Hatfield Forest, nr Bishop’s Stortford, Essex
Tea at Hatfield Forest
Hatfield Forest was very relaxing, sunny and with ducks. I’d recommend a visit and a walk round the lake.
We had tea from the kiosk and sat on a bench in the sunshine. A good tea experience.
Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? Not sure, just came in the paper cup.
Milk jug? Yes, big one at the counter.
Price? £1.
Cake? Biscuits and brownie bites etc.
Go again? Yes.
118 Fore Street, Edmonton, N18 2XA
Tea, cheeseburger and fries at McDonalds
Don’t judge me, okay? It was late at night, I desperately needed to pee and I was stuck on the A406 because the M25 was closed. McDonalds was a beacon of bright lights and plastic and I embraced it.
The tea was surprisingly good. Hot and cheap and much needed. The guy behind the counter gave me two pots of milk and I thought ‘Oh, just what I need, too little milk’. I must have been less subtle than I thought because he then gave me another four pots. Excellent.
While I was reading my book (The thirteenth tale by Diana Setterfield – I’d recommend it) and sipping my tea a guy came in with a guitar. I don’t know what he said to the people at the counter but the music was turned off and he started to play and sing a song. Everyone clapped along, some sang along and at the end he got a paper bag of food. Odd, but made me smile.
Teapot? Seriously? No.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? No.
Price? £2.80 something for fries, cheeseburger and tea.
Cake? No. McFlurry?
Go again? Not unless I’m stuck on a road somewhere.
15- 17 Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2HE
Tea in bowls at Le Pain Quotidien
After our most excellent trip to the V&A we wandered down the road to find somewhere that had more tea and we chanced upon Le Pain Quotidien. This is a chain but we hadn’t come across it before. It had lots of good cakes and bread in the window which tempted us in and we stayed for tea, a meal and then desert.
The tea selection wasn’t that wide: breakfast, earl grey or fruit or herb teas. We picked breakfast tea and it came in bowls, which was a novelty for me and it tasted good in a bowl. We shared a platter of Italian meats and cheeses and lovely bread, then had fruit salad and the most decadently rich chocolate tart. I’d recommend it for an after V&A treat.
Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? Le Pain Quotidien brand teabag.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £2.50 each per pot.
Cake? Yes and deserts and tarts and breads and chocolate. Yum.
Go again? Yes.
V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL
The V&A cake counter
The V&A is my favourite museum to go to in London. It’s a museum of design, so everything is useful or beautiful or both. I always get lost and end up finding something I didn’t expect to.
The cafe has lots of different counters with different foods and drinks, there’s a whole counter just for cake! There’s a choice of rooms to sit with your food and drink, including the original refreshment rooms with amazing decor, I spent ages just looking at the ceiling in the room we were in.
The ceiling of the room we ate in at the V&A cafe
There was a wide variety of tea on offer including Orange Pekoe and Darjeeling 1st Flush and though it came in tea bags it was loose leaf in big muslin teabags. We had a lunch of quiche and salad which was excellent. Afterwards we sampled the date, banana and walnut cake and it was moist and tasty.
I would recommend the V&A for a visit and can tell you that the tea’s not bad either.
Tea at the V&A cafe
Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? Yes, in a little bag.
Milk jug? Yes and the option of a slice of lemon if you prefer.
Price? Around £2.10 for a pot for one.
Cake? Yes.
Go again? Yes.
2-3 Butter Market, Reading, RG1 2DP 0118 957 3708
Tea at Munchees
We ran out of milk and bread the night before so breakfast was looking bleak. Hey, we thought, it’s Sunday, let’s go into town and have brunch. Little did we know it was the Reading Half Marathon and that having brunch would be easier said than done. We got to town and were faced with a wall of people watching a steady flow of running people. I have the greatest respect for people who participate in events like this, but it was Sunday, the clocks had changed, we hadn’t had any tea and I was hungry. We looked and we walked along the runners’ route and there was no gap to be seen. R tried to persuade me that we should run across the road and I refused, it was too intrusive and was rude. Half an hour later when we still hadn’t managed to cross the road I felt differently and we joined a group of people standing wistfully at a pedestrian crossing and took our chance. We made it across and headed to Munchees.
We hadn’t been to Munchees before but felt that they would be the place to go for a traditional fry up. It was. R had the Munchees breakfast and I had the brunch breakfast. Both were good.
Teapot? Yes, a big metal one.
