Tuesday, 26 June 2018

Regency Tearoom - The Jane Austen Centre - Bath


After walking around the lovely Jane Austen Centre Museum downstairs, trying on regency dress and having a photo with Mr Darcy, the Austen experience isn’t complete without a trip to the Regency Tearoom upstairs.

The two rooms are painted a luxurious red with beautiful gold detailing in the curtains, the light fixtures and the frame on a large portrait of Colin Firth’s Mr Darcy which takes ‘pride’ of place over the fireplace. All around us are Austen-esque things, from the books on the mantelpiece and the badges on the staff, proclaiming them all to be Austen characters, to the menu boasting a host of well named, themed afternoon teas such as ‘Lady Catherine’s Proper Cream Tea’, ‘Mr Dashwood’s Tea’ and the one I have chosen, (as I’m sure many ladies would), ‘Tea With Mr Darcy’. The version of this tea for two consists of one each of three different types of sandwiches, for the vegetarian option we had cream cheese, cheese and chutney and egg, one fruit and one plain scone (I recommend cutting both in half and having half of each) and one each of three types of mini cakes, we had chocolate, coffee and hazelnut and orange. All of it is absolutely delicious but a little too much food even for two of us and we ended up sharing some of it around!

Because of the gorgeous weather today everyone is out and about and the tearoom is really busy meaning the staff are having a hard time keeping up and unfortunately there’s been a few problems like dirty glasses arriving at the table but no water to go with them and never receiving plates to decant our treats onto. Trying to grab their attention was quite difficult too! However, I completely understand, on a busy day in a cafĂ© or tearoom it is really hard to concentrate on finishing a job before starting another. Especially if customers, like the gentleman on the table next to us, start complaining and through all the heat, the rush and the rude customers the staff still managed to be friendly and smile, a great achievement, I think.

I love the theming that could be seen throughout the tearoom and the menu and all the lovely staff who managed to keep going through the madness. A really great atmosphere and a lovely experience, I definitely recommend visiting the museum first and really immersing yourself in the Austen world.

Twitter: @janeaustenbath
Facebook: /janeaustencentrebath
Website: janeausten.co.uk
Address: 40 Gay Street, Bath, BA1 2NT

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