Teatime in Manchester, City of Cotton

Richmond Tea Rooms

46 Sackville Street, Manchester M1 3WF

+44 161 697 4474 • richmondtearooms.com

Going out to tea at Richmond Tea Rooms, in an old shipping warehouse in The Gay Village, takes you into the quirky, witty, world of rabbit holes, outsize playing cards on the chessboard walls, giant pocket watches, signposts that say “Tea Party,” “Somewhere,” “Go Back,” and notices demanding, “Eat Me” and “Drink Me.” And there are lots and lots of flowers everywhere—they deck the porchway, flood the entrance, decorate the windowsills, tumble from the ceiling, and festoon picture frames and stairways, brightening every corner. No wonder the theatrical ground floor with its riot of colour and exuberance, the Orangery (a cosy garden room with palms and a trompe l’oeil ceiling of blue sky and dappled white clouds—cheery on even the wettest of Manchester days), and the magical Enchanted Forest downstairs welcomes an endless stream of excited customers and groups arriving for birthday parties, weddings, Mad Hatter’s tea parties, evenings of burlesque, and all manner of other celebrations.

From breakfast time to closing at 8 or 9 p.m., the menu offers an amazing range of hot and cold, savoury and sweet dishes for every dietary need, a wonderful selection of teas and herbals, and five set afternoon teas. The Queen’s Tea has all the traditional elements; the Richmond Tea adds a glass of bubbly; for the boys, the Gentleman’s Tea is a feast of sandwiches, fish goujons and chips, Scotch egg, scones, a bottle of beer, and, of course, a pot of tea; the Hatter’s Tea is without the cakes (but only those with a tiny appetite could forego such indulgence); and the Alice Tea is scones with jam and cream and a pot of tea. The food is delicious, the staff are really kind and caring, and the atmosphere is delight- fully wacky, eccentric, and fun. This has to be one of the best themed tearooms ever!