Afternoon tea
Afternoon tea at Tea Time, what to expect
What is actually on the stand, how booking a time works, what we can swap for allergies, and the honest answer on how much food it is.
5 August 20263 min read
Traditional afternoon tea
Afternoon tea in Thirsk, baked the morning you eat it
Four rounds of finger sandwiches, a sweet scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream, three of today's homemade cakes, and unlimited hot drinks, iced teas and coffees included. It comes to the table on vintage crockery Rosa collected herself, at 87 Market Place on the market square.
24.9 per person, minimum 2 guests. Book any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays.
Traditional Afternoon
Tea Time
For a minimum of 2 people (booking recommended)
Selection of sandwiches
- Smoked salmon with Longley Farm soft cheese
- Yorkshire ham & piccalilli
- Yorkshire cheese & apricot chutney
- Pastrami & coleslaw
- Sweet scone with strawberry jam & clotted cream
- Three of today's homemade cakes
- Unlimited hot drinks, including iced teas and coffees
24.9 per person
The short version
Everything at a glance
- Price
- 24.9 per person
- Party size
- 2 to 6 online, larger groups by phone
- When
- Seven days a week, any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays
- Time to allow
- About an hour
- Booking
- Requested online, at least 24 hours ahead
- Where
- 87 Market Place, Thirsk, YO7 1ET
- Dietary needs
- Tell us when you book, or ring 01845 523869
- Dogs
- Welcome inside
What arrives
What you get on the stand
One stand between the table, built the same way every time. The sandwiches are cut on the day, the scones come out of the oven that morning, and the cakes are whichever three are best in the cabinet when you arrive.
Sandwiches
- Smoked salmon with Longley Farm soft cheese
- Yorkshire ham & piccalilli
- Yorkshire cheese & apricot chutney
- Pastrami & coleslaw
Then the sweet half
- Sweet scone with strawberry jam & clotted cream
- Three of today's homemade cakes
- Unlimited hot drinks, including iced teas and coffees
The jam is Fruity Kitchen's strawberry, made a few miles away. The smoked salmon comes with Longley Farm soft cheese. Which three cakes you get depends on the morning, so ask at the counter. See the whole cafe menu if you want to add anything.
Booking
How booking works
Book any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays, and the kitchen bakes to the bookings it has. That is the whole system.
1
Pick a date
The calendar opens 60 days ahead and shows which times still have room.
2
Choose a time
Any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays. The last time is an hour before we close, so a table has its hour.
3
Tell us who is coming
2 to 6 guests, plus any allergies or things you would rather avoid.
4
We confirm by email
We check the day and confirm. Nothing to pay until you are here.
Book at least 24 hours ahead so the kitchen can bake for your table. Later than that, ring us and we will see what is possible.
Parties of more than 6 do not fit the online form. Ring 01845 523869, or look at the event space for up to 20.
Plans change. Ring us as early as you can and we will do what we can with the date.
Where it started
Vintage crockery, and a van called Henrietta
Afternoon tea is the dish this business grew out of. Before there was a cafe, Rosa baked afternoon teas at home in Yorkshire and served them on vintage crockery she had collected herself, cup by cup, none of it matching.
In 2018 she bought a 1967 Citroen H van, called her Henrietta, and spent two summers trading as The Rolling Scones at Yorkshire markets and festivals. The cafe at 87 Market Place came in 2019 and opened as Tea Time before that year was out. The crockery came with her.
So the mismatched cups and saucers on your table are not a styling decision made last year. They are the same plates the whole thing started on.
The difference
Why ours tastes like this
Cut on the day, not the night before
The bread comes from a local baker and the sandwiches are made up the same morning you eat them, which is most of the difference between a good finger sandwich and a sad one. Nothing has gone dry at the edges by the time it reaches the stand.
Baked the same morning
Scones and cakes are made in our kitchen at 87 Market Place on the day you eat them. It is also why we ask you to book: the baking is done to the number of tables we know about.
Yorkshire suppliers by name
Fruity Kitchen makes the strawberry jam and the relishes. Longley Farm makes the soft cheese that goes with the smoked salmon. The ham and the cheese in the sandwiches are Yorkshire too.
Awards and a hygiene rating
A Flavours of Herriot award in 2022, Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice in 2025 and again in 2026, and a 5-star food hygiene rating. Twenty-four covers and one cabinet that changes daily.
Dietary needs
Tell us when you book
Gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy free, a nut allergy, a child who wants a smaller version: put it in the booking notes or ring us, and we will work out what we can do before the day rather than on it.
Our food is freshly prepared for you in our kitchen. We use allergens in our cooking, so please tell a member of the team about any allergies or intolerances and we can advise.
Worth saying out loud
We are a small kitchen and we cook with allergens in it. That means we advise rather than promise. If an allergy is serious, ring us and speak to the team before you book so nobody is guessing on the day.
