British cuisine has always taken a bit of a kicking from visitors from abroad. We continue to known as rosbifs to the French because of our supposed love of all forms of roasted meat, particularly beef. As if that is a bad thing! Anyone who has tried my roast potatoes (and to a lesser degree my Yorkshire puddings), knows that when properly prepared, traditional British food is among the finest on the planet (I prefer slow-cooked shoulder of lamb, if anyone is interested). But what could be finer than a proper afternoon tea?
Apparently (and you can thank Wikipedia for this) afternoon tea was invented by Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford, who got hangry of an afternoon in the 1840s, and so wanted something light to take her to dinner time. Thank goodness another member of the aristocracy had invented the sandwich 70 years before, otherwise afternoon tea might never have come to pass.
One of the great scandals of the age (after 125ml glasses of wine) is the price of afternoon tea, particularly in the past few years. You can easily pay £60 a head in London, and even here in Richmond, the Petersham charges £50 (up from about £30 a few years ago). Let’s face it, how expensive is a cake, two scones, a pot of tea and a sandwich per person? Which is why it is a joy to pay £25 at Newens near Kew Gardens for what is arguably the best afternoon tea in the South East (*much* better than the Ritz!)
Newens is better known as The Original Maid of Honour. If you drive to Kew Gardens, you might see it on the road, looking like someone has dropped the Old Curiosity Shop from a great height onto a main thoroughfare.
Parking, as you can see, is not easy…
A “Maid of Honour” is a type of tart, really the love child of a Pastel de Nata and an Apple Turnover: A lovely puff pastry case filled with a type of custardy curd cheese. And if you want one, this is the place to come, where they have been baking them for over 150 years using the same methods that have worked for all that time. Whether they are the original is probably up for debate, as they date back to Henry VIII time, but I think Newens can definitely claim to be the oldest (and possibly only) shop set up specifically to sell Maids of Honour tarts. And lucky me, it is a short bus ride away.
Over the years, this has become our favourite place to celebrate family birthdays, particularly for those members of the family who seem to have already bought themselves everything they could ever want, and have not left anything for people to buy them for their birthday. Maids of Honour do not travel well through the post.
It is as old-fashioned inside as it is outside, and there is not a huge amount of space. There is an outside seating area, in a wide corridor not to everyone’s taste, but on this occasion we were seated in the bay window, with a nice view of the main road, which is also the main waiting area for the tea room: Clearly they were busy. It was a little squashed for 7, but you are here for the food (fortunately).
There are all sorts of Afternoon Teas you can order, with different levels of fanciness (and booze), but we went for the basic selection, with mainly the traditional afternoon teas, but two savoury teas as well. The savoury teas come with a pasty or a slice of quiche, and also sausage rolls. We asked for a vegetarian selection, but were still offered the sausage rolls, which worried me a little as to the meat content of the filling.
A wide variety of tea and coffee is on offer. Filter coffee is included in the main afternoon tea, but if you want anything fancier, there is a “coffee upgrade” supplement, which is fair, given how reasonable the price of the meal is. The leaf teas themselves are great: I had Jasmine Green, which was at the top end of expectations. There was a lot of confusion actually getting the teas onto the table, as our order was completely messed up, with random teas arriving (is Cherry actually even a tea?), and some like the decaf we ordered not arriving at all. Annoying, but a solvable problem (eventually).
So, I messed up on the photos of the tea. It was getting on for 4pm by this time, and I had not had lunch. Unlike 19th Century aristocrats, I can’t eat lunch and then an afternoon tea, so I have to starve myself to get the full enjoyment. Which meant I was in full locust mode when the tea arrived, only remembering to get the camera out when much of it was gone.
I should point out that while l am a great fan of the Maids of Honour, others in the family swear by the eclairs (Coffee or Chocolate to taste). I am pleased to say for those of you who join us for salivating food pix, I do have a few from previous visits:
The sandwiches are very sandwich like (not in a bad way), but the scones are superb. A tiny bit soft for my liking, but I am told that I only like harder scones because everyone else’s are stale, and I have become institutionalised. Could well be true.
If you are a visitor to London, the chances are you will end up at Kew Gardens. Do not eat there. The food is not great, and the prices are ridiculous. It is a disgrace that we feel it is ok to rip off tourists for their food and drink who have already spent a small fortune to get in. Instead, pre-book a slot at Newen’s. You will be treated to a well-priced tea and enjoy what is British cuisine at its finest (sweet or savoury: the quiche is delicious) – Apart, that is, from Sunday lunch at my house…
Conclusion
Overall Rating: 5/5
- Food: 5/5
- Service: 4/5
- Ambiance: 4.5/5
- Drinks: 5/5
- Value for Money: 5/5
- Would we go back: YES, YES, YES
Newens: https://theoriginalmaidsofhonour.co.uk/
