Saturday 2 February 2013

The Vintage Tea Emporium, Uttoxeter


Yesterday I hopped on a bus to Uttoxeter to meet my lovely friend Sara for charity shop wandering, much nattering and a delicious afternoon tea. It was my first real visit to the small market town and it is a magpies paradise -  there are so many charity shops crammed into a relatively small area - I came home having spent very little yet had filled my sizeable cotton shopper to bursting with finds.

The undisputed highlight of our visit was the luxurious hour we spent in The Vintage Tea Emporium. I had done some pre-emptive googling ahead of our Uttoxeter meet-up and spotted this wonderful place via their Facebook page, I promptly booked us in at midday - a little early but there is something indulgent about afternoon tea for lunch! We arrived to a table for two in the window made up with lovely linens and set with extra-special vintage crockery (a perk of making a reservation!). A pot of Assam for me, Earl Grey for Sara and we were down to the serious business of chatter between sips while taking in the airy, pretty surroundings and in my case checking out the china patterns (once a vintage china obsessive, always a vintage china obsessive). When our three tiers of mouthwatering treats arrived we were immediately ravenous, they had happily catered to my request for vegetarian finger sandwiches and the selection was very tasty! On to the scones - one sultana which was quickly bagged by Sara as she hates cherries, and one cherry scone which worked out perfectly since I love them, mine had a great texture and the accompanying pot of cream was the perfect consistency. The top tier was home to miniature eclairs, miniature strawberry tarts and compact slices of carrot cake. Death. By. Dessert. The tiny eclair and tart were each light and yummy but by this point we were stuffed and couldn't quite polish off the carrot cake so instead washed everything down with yet more tea and some Fentimans Rose Lemonade. 

If you are anywhere near Uttoxeter I'd definitely recommend a visit to such a dreamy tearoom, the service was so friendly and prompt, but we were also left to relax and enjoy ourselves rather than hurried out of the door the moment we had finished. To channel Arnie; I'll be back. 

13 comments :

  1. can back up everything youve written here as ive been!!! was in uttoxeter a few weeks ago on the way to see family and we stopped of at the vintage tea emporium for cream teas which were uber nice. x

    ReplyDelete
  2. I so love the tea-cup and saucer. Beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The cup and saucer that you had there is gorgeous, I love the colour combinations! And I had the Fentimans rose lemonade yesterday for the first time, it is absolutely delish and my new favourite drink!I had to keep the bottle too, it was so pretty..
    annie x

    www.cheramiblogger.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  4. this place looks divine, very impressed that they catered for vegetarians with interesting and tasty treats. I think I definitely need to get out of London more and visit these cute little towns! xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks and sounds heavenly! I need to start adventuring further a field to these chocolate box towns. Xxx

    ReplyDelete
  6. yumm rose lemonade x

    cath kidston give away : 1stepclosereveryday.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh gosh, it looks so lovely! Rose lemonade sounds divine! <3

    Jennie xo | sailorjennie.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. The tea cups are so gorgeous! How did the Rose lemonade taste like?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh I really could go for an eclair right now. I love them so much. Such beautiful photos!

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's always a treat to find an alert to a new post on your blog in my inbox.

    The tearoom looks divine! So... do tell; what finds did you bag?!

    If you're ever in Scotland - or either of its two biggest cities to be more precise - I highly recommend:

    The Rennie Mackintosh designed Willow Tearooms in Glasgow
    www.thewillowtearooms.co.uk

    and
    Anteaques in Edinburgh - which is an antique cum tea shop. It's only a wee place but has the most comprehensive tea menu that I've ever seen. Everything is served on beautiful vintage crockery.
    http://anteaques.co.uk/

    Finally, also in Edinburgh and very close to where I live is the lovely http://www.loopylornas.com/

    Is there such a thing as a tea shop map?! With recommendations of the best places to go across the UK? If not, perhaps they ought to be :-)

    @theWriteRach xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, Uttoxeter sounds like my kinda place :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow this sounds absolutely wonderful, sounds like you had so much fun. That tea cup is adorable :)
    http://www.farfelue.com/

    ReplyDelete
  13. I will admit its only this year that I have grown to like tea, as I was always a die hard coffee fan before.
    SOunds like you had so much fun, and something I think I should do to get more into tea! xx
    http://heroineinheels.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a note, they make my day! :-)