UYE @ Tea Rooms

Tea + Cake x Unilocalers — Spillages + (6Banterful Beauties) x (10Mini Sandwiches) = Good Times!

This UYE was full of firsts for me.
–First time travelling on a London bus that smelled like vomit.
–First time visiting Stoke Newington.
–First time participating in British tea time.
–First time eating double cream.
And I tell you what, travelling on that vomit bus for 40 minutes to get to ‘Stokey’ for tea with Unilocalers was totally worth it. Sure, I didn’t realize posh tea timers have to work for their food (i.e., sieve their own tea) initially, but I caught on easier than a few other people at the table. All the tea, cakes, scones and finger sandwiches I could want for what came out to be a measly £7.50 would get me back to Stoke Newington any time.
Especially if it’s followed up with some delightful vintage shopping at the plethora of stores along Church Street!
And even though it took me a bus ride, a failed train journey, another bus ride, a tube ride and an hour later to get, like, two miles away to Camden.

Crustless sandwiches are ging to win me every time but pairing them with Unilocalers is a mind blowing experience.
Seriously this was a great way to spend the afternoon with Red, Larissa, Sarah, Leon Evelyn and Laura. A tea party perfectly topped off with a browse around the vintage shops in stokey with Larissa — could a girl as for more? Probably but it wouldn’t be clean enough to write on Unilocal

Sitting in the Tea Rooms with friends, me sipping orange juice, everyone else drinking the different varieties of tea available was nice. A few of us dressed in our Sunday best in honour of HRH Lizzie II b*day which is coming up on Tuesday. We reserved a table and had delightfully cut sandwiches and freshly made cakes to eat. It was all splendidly civilised. Not a beer swilling thug, singing football songs in sight.
As all UYE events so far this definitely deserves five stars. I have removed one because their cash till wasn’t working and they couldn’t take cards. I had to run to the nearest cash point, and because of that exertion I reserve one star for myself.

Well aren’t we civilized! Afternoon tea was delightful and the company was as entertaining as usual.
Tea experts like Evelyn M. and Larissa D. ordered the alternative teas, Rob D. and I opted for traditional earl grey and Leon C. sported an OJ. We had our fair share of novice tea room slip-​ups but always good for a giggle. Thanks to Lizzie, I now know the proper way to dress my scones, a delicate balance of clotted cream and fresh jam (slightly more cream than jam) and happily got to taste test all the sandwiches and cakes thanks to Laura N.‘s cake dissection skills.

It’s official — today I put my visa to good use by evoking every British stereotype possible during a mid-​afternoon Sunday tea. Brilliant I do say!
And while I’m saying things, I must also say these cakes were far better than my Betty Crocker boxed cake+diet coke delicacy that I’ve over indulged in in the not so distant past. The Tea Rooms’ atmosphere was quaint without seeming stuffy, and you can’t beat the price! While there, I did my best not to get too excited about the Lilliputian servings and settings, nor to get too enraged about the terrible right-​handism being blatantly overlooked. (What the hell is a cake fork, anyway?) And I managed to have a lovely time.
But QE II would NOT have been pleased with my non-​leaf-​sieving etiquette. She also would not have been happy with my all out mayonnaise aversion and thus avoidance, as I’m beginning to believe it’s the sole National sauce and is by law, required in mass quantities on everything.
Luckily I was with a bunch of Unilocalers who take me for who I am, diet coke cake eating, leaf-​drinking, mayo-​scraping, elbow resting me. No judging in these Tea Rooms. I’m definitely ready for my palace debut! Or not.