I love tea rooms – so long as they serve coffee. Mostly they work hard to create an ambience – tea rooms are like fancy dress for shops. A tea room well done generally makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a different space in time. The visit itself becomes an experience. That’s what I love about tea rooms. One such a place is the Victory Tea Room in Branstone on the Isle of Wight.
An old school bus from Scotland, the double-decker was brought to the Isle of Wight and turned into a tea room right out of the 1950’s. Complete with pictures of a visit from Queen Victoria (or Queen Victoria from the Victorian Strollers, anyway) and other 1950’s paraphernalia.
The bunting across the windows adds a festive feel and on a sunny day it’s a perfect way to spend an hour.
The Victory Tea Room serve light lunches – an ideal stop if you’ve been exploring the art village and antique shop. We’ve had Ploughman sandwiches there, which were delicious, well prepared and fresh. The hot chocolate and coffee were good too, and we popped in just as they were closing, but they were still gracious and didn’t make us feel rushed or in the way, but as a result, we didn’t have any cake – We’ll definitely be doing that next time though!
There are conflicting opening times online for Victory Tea Room, some say they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, some say open from 8 – 4 and others say 11 – 4. Call them on 07585447930 to confirm opening if you’re making the trip specifically.
Also, people often seem to struggle to find the Victory Tea Room – it’s on the grounds of the House of Chilli, with free parking on site.
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Find out more on the Victory Team Room website here
