Antiques, fine teas and delicious cakes in this little gem of a place!
I like to eat cakes, that's no secret. But I especially like to eat cakes in unusual, unique and quirky places. I prefer 'one of a kind' places over large chains - especially if they have a vintage twist.
Edinburgh is quite the treasure trove when it comes to fun, cute, interesting and unique cafes - if you know where to look! I'm enjoying seeking out new places to indulge in my cake eating and so last Saturday, Mr Dolly Cupcake and I went in search of a tea shop I'd heard about called 'Anteaques'.
On busy Clerk Street in the centre of Edinburgh, among various shops selling fabrics and knick-knacks and lots of restaurants, and a stone's throw from The Meadows, we found Anteaques.
When we stepped inside, we were taken not only into a warm and cosy tea shop, but a treasure trove filled with antiques for sale, hundreds of teas in every flavour you can think of, locally made Edinburgh chocolate truffles and friendly welcoming staff. Opera music filled our ears and the scents of the bakes, jams and teas made our mouths water. I immediately began to lust over the gorgeous bone china tea sets displayed in the front of the shop. You can never have too many china teacups.
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| So many beautiful teacups! |
There are only four tables in Anteaques (yes - four!) two large tables in the back, two smaller in the front. We decided to wait until a table in the back became available, as I really wanted to sit in the back room which looks like this:
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| Pretty trinkets everywhere |
The lovely lady took my name and booked us a table for half an hour later. Mr Dolly Cupcake and I waited in the pub across the road (a cheeky glass of vino to pass the time) although there are plenty of shops on Clerk Street to look in, or a wander around The Meadows is lovely on a nice day. Otherwise I'd advise booking a table, as chances are you'll have to wait - there was a steady stream of visitors while we were there.
Half an hour later, we were shown to our table and honestly, I have never been anywhere like this before. On every surface something caught my eye, from a pink teapot, to crystal dressing table items, a bowl full of walnuts, silver tankards.
The menu listed hundreds and hundreds of teas in every flavour I could imagine and then some. There were black teas, green teas, seasonal teas, scented teas, Scottish tea and infusions.
I chose the Violet Petal tea which smelled just like Parma Violets and tasted incredible. Mr Dolly Cupcake chose Cherry Almond tea and we shared them - both teas were delicious but as a big fan of anything violet, I did prefer mine!
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| Served on perfect china - we even got gold spoons! |
We ordered a slice of Green Tea Cake each and we got a generous portion:
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| Green Tea Cake |
Delicious cake, I'd never had tea cake before (apart from my own disastrous attempt at baking one) and it was such a unique flavour - very rich and filling. Although we did have room left for scones!
Fresh, soft, delicate scones with clotted cream and the option of various jams. Mr Dolly Cupcake chose strawberry jam and I chose Rose. Mmmmm - this was the nicest jam I've ever eaten. It tasted just like Turkish Delight. It was the perfect accompaniment to my scone and the very generous portion of clotted cream.
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| Delicious cakes, beautiful teas |
We made sure that we took plenty of photos, and of course I had to look at everything a few more times before we left.
Back in the front of the shop, we paid our bill - great value for money, with two pots of tea, two scones with clotted cream and jam and two slices of tea cake costing around £15.
There are teas, crystallized violets and rose petals and pots of jam for sale, including (yay!) my new favourite rose jam.
I am already looking forward to going back to Anteaques, as there are about 100 more teas that I want to try (Chocolate Cherry next, I think) plus some Edinburgh Chocolate Truffles and scones with violet jam with my name on them. Oh, and a few pots of rose jam to take home.
Laura Dolly Cupcake xxx
