As y’all know, I love to try new local spots and support independently owned businesses here in Indy. When Tina from Tina’s Traditional Tearoom in Carmel reached out to me, I was intrigued. I hadn’t heard of this spot, nor had I ever had authentic British tea. (I’ve been to England before, but at the time was really just more interested in frequenting the local pubs.) In all honesty, I didn’t even realize that there were tearooms here in the U.S. until recently. So I looked up the website and accepted the invite with some degree of curiosity!
When visiting a business for a food post, I usually ask for a plus one so I have someone to help me take photos. Turns out, my photographer friend Kaylee was available to attend tea with Brittney of ThePrettyPlus.com and myself, and she has been nice enough to let me use her photos for this post! (Thanks Kaylee!)
Perfecting our royal waves. Also, can I tell you guys, I just finished watching “The Crown” on Netflix a few days right before my visit to Tina’s and it was perfect timing. There is one scene where Queen Elizabeth is SLATHERING clotted cream and jam on a scone and I was like DAMN. THAT LOOKS GOOD. And voila, guess what was on the “Afternoon Tea” tower that we ordered? I was so excited!
Everything is made in-house here, including the jams and cakes! One of my favorite parts of our experience was, Tina herself came over to describe each item on the “Afternoon Tea” tower and told us where the recipes came from. Several of which were her grandmother’s and one cookie recipe was from her home village! The story behind all these yummy treats was part of what really made this experience so authentic and fun!
Below is the “Afternoon Tea” tower. Sandwiches and savory pork pies on the bottom. Fun fact: the chicken salad sandwich is the authentic recipe for “Coronation Chicken Salad” made with curry and developed in England back in 1953 for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.
Scones with clotted cream and jam on the second tier, and sweet treats on top! Two of us ordered the “Afternoon Tea” and one of us got the cheese board, and we all shared. This was more than enough food for the three of us!
The Ploughman’s Platter consisted of traditional cheeses imported from England, house made scones and mini pork pies with butter and fig and ginger jam.
In addition to the afternoon tea and Ploughman’s board (which are options more for tasting everything versus an entree) Tina’s also offers entrees, salads and sandwiches.
And of course, we had tea, from the extensive tea list (both caffeinated and non-caffeinated). Each cup and saucer were different, traditional and oh, so cute!
Even the patio was decorated with a cute little banner and tea cups!
I really thought this was such a cool, unique place in Indy! It would be such a great spot for a girls brunch, lunch or afternoon tea. In fact, I am bringing my 7 year-old niece and one of her friends back next Saturday for a Tea Party. Dress up, tea and sweets! I’ve told them about it already and they are SOO excited!
I’ve also linked my outfit details below for y’all too! My skirt is currently on sale for $29! You can shop using the linked carousel pics below.
A big thank you to Tina for inviting us in! You can check out the full menu, hours and location for Tina’s Tea Room, here.
You can check out Brittney’s blog here, The Pretty Plus. (Plus size fashion, fashion and lifestyle). She’s also done a post on Tina’s tea room, b/c thasss whuttwedo. #bloggersgonnablog
Last but certainly not least, thank you to Kaylee Creighton of Kaylee Creighton Photography for the beautiful photos. You can check out her site, here.
