Afternoon Tea at White Rabbit Teahouse, Nottingham

Afternoon Tea is by far my favourite pastime and there are only two things that stop me indulging in this past time more often. First is the effect on my waist line and the second the effect on my purse strings. Afternoon Tea can be an expensive business, with some hotel's charging over £50 per person! This is why it is often a struggle to get my student friends who are less passionate for afternoon tea to come along. The other day when I was shopping in Nottingham City Centre with a friend we spotted a couple of signs saying Afternoon Tea for £15. This got us talking and we both agreed this is a more reasonable price for Afternoon Tea. This conversation gave me the idea for a new series here on 'Ramblings of a Devoted Tea Drinker' reviewing the best local Afternoon Teas priced at £15 and under.

So today I am kicking it off with a review of Afternoon Tea at The White Rabbit Teahouse located on Bridlesmith Walk in Nottingham. I have been eyeing up White Rabbit Teahouse for a while now but always thought it would be on the expensive side, that was until I looked on the website and discovered it was only £15 per person, making it the perfect candidate for my first post of the series. I also discovered on the website that they have two teahouses in Nottingham, with the other located on Hounds Gate. 

White Rabbit Teahouse is a very traditional looking tea house with a shabby chic vibe to it, while it is incredibly small it has a very cosy feel. 

The theme of rabbits even exceeded to the wallpaper! Their attention to detail really makes the whole afternoon tea experience 10 times better!  

The drawer on our table was stuffed full with napkins with notes from previous customers. I thought this was a lovely touch and the sort of thing you'd usually see in a film. It defiantly added to the intimate and 'special' vibe of the place. The only down side to this cosy intimate environment is that it can make private conversation's difficult.

The Afternoon Tea menu had a selection of 8 teas to choose from (I opted for the English breakfast tea...I know I am very boring!) There were 7 sandwich options which were Salmon, Cream Cheese & Rocket, Honey Roast Ham, Cream Cheese & Cucumber, Tuna Mayonnaise, Free Range Egg & Cress and Prawn Mayonnaise. We were told we could pick two sandwich options from the list which was a shame as I was actually rather hungry! We opted for Salmon and Cream Cheese & Cucumber. 

The scones consisted of one raisin scone each.The sweet treats included a rabbit shaped (of course) shortbread with jam , a small cup of sticky toffee pudding and a cupcake. All the sweet treats were delicious but if I had to pick one I would say the cupcake was by far my favourite! The scones on the other hand were a little on the hard side, I would of preferred the option of a plain scone and maybe more sandwich options. 

 Even the leaves in the cream and jam were placed to replicate a rabbits ears!

Overall, it was a pleasant Afternoon Tea for the price and I would recommend a visit to White Rabbit Teahouse, even if it is only for a cup of coffee and a chat with a friend. 

I will be doing another £15 and under afternoon tea review in a few weeks. So if any of you out there can recommend any bargain afternoon teas in the Nottingham area I'd love to know! 

See you next time for more of my ramblings! 

xx

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Vintage Afternoon Tea at Thea Caffea, Nottingham

It's time for the third installment in my summer Afternoon Tea series and this time I am writing about Thea Caffea, a beautiful tea room nestled in a little alleyway near the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre in Nottingham City Centre. 

Thea Caffea has been open since 2012, since it is hidden away from the main  shopping streets I never noticed it until my mum happened to mention it to me. Similar to the Tiffin Tea House that I reviewed a couple weeks back, it has a vintage inspired look to it. But, unlike the Tiffin Tea Hose it has a slightly more modern and sophisticated vibe.I thought the entrance was absolutely stunning and felt very posh :). The cafe has ample room inside and out and is actually very spacious.

The menu includes a range of different types of cakes and teas. There's an option to just have a cream tea (for £5.95) or just the afternoon tea sandwiches (for £4.25). But obviously we opted for the full afternoon tea (I have no shame), priced at £12.95 per person.

