Last weekend, the bloke and I met with a group of friends. I'd arranged to go to Lilly's Tea Rooms in Wickham, Hampshire. I've previously been here before, and they now take bookings for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon teas. There's also a more traditional tea room in the village which I used to frequent before Lilly's existed. The building now occupied by Lilly's used to be a pub before it was taken over several years ago now.
Wickham is an attractive market town with a large square, but the village has gotten so much busier now than it used to be. There's quite a few small shops and the tea rooms to visit. It's difficult to find a place to park, as we discovered this time. (In the past, it was busy but never as busy.) There's a few independent shops and an award-winning butcher's, pub, and Indian restaurant.
Two of us decided to have the afternoon tea, which came on the three-tier stand. It included finger sandwiches with removed crusts, and we had a selection of these. However, we are both vegetarian (or eat only selected meat), so we asked for simple cheddar sandwiches. We also had a choice between a fruit or a plain scone, and I choose plain. This came with strawberry jam and clotted cream. We were also given the choice of cakes, and I asked for the chocolate while my friend had the Victoria Sponge.
Others in the group opted to have burgers or another meal for lunch. That's the good thing about Lilly's - you can order afternoon tea or for a more substantial lunch so that everyone can choose what they wish to eat.
Lilly's takes bookings now, which is great because it's the perfect place to go to meet up with friends. The rooms are bright and spacious and I love the vintage feel. It also overlooks the main square in Wickham.
I enjoyed my afternoon tea, but I preferred the chocolate cake that the traditional tea room across the street sells. I've also had better scones. These ones were very light and not too heavy or filling, but they tasted a little more like a bun instead of a scone.
Overall, it is a good place to go for afternoon tea and is one that I recommend. However, if you're after a more traditional place, try the tea room in the arcade in the square in Wickham. This has been around for awhile and is the first place that I'd had afternoon tea in the UK. (This was before afternoon tea was served in hotels in London, and it was just before my first visit to Betty's tea rooms in York.) Enjoy!
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