Tearooms

Doilies and clotted cream, china dolls and Princess Di trinkets… If the sun weren’t blazing down and mopeds whizzing past outside, you could easily think you were deep in the English countryside once you step into
Mrs. T’s Victorian Tearoom (Willowbank, 126 Somerset Rd., tel. 441/234-1616, noon–5 p.m. Tues.–Sun., except holidays). The tearoom enjoyed huge success for several years on Middle Road in Southampton [1]; when owner/manager Penny Terceira retired, Willowbank incorporated the beloved tearoom—along with much of the memorabilia and collectibles—in a converted library, where the eatery now looks perfectly at home alongside cedar furniture and a quaint old bread oven.

Homespun soups ($7), salads ($11.50), sandwiches ($8), and, of course, high tea for two (scones, finger sandwiches, cakes, cookies and tea, $28) remain highlights of the menu. Meals are served on a delightfully mixed array of china, also part of Terceira’s collection, adding to the dollhouse-like surroundings.