Leaf tea? Usual unidentified teabag.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? A bargin 95p each for the tea, £4.50 for brunch breakfast, £5.55 for the Munchees breakfast.
Cake? No, but plenty of deserts.
Go again? Only when I need a fry up.
10, Prospect St, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire RG4 8JG 0118 947 741
Tea and a chocolate brownie at Delicious...
I’ve briefly mentioned this cafe on here before, but I like it so much I think it deserves re-posting. The owner of this cafe makes all the cakes herself, and the soups and sandwiches and everything fresh and it all lives up to it’s name. The chairs and sofas are comfy, there’s an outside area with daffodils and parasols, and newspapers to browse through as well. And if that wasn’t enough, they have a loyalty card too!
This is the best place to get tea in the Reading area and sells the most amazing chocolate brownies. I have never tasted chocolate brownies so good. I even started to make my own to recreate that homemade taste, but I can’t do it. Once, I came in and the brownies had just gone in the oven. I spun out my pot of tea for an hour until they were ready to eat. Now I get told of the brownie situation without having to ask. If you ever come this way, go to this cafe and ask for the brownies.
Teapot? Yes, white china and big enough for 3 and a half cups. Matching cup and saucer.
Leaf tea? No, but fairtrade teabag.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? A lovely £1.50 for a whole pot and a bargin £1.45 for a brownie.
Cake? Yes, tasty and homemade. Scones, salads, sandwiches and afternoon tea available as well. The best chocolate brownies I’ve ever tasted. Oh, ice cream too!
Go again? At least once a week.
John Lewis, Broad Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 2BB
The Place to Eat at John Lewis
We’d made the mistake of watching episode of Friends where Rachel and Chandler eat a lot of cheesecake and so we were on the hunt for cheesecake and tea. It’s more difficult than you think to track down cheesecake in a cafe and we were running out of time before my brother had to catch a train so we headed for the most reliable of the department store cafes: The Place to Eat in John Lewis.
There was no cheesecake, but there was a selection of cakes, pastries, scones and gateaux, so we were happy. The only odd thing about John Lewis is that they are happy to give you pots of hot water and china cups and saucers and lovely cake, but they still insist in serving milk in the stupid tiny plastic pots!
Teapot? Yes, china.
Leaf tea? No, Twinings teabags.
Milk jug? No!
Price? £1.40 for a pot.
Cake? Yes, lots and lots.
Go again? Yes.
Blakes Lock, Gas Works Road, Reading, RG1 3DH
Tea at Bel and The Dragon, with the Riverside Museum in the background
As the weather was so gorgeous we headed to the Riverside Museum to see what we could see. Next door to the museum is a lovely (if out of my price range) pub and restaurant called Bel and The Dragon.
The Riverside Museum is very small but worth a look if you fancy going for a walk by the river. It has a highly decorated gypsy caravan and an ornate teapot among other things, and is in a beautiful location.
I’d recommend combining the museum and pub to make the most of your visit.
Teapot? Yes, one between two.
Leaf tea? No, unidentified teabags.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £4 for two people which seemed a bit steep as we only got two small cups each.
Cake? No, but could order desert off the menu if you really wanted.
Go again? Yes, if I’m down that way.
Unit L38/39 The Oracle Shopping Centre, 134 Broad Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 2BD
Tea at Coffee Republic
The name of this chain advertises it’s love of coffee, rather than tea, but at least Coffee Republic offers a teapot. The menu lists pots of tea but when I ordered they got out a mug, I had to ask for a pot specially.
The tea was fine, if a bit expensive, my friend recommends the range of hot chocolates.
Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No, Twinings teabag.
Milk jug? Little paper pot of milk.
Price? £1.95
Cake? Some, mainly muffins and pastries.
Go again? Yes, if I’m with someone who wants a good hot chocolate.
43 Market Place, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 2DE
Haringtons is not actually a cafe, it’s a hairdressers. I went to get my haircut and they offered me a drink. When the tea came it was impressive: teapot, tiny milk jug, cup and saucer, two mini biscotti biscuits, sugar and tea spoon. All neatly arranged on doilies on a tray. Hairdressers it may be, but it deserves a mention here as it does tea better than many cafes I’ve come across.
Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No, Twinings teabag.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? Technically free, but you do have to pay for a haircut, so really very expensive (unless you already wanted a haircut).
Cake? No, but mini biscuits.
Go again? Yes, next time I need a hair cut.
Tea for you and me 