooms, Newcastle-Under-Lyme

One of my first experiences with a tea room in the U.K. was at this gem: Whitmore Tea Rooms in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, England… and it basically ruined all other tea rooms for me. This place was so unbelievably adorable and the food was incredible. It was just my cup of tea!

I came here with my husband and my parents back in November, after a long day of driving. We had worked up a bit of an appetite and thought we’d stop for some tea and a snack before dinner. (Little did we know the food would look so good that we’d end up eating dinner there, too!)

We parked the car and approached the building, which was veiled in a light fog, giving it a magical appearance. We stepped in through the front door and looked around us. This place was ADORABLE. To our right was the seating area, but I’ll get to that in a second, because I have to tell you about the CAKES! Straight ahead, at the counter, there was an impressive display of delightful cakes of various flavors. Fruity ones, chocolaty ones… My mouth immediately started to water and I couldn’t decide which one to get because they ALL looked so good!

The seating area was filled with small round tables, covered with pretty and simple tablecloths. There were white chiavari chairs (you know, the elegant-looking seats you see at weddings?) tucked in to each table and cute little decorations tastefully displayed throughout the room. There was even a festive Christmas tree (again, tastefully decorated) at the end of the room.

We sat down at a table and each ordered the tea, “light snack” (our original plan – which ended up being dinner), and cake we wanted. I ordered a chicken salad wrap, Chris ordered some soup, and my parents ordered sandwiches. When the friendly waitress came back with our teas, I couldn’t help but to “oooo!” and “aaah!” at the dainty china tea cups, saucers, and teapots she placed on the table in front of us. They were all mismatched with different floral patterns, in different colors, and they looked like something out of a storybook.

Now… You’re going to think this sounds crazy, but I swear my TEA smelled and tasted like Funfetti cake. I’m not kidding! It was incredible. I loved every whiff and sip. My chicken salad wrap was just as delicious, and the ginger rhubarb cake was… well, there are no words. “Yummy” just doesn’t cover it.

With smiles on our faces and our bellies full to bursting, my parents, Chris, and I left the tea room and hopped back in the car. We unanimously voted that our earlier plan to stop somewhere else for dinner had been rendered very unnecessary. So glad we stopped by this brew-tea-ful tea room for some tas-tea treats! 🙂