It’s been a while now since I’ve been in
the UK however haven’t even finished writing all my tea place reviews. There
were some places I decided to simply not write about however The Chelsea Teapot
was not one of them!
We had been having an incredible time in
London, indeed it is one of my favourite places to be. The night before our
walk down the King’s Road we set out to Leicester Square where we were squeezed
into a crowd and stood waiting for close to two hours. The temperature dropped
to a level that would frighten most Australians and then I couldn’t feel my
toes; I was even wearing my snow socks! My lovely husband suggested it was time
to go however I wanted to stay for just a few more minutes and I’m glad we
stuck it out as this happened…
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Now, many people in London seem to find
this ‘normal’ however before this time it is likely that the most famous person
I ever had an encounter with was a local news reader. Now I was rubbing
shoulders with Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Hugh Jackman at the
world premiere of Les Miserables. I have to say there were some crazies in that
crowd. A group of young girls were standing next to me at the fence consistently
shoving me and shouting ‘who’s that!’ I’m not really sure why they were there! After I had a selfie with Helena Bonham Carter they said to me, ‘who was
that!?’ (but you have to imagine it in a rather ocker British accent). Then
they continued on to ask who Stephen Fry and Isla Fisher were. It was at this
point that I felt old and turned to my husband who stuck his hand out and
dragged me through the crowd to the tube. I was cold and tired.
The next morning I was in need of some tea
and The Chelsea Teapot did not disappoint. I must confess that I found this
gorgeous little tea room on Google. Unfortunately I am gluten intolerant and
whenever I go anywhere I tend to Google ‘gluten free’ followed by the suburb or
area I will be in. One of the places that popped up in Kensington and Chelsea
was this tea room. That morning I wanted to do some shopping so we set off on
foot to the King’s Road when I remembered that a tea room in that locale had
popped up on my gluten free search. After the purchase of several, ok dozens of pairs of
shoes we found The Teapot and weren’t disappointed. It really stands out with its colourful exterior on what is otherwise a fairly dull stretch of road.
Image courtesy of The Chelsea Teapot website
This tea room is cute with its pastel
colourings and vintage shabby chic interiors. I loved the church pew bench seat and mismatched but coordinating chairs. Aside from a lovely range of
gluten free cupcakes, of which I selected a beautifully decorated red velvet,
they also had some other sweet treats on offer; my worn out husband enjoyed a
lovely piece of apple pie. Downstairs, aside from a well kept bathroom it
looked like they had a small function area.
I enjoyed a lovely refreshing chamomile tea
from a pretty cup and saucer and appreciated the lovely cutlery. I guess if I
had to describe this tea place it would be something like modern vintage, it
would be what you might expect if you collided my ideas of a tea room with
those of my Nana. The result really is somewhere cute and cosy and perhaps
even a little posh with friendly service and the most amazing gluten free
cupcakes! I even purchased another to take home with me as a snack for later.
By the looks of it they also sell lots of tea paraphernalia too.
I’m glad we visited this tea room and if
you are in the area then I recommend a visit!
The Verdict
Tea Place: The Chelsea Teapot, King’s Road,
Chelsea, London, UK
Rating: 4/5
Comment: A cute interior and lovely gluten
free cakes however, like most London shops it was a little tight inside so
there wasn’t a lot of privacy however the nice range of teas and treats on
offer makes up for that.
I visited in December 2012.
