On our last day in Edinburgh, we finally made it to this little, out-of-the-way tea room down Chalmer’s Close. It’s a small, narrow, two-room tea room with mis-matched furniture, tea ware, and fabrics, but it’s so charming you can’t help but love it.
We have seen a couple of YouTube videos on Forsyth’s Tea Room and the quirky owner, Christine, so we knew going in this wouldn’t be your typical tea room experience. We weren’t disappointed. Firstly, Christine had purple hair. That threw us initially. LOL
We also knew, from previous reviews, that service wasn’t that speedy but the food was good. Yes, to both counts on that. She’s one woman working behind the counter with some help from friends who would pop in from time to time. Christine told us she had dislocated her shoulder and needed to take a rest. She would not be here next week, so we were lucky to have met her this week. I would have been disappointed had she not been there.
Dave ordered a toasted tuna fish sandwich and I ordered the Afternoon Cream Tea. The scone was VERY good and the tea was lovely. Yes, the cups and saucers didn’t match…and I’m perfectly fine with that. If I wanted perfect symatry, I would have gone to Fortnum and Mason (something I’d still love to do, mind you!).
Someone pointed out the printed photo of Susan Boyle and Christine tacked to the board behind the counter. Susan Boyle asked Christine for HER photo with her…not the other way around. For this tiny little tea room to be getting a reputation on YouTube without a website or a social media presence is pretty special. I asked her for a photo with me. Certainly not as special as the Susan Boyle pic, but I’m glad I got it.
One review has said it was like having tea at your Grandma’s house and I suspect that it’s exactly like having tea at your Grandmother’s house would be. Since I’ve never had the pleasure of having tea with either of my grandmothers, I’ll take this as being my one and only experience like that. I loved it. Very quirky, but loving and warm. Christine even gave me a free bottle of Ginger Wine. I took it graciously, but never drank it. I don’t care for ginger tea, so ginger wine wasn’t going to be any better, but it was the thought that counts and I thanked her.
We also took some lemon muffins and scones for breakfast the next morning and they were terrific. I’m so glad we stopped. As long as you know what type of tea room it is and you’re not in a great hurry, it’s a charming spot.
Tea, Travel & Brain Aneurysm Awareness 