Located: Bradford, UK
What: Tearoom, Pastry
Overall experience: 8/10
Since I moved to the United Kingdom, I have been wanting to try traditional tea time. I didn't have the opportunity to do that when I was in London traveling so I've been counting the days until I could go around Bradford. There is a really nice tea room called The Ivy in Leeds that I've wanted to try before. But it can be a hassle to get there, with the bus and the trains, and then walk into a new city trying to figure it out.
Anyway, I got the opportunity to go with a friend that I made who lives in my dorm building. We walked to the bus station and took the bus to the outskirts of town then we walked to Pearls Tearoom. It was directly behind a gas station so I felt a little odd but when we walked in, the interior was stunning. There were a lot of people there but we were able to snag a table in the corner in the back, so we had a view of everything, which was nice. The interior had these beautiful chandeliers and pops of blue. There were marble tables and a beautiful, vintage baby grand piano in the front of the place. It was odd and out of place but it worked well together.
We got the British Afternoon Tea Plate that allowed us a choice of special tea, a plate of 4 different kinds of sandwiches, scones, and baked goods. Unfortunately, we were not offered a choice in specialty drinks, which was a little disappointing because we wanted a different type of tea than the one that we were offered. But the tea was still good. I'd never put milk in my tea before so it was not only beautiful to look at the mix between dark tea and milk, but it was also delicious.
One of the things that I am struggling with while living in the United Kingdom is that there is… not that there isn't….. Um…. How do I say this? Umm…. WHERE IS THE FLAVOR?! I'm sorry. But I had an egg mayo sandwich and there was no salt or pepper on it, there was no garlic or paprika. I'm struggling with the fact that the United Kingdom doesn't have any flavor or spices. I'm so confused and I miss it. I miss those things. So the sandwiches were good but spices would make it over the top delicious. Are the British afraid of spices? I don't get it. Okay, rant over. Sorry.
It was fine, it was fun! It was gorgeous, I felt fancy. Will I go again? Probably. But it's not something that I would go to once a week but maybe a couple times a year. It is defo a place to go if my family comes from America or I make friends who want to go out to afternoon tea.
Rating:
Environment: 10/10
Product: 8/10
Recommend to someone else: 10/10