Tea Cosies - Yeadon Leeds

  

Tea Cosies Yeadon - Leeds

Tea Cosies

10 High Street

Yeadon

Leeds

LS19 7PP

Date Visited : 29 May 2014

Price: £9.45

OR £14.45 for 2 people

Gluten Free Price: £9.45

I came across this tea shop whilst searching on the internet for local tea shops, and decided to give it a try, mainly because it offers gluten free options.  Not many places, especially tea shops, tend to serve gluten free food so it can be quite tricky trying to find places that cater for coeliacs…so with the prospect of both gluten free sandwiches and cakes on the menu, we were really looking forward to this little indulgent treat!

The tea shop is a fairly new establishment, opening in early January this year.  The cafe is family run and all the produce is home baked on the premises daily.   It is located at the bottom of Yeadon’s High Street, just around the corner from the Town Hall square.  There is a small car park (which is free) just a short two minutes’ walk from the Tea Shop, so don’t worry about having to park miles away and then face a mini hike before you can eat your lunch.

From the outside the shop looks quite big with its large glass windows, but on entering you find it is actually quite small and cosy.  The café is quaintly decorated in pretty pastel shades of green and pink with flowery wallpaper and pictures and buntings adorning the walls.  Twinkling glass chandeliers hang from the ceiling and an ornate Welsh dresser sits in the corner adorned with an array of mismatched china teacups, whilst a (rather extensive) collection of teapots are whimsically displayed all around the shop.  As an avid collector of teapots myself (no mocking, please), I rather enjoyed the mismatched teapot collection.

Being quite a cosy tea shop, there were only four small tables inside so I would advise booking in advance if you are planning to go so as not to be disappointed.   Although there is additional seating outside which would be perfect for sunnier, warmer days, but sadly when we went it was far too chilly to sit outside.

The table was already set for our arrival with mismatched china cups and saucers lacy table cloth and fresh pink roses in the centre.  Everything looked really pretty and the place had a warm friendly atmosphere. 

  

We were handed our menu by the welcoming friendly staff.  Myself and two guests had booked afternoon tea, one being gluten free.  

There was a wide range of sandwiches to choose from, which was a welcome treat…in most tea rooms you are restricted to just two choices and these often have to be the same as the other person you are sharing with, which can be very annoying if you’re as fussy as me!  So it was a pleasant surprise to find that there were no such rules here and you were free to choose any combination you liked.  The choices consisted of tuna and cucumber, ham and mustard, beef and horseradish sauce, egg and cress, and cheese with chutney.  Whilst there were a variety of choices, there was still no tinned salmon and cucumber which is my absolute favourite – I have only found one tea shop that does this so far!

Similarly there were plenty of teas to pick from.  From the regular English breakfast to the more unusual peppermint or Meo Feng green tea.  There were no tea bags in sight though – only traditional fresh leaf tea, which pleased my guests who think this is the only way for real tea drinker’s to drink any kind of tea!
 

The afternoon tea came on a three tiered stand to be shared between two and the gluten free tea came on a separate two tier stand.  We were served  four triangle cut sandwiches each in brown and white bread garnished with salad and a selection of cakes ranging from a fruit scone each with jam and cream, a Viennese whirl, lemon drizzle cake, coffee kiss cake, and a fruit flapjack.   The lemon drizzle cake was especially yummy and very light - and it was gluten free!  The gluten free tea also came with a variety of choice ranging from carrot cake, lemon drizzle and a fruit scone.  It is very rare in a tea shop to have gluten free scones (or at least this is what we have found), especially such delicious ones that my guest assured me tasted just like ‘normal ones’!



Gluten Free Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea For Two




















The afternoon tea here was delicious and we were especially impressed with the gluten free options. To have more than one choice of gluten free cake is always a bonus!  The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable and, as well as serving gluten free food, they were more than happy to cater for other dietary requirements on request.  A child’s afternoon tea was also available with smaller portions for a reasonable £4.50.  And as a little extra bonus, I noticed they served marmite on toast as part of their breakfast menu – my favourite!  I find that hardly any cafes, here or abroad, ever seem to serve marmite, it’s always jam, so I always end up having to carry my own little pot around with me (as you do, it’s perfectly normal!).

This lovely quirky café is every afternoon tea lover’s delight and I would definitely recommend it –even if it’s just to pop in for a quick bite of marmite on toast washed down with a hot cup of tea. And if you wanted to make a bit more of a day of it, you could wander around the shops up the High Street or take a stroll around Yeadon Tarn, a large boating lake and park just up the road from the cafe.  On Friday's there is also an open market.

Note:  It does close quite early at 3.30pm, but as long as you are there before this time there is no pressure to leave.

We will definitely be paying another visit very soon!  Gluten free food highly recommended.

Ratings:                                                             Gluten Free Ratings:

Tea: 8/10                                                                          

Sandwiches:  8/10                                                          7/10

Cakes: 9/10                                                                      9/10

Scones: 8/10                                                                    8/10

Service: 10/10                                                                 

Overall: 9/10      
                                                             

Would I return?   Yes