Orange Pekoe
One weekend earlier this Spring (do you remember the warm weather? It was so long ago…), Friend G and I decided to venture out of central London (whoa~) and try a place that has come highly recommended through word of mouth and from the book Tea and Cake London which I blogged about a while back: Orange Pekoe Teas, around the corner from Barnes Bridge. If you look on the map, Barnes is somewhere West, near Putney I believe, right on the river. It’s lovely, like a quaint little village almost in the heart of London.
Less than 20 minutes from Waterloo the trip was well worth it. I’d probably put Orange Pekoe in a similar category to Bea’s of Bloomsbury or Camellia’s Tea House – very well thought through cafes that don’t blow the budget but with amazing selections of tea and stunning baked goods to match the quality of the beverages.
My tea served in a fab little cup and a very desirable teapot
Orange Pekoe has a no photos policy so I’ve only got pictures of the food and the outside but I thought the place was lovely – really bright and airy with fabulous wallpaper in parts (think black velvet cameos on a yellow background in one room, charcoal with white birdcages in another).
A rather scrumptious spread.
We ordered the afternoon tea (£16.50 per person) and were in for a right treat. The sandwiches were classically English – the usual smoked salmon, cucumber and mint, egg mayonnaise, cheese and pickle. The scones were super – so light and fresh served with jam and cream. The highlight though was the curly wurly cake… perfect combo of chocolate, vanilla and caramel with a cream cheese based icing.
Curly Wurly Cake
Their selection of tea is exceptional. Like Camellia’s in Kingly Court, Orange Pekoe is first and foremost a teashop (I think!) and it has a wide variety of tea sourced and blended by the owners. G went for the Ceylon Kenilworth Estate in memory of our time in Sri Lanka while I went for a light but rather lovely Antique Rose Chinese White tea.
I don’t know why but I really want this tea pot in our little East End Abode…
We spent a couple of hours there having our usual grand old girly gossip and followed our visit with a short walk along the Thames. We’ve already planned to go back – some time before the summer ends. This is a great little find and well worth the trip. Plus, it kind of felt like we’d had a slight holiday from London even if it was only 20 minutes out and for just a few hours…
Orange Pekoe can be found at 3 White Heart Lane, Barnes, SW13 0PX
That looks like my kind of place. I love the sound of curly wurly cake. It was lovely to meet you on Thursday.
You too lady – I would go back just for the cake. Delicious.
This place looks lovely and it is close to me as well. I have a friend visiting next month and I’ve asked her if she wants to do an afternoon tea. I might check this out. Also, I got a fascinator finally! It’s pink, I’ve posted a picture on my blog.
Nice one! Your outfit for the Garden Party looks fab – have you been now? I’m going on Tuesday – have ordered a bright yellow fascinator from Ebay which I’m desperately hoping will hold in my hair (buys huge can of hairspray~).
Yup done and dusted. Weather was great, tea was nice and got a glimpse of the Queen and Phillip. Have fun, hope you have good weather also. I love yellow, post pics!
Definitely will! Loved your post about it – so cool that you got a few sneaky pics too.
No photos? Really – is that because it’s a gallery of sorts?
It looks lovely otherwise!
I’m not sure but I normally hate it when restaurants have a no photo policy, however, the service was great and it does look gorgeous inside so I let it go this time.
HELLOOOO Curly wurly cake!!
It was out of this world!
amazing place !