The tea was served in beautiful bone china pots, cups and saucers. Thea Caffea make their tea with tea leaves instead of tea bags, which is much better for you, as their is more room for the tea leaves to absorb water and expand as they infuse, which allows water to flow and extract even more vitamins, minerals and flavours from the tea-leaves.

The one thing that really stood out about the vintage afternoon tea at Thea Caffea for me is the amount of food you get for the price, Thea Caffea seem to be mote generous in their quantity and portions than other afternoon tea's I have sampled.

The abundance (that we couldn't finish) of sandwiches included: Cucumber & Cream Cheese, Egg Mayonnaise & Mustard Cress and Smoked Salmon & Lemon Mayo. There were also meat options available too.

The scones were scrumptious and were very filling as you received a plain scone with a sugar crust and a fruit sultana scone. I liked how you received two pots of jam and cream, as I'm not a massive sharer when it comes to scones. The separate pots meant I could literally pile on a ton of cream without feeling bad that I used it all up ahaha! 

The cakes included: Lemon Meringue Cake, Coffee Cake and Chocolate Cake, good traditional options and all very well made and yummy. 

All in all I would say the vintage afternoon tea at Thea Caffea is great value for money, considering the amount of food you actually get I was surprised at how cheap it was! However, just to note you are restricted to just an English Breakfast Tea with this option. It would cost £1 extra if you wish to have a Specialty Tea or £2 extra if you wanted a Flowering Tea.

I definitely enjoyed the Afternoon Tea at Thea Caffea and it's well worth a visit if you are looking for a quaint place in Nottingham which offers high quality homemade food, with a vintage vibe.

See you next time for more of my ramblings!

xx

Last Afternoon Tea Review: Pink Afternoon Tea at Radisson Blu Edwardian Hampshire, Leicester Square, London
Next Afternoon Tea Review Up: Afternoon Tea at Byron's Brasserie, Colwick Hall Hotel, Nottingham

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Afternoon Tea at Tiffin Tea House, West Bridgford, Nottingham

The last time I posted an afternoon tea review was over 6 months ago! Fortunately though it hasn't been 6 months since my last afternoon tea, in fact  I've had a busy summer gorging on scones and cakes. Over the next few of weeks I will be posting reviews of different afternoon tea venues, first up is the Tiffin Tea House in Nottingham.

Tiffin Tea House is a traditional tea house which serves fresh food and homemade cakes. It is situated on Abbey Road in West Bridgford. Entering the Tiffin Tea House is like being transported to a 1950s tearoom.Tiffin is perfectly decorated with china teapots and lace table cloths, I particularly love the mismatched chairs. Tiffin Tea House is relaxed and very cosy, it gives a lovely homely feel, which i really like. It reminded me a lot of my grandma's house for that reason.

When I first visited the Tiffin Tea House I had no intention of having afternoon tea I was thinking more a long the lines of a slice of cake and a cup of tea, but those thoughts quickly vanished when we saw others with their 3 tier cake stands.

As you can see from the menu, Tiffin Tea House offers an array of things from full cooked English breakfasts to fish finger sandwiches and homemade cakes. However, their Tiffin Afternoon Tea seems to be the most popular. 

I love this cake stand!

As you can see from the picture the Tiffin Tea House afternoon tea is a real treat!

It includes a large selection of traditional sandwiches such as cheese and pickle ones, nothing too adventurous, nice and simple.

It wouldn’t be an Afternoon Tea without some warm scones!

The cakes we tasted were all homemade and consisted of a carrot cake, walnut cake and a chocolate brownie and a mini Victoria sponge. They were all yummy, my favourite had to be the walnut cake.

Afternoon Tea at the Tiffin Tea House is reasonably priced at £11.95 per person. I don't think there's one bad word I could say about Tiffin Tea House, we had a lovely time indulging and will definitely be going back very soon. The staff were all so friendly and helpful. 

