Lavenham Blue Vintage Tea Rooms caught my eye as soon as we drove up the road to Lavenham’s market square on a late Friday afternoon. This charming 15th century timber-framed cottage, with its striking windows, white walls and blue signs, sits on the corner overlooking the square. The welcoming front door is on the side of the house and there’s even a garden. We felt as though we had stumbled upon a hidden gem.

Paulo and I, unsure of the closing time, couldn’t resist popping into the tea room to have a look. It turns out we arrived 15 minutes before closing but we were warmly greeted by owner Amanda Mortimer and not made to feel rushed in the least. Although we didn’t have to, we kept our order simple so we wouldn’t stay too long. We settled in comfortably at a table by the window and admired the surroundings.

The gramophone, tea pot collection, lace tablecloths, bunting, candy jars and old family photos added to the ambience. Everything about this delightful tea room softly stated vintage, from the name Lavenham Blue reminiscent of the 18th century nursery rhyme Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly) to the white and blue colours bringing to mind blue patterns on antique white china.

It’s no wonder we felt so at home. We found out that Amanda converted the ground floor of her lovely cottage into this tea room. Every single customer is like a welcomed guest into her house.

Our impeccably laid out table showed the greatest attention to detail with matching place mats, napkins and tea cosy. A porcelain bell was placed on the table to ring for free tea refills.

The Earl Grey tea was excellent. The tea lover in me had a peek at the tag (yes, I am that person) and noted it was from Ridgways. Good to know!

I had a warm fluffy cheese scone served with butter curls – another wonderful attention to detail. Paulo’s victoria sponge was about a mile high! It was served with cream in a shot glass.

We loved this place so much we reserved a table there and then for lunch the following day.

I’m glad we booked as Saturdays at Lavenham Blue Vintage Tea Rooms are quite busy. Both ploughman lunches on the menu (ham & cheese and pork pie) sounded good but when Amanda told us about The Works Ploughmans we couldn’t resist!

The Works Ploughmans featured a selection of delights beautifully arranged on a slate platter lined with a paper doily. The Works included – are you ready? – a traditional pork pie, Suffolk ham, cheese, a wedge of crusty bread, celery, fresh salad and four porcelain spoons to hold butter curls, piccalilli, chutney and pickled onions. Such a lovely presentation!

Lavenham Blue are transparent about their suppliers. The excellent pork pie and Suffolk ham came from Lavenham Butchers on the High Street. The fantastic bread was made at Sparling & Faiers bakery only a few doors down. You can’t get any more local than that! Everything was fresh and delicious. We made a note to stock up on goodies from these shops.

We had the privilege of meeting Amanda’s mum Margaret who bakes many of the treats. She came in with freshly baked chocolate and gin & tonic cupcakes so we couldn’t resist getting dessert. Well, it would have been rude not to! We ordered one of each as we couldn’t decide on the flavour. The chocolate cupcake was scrumptious but Margaret is onto a real winner with the G&T! Extra points for serving ice cream with the cupcakes.

The foodie in me loved this fabulous tea room for its delicious fare and meticulous presentation but it goes above and beyond that. It’s the special feeling of being a valued guest in someone’s precious home. Lavenham Blue Vintage Tea Rooms recently celebrated its second birthday but I thought it had been around much longer. It’s definitely because it’s such a warm and inviting place. May Lavenham Blue enjoy many happy returns!

The owners, managers or staff did not invite me to visit this establishment and were unaware that my experience would be the basis of a written review. It is based on my experience at my own cost and I did not receive compensation for my review.

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