Afternoon tea is where Tea Time started. Rosa was serving it on vintage crockery she collected herself, out of a 1967 Citroen van, before there was a cafe to serve it in.
Here is what you actually get, and the things worth knowing before you book.
What is on the stand
Finger sandwiches: smoked salmon with Longley Farm soft cheese, Yorkshire ham and piccalilli, Yorkshire cheese and apricot chutney, and pastrami with coleslaw.
Then a sweet scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream, and three of the cakes that came out of the oven that morning. The cakes are a genuine surprise rather than a fixed list, because it depends what Rosa baked.
Hot drinks are unlimited, and so are iced tea and iced coffee. The tea is True Tea Co., blended in Harrogate and served in an individual pot. It is 24.9 a head, minimum two people.
The stand does shift a little with the season, so the menu page is the one to trust over this post if the two ever disagree.
How much food it is
More than people expect, which is why this section exists.
If you are coming after a full breakfast somewhere, you will struggle. Ask and we will box up whatever you cannot finish, which is a normal thing to want rather than a defeat.
Two of you sharing one afternoon tea does not work, incidentally: the minimum is two servings because the stand is built per person.
Booking a time
Book any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays, when we close at 3.
Allow about an hour. That is how long most tables take over the sandwiches, the scones and the cakes, with the pot refilled along the way.
You request a time online and pay in the cafe on the day. Booking ahead is what lets the kitchen bake to numbers. A walk-in afternoon tea depends entirely on what is in the cabinet on the day, so it is not something to build a plan around.
A later time, half past two or three, or two on a Sunday, is the better choice if you are also doing something in the town first, because it leaves the whole morning free. Twelve is better if you have a drive home.
Allergies and swaps
Tell us when you book, not on the day.
Scones made without gluten-containing ingredients and vegan cakes are usually no trouble given some notice, and sandwich fillings can be swapped. Ask when you book and we will tell you what we can do for your date rather than guessing here.
One honest limit: we are a small kitchen that handles flour every morning, so we cannot promise an allergen-free environment, only that we will not use the ingredient. If that distinction matters for you, the dietary page sets out exactly what we can and cannot do.
Making it an occasion
Birthdays, anniversaries and baby showers usually want the event space upstairs, which seats up to 20, has its own entrance and can be catered with afternoon teas for the whole room.
Add a celebration cake and we will bring it out at the right moment. Give us a week to be sure of it. Less than that is sometimes possible depending on how the kitchen is fixed that week, so ask rather than assuming it is too late.
Booking
Pick a date and a time on the booking page.
If it is a gift, vouchers are easier than trying to book on somebody else's behalf without knowing their diary.
And if you are coming on a market Monday or Saturday, or a race day, book earlier than you think. The what's on page tells you which days those are.
