Mama Doreen’s Emporium is one of my favorite afternoon tea spots in Harrogate. I used to visit weekly when I worked in the area but I’ll still happily drive for 45 minutes to sample their delights on a weekday now I’m freelance. I regularly pop in between client meetings to pick up a cupcake to go (the champagne and strawberry flavor is sublime). If you live in Harrogate, this little gem should be on your radar. You may have seen a few snaps on my Instagram last week of my recent Mama Doreen’s trip and so I thought I’d post a full review of their afternoon tea. I hope you’re hungry!
Mama Doreen’s Emporium likes to be a little different so I didn’t expect the run of the mill selection of finger sandwiches to appear before my eyes. But I didn’t expect there to be so much variety of savoury delights either. I love the savoury parts of traditional afternoon tea but many places simply overface you with a mountain of bread. We were presented with a lovely mix of savoury treats from classic cucumber sandwiches to smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels and caramelized onion tarts. I took one of my best friends along and we whiled away the hours nibbling our way through the mountain of treats.
The sweet tier is quite simply phenomenal featuring butterfly shaped shortbread biscuits, pretty pink meringue towers, scones topped with glittered strawberries, bakewell bites and a few miniature cupcakes thrown in for good measure. We ordered our afternoon tea with a side of hot chocolates that came with an avalanche of cream and mini marshmallows and chocolate chips. Simply delicious!
My favorite thing about having afternoon tea at Mama Doreen’s Emporium is that there is nothing pretentious about the experience. Run by a Mother/Daughter team, you are always made to feel welcome as you arrive and everyone is delightfully cheerful and chatty. You can while away the hours without feeling rushed or worried that you are laughing too loud in relaxed surroundings that make for a wonderful afternoon out. At £14.95 per person, it’s reasonably priced too.
Have you tried afternoon tea at Mama Doreen’s Emporium?