Next time I will be reviewing Afternoon Tea at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel in Leicester Square, so keep your eyes peeled for that in a fortnight's time.

See you next time for more of my ramblings!

xx

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The Cheesecake Shop, Nottingham

I have always wanted to go to the Cheesecake Shop and the other day I was asked by a friend where they could get a nice cake from, as the helpful person that I am I sneakily suggested the Cheesecake Shop and even offered to accompany them for directions (obviously I had a hidden motive *wink*) so off we headed to the Cheesecake Shop on Daleside Road in Nottingham.

A bit about the Cheesecake Shop...

The Cheesecake Shop is a franchise set up in 1998, it was founded by Warwick and Robert Konopacki. It began in Australia and has slowly made it's way around the world, with 6 shops here in the UK.

The Cheesecake Shop specializes in 'cheesecakes' (surprise surprise). But also offers a range of other desserts, they have 5 different torte's: Black Forest, Choc Cherry, Honey and Cinnamon, Tirimisu and a Strawberry Fields one. They sell 8 different baked cheesecakes and 8 different continental cheesecakes.  

Below are some of the cakes I thought looked particularly yummy (basically the whole shop)...

My inner (or not so inner) child came out when I saw that minion cake! 

The shop itself is nothing to write home about, but the cakes speak out for themselves and are definitely the 'stars of the show'.  

How good do these cheesecakes look?!

There is an option to dine in the shop with your choice of cake and hot drink or you can buy a cheesecake to take way. A full cake can be purchased for around £11.60, while half a cake costs £6.50. 

As I'd come all that way I thought it would be rude to leave empty handed. So then came the diffuclt choice - should I go for the strawberry shortcake or the mango and passion fruit cheesecake? Eventually I opted for the mango and passion fruit cheesecake, which I wasn't disappointed with. It certainly isn't an overstatement to say that this beats the cheesecakes I've had from supermarkets and earn's it's place as the best cheesecake ever (until my next trip to the cheesecake shop). 

Well if you insist...

Have you ever been to the cheesecake shop?

See you next time for more of my ramblings!

xx

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Lou Lou's Vintage Fair Haul

In September the Lou Lou's Vintage Fair was back in Nottingham. Since my last visit to the fair I have developed a massive appreciation for all things vintage. On this particular Sunday I was on the hunt for some vintage accessories to liven up winter wardrobe.

Here are a few pictures from my trip...

You can get your hair done by The Little Vintage Beauty Parlour. I was watching them at work and honestly the hairstyles they did were amazing, I was so tempted to get mine done...but maybe next time.

These vintage boxes and mirrors are so cute

Here are some of the vintage goodies I managed to find...

I picked up this beautiful necklace from 'Dear Rose with Love' which is a business that source and sells vintage jewellery. I've been on the look out for a dainty necklace for everyday wear and this really caught my eye. It cost £7, which is slightly more expensive then other necklaces at the fair, in fact 'Dear Rose with Love' items are a tad overpriced, I think that's because they are all new. 

I feel the next thing I brought is either a love it or hate it kinda thing. I absolutely love it, as the saying goes 'a girl can never have too many handbags' (or is that shoes). When I saw this handbag at the corner of my eye I wasn't sure if it was too grannyish (If you get what I mean), and not the sort of thing that goes with me style but when I tried it on there was something about it that I fell in love with!

The stall owner informed me that it was a real leather designer handbag from the 1970's, and a bargain for only £15. In the summer my guilty pleasure was watching Gok Wan on This Morning, and apparently 70's fashion is huge at the moment, so I figured Gok Wan would be proud ahaha!

Next, I brought this chevron midi ring for £3, to add to my collection.

I also brought this small tea pot for my Mum!

Finally I picked up these two blingy necklaces.I especially love the one on the right, I love how sparkly it is - now all I need is for a special occasion to wear it to!  

See you next time for more of my ramblings.

xx

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