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
Afternoon tea · Celebrations
Afternoon tea for a birthday, a shower or a send-off
Afternoon tea is what people book when there is something to mark and nobody wants a formal dinner. It takes about an hour, it feeds everybody properly, and it works just as well for a christening lunch as for a hen party.
24.9 a head, booked any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays. Up to 6 can book online, and up to 20 in the private room next door.
Two ways to do it
In the cafe, or in the room next door
A table in the cafe
Best for two to six people. Book online, add a note about the occasion, and turn up. The cafe seats 24, so a small party sits among everyone else with the market square out of the window.
- Requested online in a couple of minutes
- Arrive any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays
- Dogs welcome, which matters more than people admit
The private room
For seven up to twenty. Newly refurbished, completely separate from the cafe, with its own entrance and its own toilet, a main room and a breakout room. For the time you have booked, it is yours.
- Catered by the same kitchen as the cafe
- Layout changes to suit the day
- Arranged by phone, so we get the details right
Occasions
What people book it for
Birthdays
A table of four or six in the cafe, or the whole room next door for a bigger one. Tell us whose birthday it is and roughly what age when you book, so we can pitch the day right. A tenth birthday and a seventieth want different things from us.
Baby showers
Afternoon tea suits a shower better than a sit-down meal: it lasts a couple of hours and everyone can move about, so people drift between conversations. The private room works well when there are gifts and games involved.
Hen parties
The daytime kind. Afternoon tea for the group, the room to yourselves if you want it, and a cake if the day calls for one. Ring us with the numbers and the date and we will tell you what fits.
Anniversaries
Two people at a table by the window, or twenty of you in the room next door for a golden wedding. Both work. If it is a landmark year, say so when you book and we will make a bit of a fuss without making a scene.
Christenings and naming days
Church, then across to the square. The private room has its own entrance, so a christening party arriving together does not have to file through a cafe full of Saturday shoppers.
Funeral teas
We do these, and we do them quietly. See below for how it works, because it deserves more than a paragraph in a grid.
Funeral teas
After a funeral
We do funeral teas, and there is no clever way to write about it, so here is how it works.
Ring 01845 523869 with the date, the time you expect people to arrive and a rough number. That is all we need to start. Sandwiches, scones, cake and hot drinks, set out in the private room so the family are together and away from the cafe, or in the cafe itself for a smaller group.
Numbers after a funeral are always a guess. Tell us your best estimate and we will plan for it moving, because it usually does. If there is something the family particularly want on the table, say so and we will make it.
You will not have to fill anything in online, and we will not chase you.
Cake
A cake made for the day
Two layer cakes from 40, seven flavours, buttercream and edible garden flowers, plus brownie towers if that suits the crowd better. Same kitchen, same phone call.
Dietary needs
Tell us for the whole table
Gluten free, vegan, allergies, children. Send them all in one go when you book the group, and ring if any of them is serious.
As a present
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.
Arranging it
What to have ready when you ring
1
The date and time
In the cafe, any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays. For the private room we can be more flexible.
2
Rough numbers
Adults and children. It can move later; we would rather have a number to start from.
3
The occasion
Birthday, shower, wake, anniversary. It changes how we set the room.
4
Anything dietary
All of it in one go, and ring rather than type if it is an allergy.
Coming from further afield? The trains, buses and parking page is worth sending round the group, and plan a day in Thirsk covers what to do with the rest of the afternoon.
Questions people ask
Celebrations, answered
- Can I book afternoon tea for a birthday?
- Yes. Up to 6 guests book online in the normal way, then ring 01845 523869 to tell us it is a birthday so we can plan the table and anything you want made. For more than that, ring and we will set it up as a group booking.
- How many people can you seat for a private party?
- Up to 20 in the event space, which is a separate room with its own entrance and its own toilet. The cafe itself seats 24, so anything above a couple of tables is better in the room.
- Is the event space actually private?
- Yes. It is separate from the main cafe, with its own entrance and its own toilet, and for the time you have booked it the room is yours. There is a main room and a breakout room, and the layout changes to suit the day.
- Can you make a cake for the occasion?
- Yes. Celebration cakes are made in the same kitchen, from 40 for a six inch, in seven flavours, iced in buttercream and finished with edible garden flowers. Order it in the same phone call and the kitchen handles both.
- Can we bring our own cake?
- Ring and ask. We make cakes ourselves, so tell us what you have in mind and we will give you a straight answer either way.
- Do you do funeral teas?
- Yes. Ring 01845 523869 with the date, the rough number and the time, and we will take it from there. One phone call settles it. Sandwiches, scones, cake and hot drinks, in the private room if you want the family kept together.
- Can we decorate the room?
- Ask when you book. Tell us what you are planning and when you would want to get in to set up, and we will tell you what works around the rest of the day.
- How far ahead should I book a celebration?
- As far as you can, especially for a Saturday or anything over ten people. A small table can often be sorted in a week; a full room in the school holidays wants longer.
- What does it cost for a group?
- Afternoon tea is 24.9 a head, the same as it is for two people at a table. Room hire, catering beyond afternoon tea and anything else is priced when we talk, because it depends on the day and the numbers.
- Can you cater dietary requirements for a party?
- Yes, and a private booking is the easiest place to do it because the kitchen plans the whole room at once. Send every requirement in one message rather than in dribs and drabs, and ring us if any of them is a serious allergy.
- Do you take a deposit for a private booking?
- For the room, yes: 50 holds the date whatever the size of the group, and it comes off your bill on the day. Send us the details from the event space page, we check the date and email you back, and the payment link is in that email. A group at tables in the cafe is arranged by phone, and we will tell you what we need from you then. Afternoon tea booked online is paid in the cafe on the day.
- Can I give afternoon tea as a present instead?
- Yes. Gift vouchers come in tiers of 25, 50, 75 and 100 and are valid for 12 months, spendable on afternoon tea or anything else in the cafe.
Tell us what the day is
Ring 01845 523869 with a date and a rough number, and we will do the rest. Small tables can book online right now.
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