Though Chaucer never wrote about it (his pilgrims never did actually make it all the way to Canterbury, after all), Tiny Tim's Tearoom is the kind of place that seems worthy of a tale of its own. Housed in an antique building - its only bathrooms are for some reason on the third floor, which requires climbing a rickety staircase and allows a nice view of the dark wood timbers on each level - it's decorated in wicker, frills, and potted plants, and looks like it hasn't changed since the 1980s. But the appealing window display of cakes and tea breads drew me in, as did the sign declaring it a member of the UK Tea Guild and the "only traditional English tearoom in Canterbury." It was my last day in England, and my last chance for a proper English tea.
Though the dining room was full, they squeezed me in at a small table near the window (and slightly hidden behind a potted palm tree). It was after noon, and most of the tables around me were having tea and gigantic slices of cake, which was extremely tempting. But I opted for real food instead, ordering the Ploughman's Lunch - that massive block of cheddar you see in the top picture, served with a thick chunk of wholemeal bread, salad, and a sweet onion-and-raisin jam - and then a Cream Tea for dessert. The three-tiered presentation seemed a bit ostentatious, considering that both scones, while they were of above-average girth, would easily have fit on a single plate. In fact I put them onto a single plate shortly after taking the picture and proceeded to slather them with jam and clotted cream. Tiny Tim's was the only place where I was given butter along with cream to put on my scones, but I didn't use it. The scones, one plain and one raisin, were gorgeously misshapen, and extremely dense and filling. I don't know if I could have finished everything if I hadn't been returning to Japan the next day - but somehow I managed to enjoy every bite.
Though Chaucer never wrote about it (his pilgrims never did actually make it all the way to Canterbury, after all), Tiny Tim's Tearoom is the kind of place that seems worthy of a tale of its own. Housed in an antique building - its only bathrooms are for some reason on the third floor, which requires climbing a rickety staircase and allows a nice view of the dark wood timbers on each level - it's decorated in wicker, frills, and potted plants, and looks like it hasn't changed since the 1980s. But the appealing window display of cakes and tea breads drew me in, as did the sign declaring it a member of the UK Tea Guild and the "only traditional English tearoom in Canterbury." It was my last day in England, and my last chance for a proper English tea.
Though the dining room was full, they squeezed me in at a small table near the window (and slightly hidden behind a potted palm tree). It was after noon, and most of the tables around me were having tea and gigantic slices of cake, which was extremely tempting. But I opted for real food instead, ordering the Ploughman's Lunch - that massive block of cheddar you see in the top picture, served with a thick chunk of wholemeal bread, salad, and a sweet onion-and-raisin jam - and then a Cream Tea for dessert. The three-tiered presentation seemed a bit ostentatious, considering that both scones, while they were of above-average girth, would easily have fit on a single plate. In fact I put them onto a single plate shortly after taking the picture and proceeded to slather them with jam and clotted cream. Tiny Tim's was the only place where I was given butter along with cream to put on my scones, but I didn't use it. The scones, one plain and one raisin, were gorgeously misshapen, and extremely dense and filling. I don't know if I could have finished everything if I hadn't been returning to Japan the next day - but somehow I managed to enjoy every bite.
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