Give it away
Gift vouchers
Tiers of 25, 50, 75 and 100, valid for 12 months, spendable on afternoon tea or anything else in the cafe. Posted with a handwritten note or sent as a code.
Occasions
Celebrations
Birthdays, baby showers, hen parties, anniversaries, christenings and funeral teas. What we can seat, what to tell us, and how to arrange it.
Bigger groups
The event space
A private room with its own entrance and its own toilet, holding up to 20, catered by the same kitchen. Add a celebration cake if the day calls for one.
Getting here
Where we are
87 Market Place, Thirsk, YO7 1ET. Deep teal front, gold lettering, right on the square in the middle of town. Marage Road and Millgate car parks are both pay and display and three or four minutes away on foot.
Thirsk station sits about a mile and a half west of the square at Carlton Miniott, on the East Coast Main Line, with York about twenty minutes away. Market days are Monday and Saturday, when the stalls fill the square and parking goes early.
Opening hours
- Monday to Friday
- 9am to 4pm
- Saturday
- 8:30am to 4pm
- Sunday
- 9am to 3pm
Afternoon tea is booked any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays inside those hours. Breakfast, lunch and cream teas are walk-in.
Read next
More on afternoon tea
What is afternoon tea
Cream tea, afternoon tea and high tea are three different things. The order you eat it in, how long it takes, and where the whole custom came from.
Dietary and allergies
Gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy free, nut allergies and children's portions. What to tell us when you book, and how the kitchen handles it.
Celebrations
Birthdays, baby showers, hen parties, anniversaries, christenings and funeral teas, in the cafe or in the private room next door.
Questions people ask
Afternoon tea in Thirsk, answered
- How much is afternoon tea at Tea Time Cafe?
- 24.9 per person, for a minimum of 2 guests. That covers the sandwiches, the scone with jam and clotted cream, three of the day's homemade cakes, and unlimited hot drinks, including iced teas and coffees. Anything extra from the menu is added on the day.
- Do I need to book afternoon tea in advance?
- Yes. Everything is baked on the morning for the tables we know about, so we ask for at least 24 hours' notice. Request a time online and pay in the cafe on the day, or ring 01845 523869 and we will take the details.
- What time is afternoon tea served in Thirsk?
- Any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays. A table takes about an hour, so the last time we take is an hour before we close. The cafe itself opens from 9am on weekdays and 8:30am on Saturdays for breakfast, lunch and cream teas.
- What is the minimum number of people for afternoon tea?
- 2 guests. It is served on a stand for the table rather than plated per person, which is why it starts at 2. Up to 6 can book online in one go.
- How long does afternoon tea take?
- Most people finish within an hour. Nobody hurries you, and hot drinks are topped up for as long as you sit.
- What is on the afternoon tea stand?
- Four rounds of finger sandwiches: Smoked salmon with Longley Farm soft cheese; Yorkshire ham & piccalilli; Yorkshire cheese & apricot chutney; Pastrami & coleslaw. Then sweet scone with strawberry jam & clotted cream, three of today's homemade cakes, unlimited hot drinks, including iced teas and coffees.
- Can you do a gluten free, vegan or dairy free afternoon tea?
- Tell us when you book and we will work out what we can do for you. Our kitchen handles allergens across the same surfaces, so we advise rather than guarantee. Ring 01845 523869 and talk it through with the team before you book.
- Is afternoon tea suitable for children?
- Children are welcome in the cafe and there is a separate kids menu. If you want a smaller afternoon tea for a child, ring us before you book and we will talk through what suits.
- Can I book afternoon tea for a large group?
- Up to 6 guests book online. For anything larger, our event space is a private room with its own entrance that holds up to 20, and the kitchen caters it. Ring 01845 523869 to arrange it.
- Can I buy afternoon tea as a gift?
- Yes. Gift vouchers come in tiers of 25, 50, 75 and 100, are valid for 12 months from issue, and can be spent on afternoon tea or anything else in the cafe.
- Do you serve afternoon tea every day?
- Yes, seven days a week, any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays. If you want the scone without the rest of it, a cream tea is on the everyday menu and needs no booking at all.
- Where are you and where can I park?
- 87 Market Place, Thirsk, YO7 1ET, on the market square. Marage Road and Millgate car parks are both pay and display, three or four minutes' walk. Market days are Monday and Saturday, when the square fills early.
- Can I change or cancel an afternoon tea booking?
- We need at least 72 hours' notice to cancel. There is nothing to pay up front, but everything is baked on the morning for the tables we know about, so late notice means food already made. Ring 01845 523869 as soon as you know. Moving a booking to another date is usually easier than cancelling it, so ask.
- Are dogs welcome at afternoon tea?
- Yes. Dogs are welcome inside the cafe, there are treats behind the counter and a water bowl by the door.
Something we have not covered? Send us a question or ring 01845 523869 and ask.
Book a table for the stand
24.9 per person, minimum 2 guests, any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays. Pick a date and the kitchen will start on it that morning.
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