Hatters Tea Shop — Restaurant in North Norfolk

Having been to Hatters before, we were looking forward to spending the last day of our holiday visiting and having the Hatters afternoon cream tea. We checked Facebook, instagram and the website beforehand to make sure we got the hours correct, noting it closes at 4. As it was a busy day when we drove into Cromer we decided to avoid the potential lunch rush and go at 2.30. We arrived at 2.30 to be told that they had stopped serving food and were closing at 3pm. There was a handwritten note on the far window saying they were closing for maintenance works. Suffice to say this was extremely disappointing and baffling that they were relying on a handwritten note blue tacked to one of the windows and not bothering to update their social media channels or their website. There are plenty of other great cafes (dog friendly too) so when we are visiting Cromer again we will use one of these instead. Shame but the poor comms and lack of apology when we walked in means we won’t be going to Hatters again.

Updated review: Another member of our party put a review up on Tripadvisor relating to our experience. The response from the tea shop was appalling, rude and inaccurate showing they didn’t read the review properly. This re-affirms that we will avoid this place...

Initial impression was that this is quintessentially a traditional tea shop. We were a party of 5 with 2 dogs and were advised as we arrived that there was no room inside the shop ( this was requested because of the scattered showers experienced). We sat outside and ordered. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated and we decided to leave. Space inside the store did become available but was given to a party of 7 that arrived. Up until that point it would have been unreasonable of me to write a sub standard review however, when i explained that we did not want to sit in the rain to eat/drink, the manager/owner stated that the drinks were being prepared and that she was not aware that we wanted to sit inside. After some deliberation i decided to cancel the scones and have the drinks as take aways. I wonder if the store has suffered with 'dine and dash' before as whilst i 3as inside paying for the drinks, the manager was worried that they would not be paid for. Walking away and having had the drinks i can say that the hot drinks were at best luke warm (taste was fine) and i wonder if the two milk shakes were made from a spoon of Nesquick and fully skimmef milk, very didappointing. Will not be visiting this store in a hurry. Only hope this was a one...

Lovely little tea shop. The decor is absolutely fab, with Alice in Wonderland undertones and pastel colours. Everything feels as if it's been taken out of a children's storybook, and the food tastes just as amazing as it looks. If you wish to go back to simpler times and enjoy an adorable aesthetic, this is the place for you. It's not too expensive if you count the amazing experience you get from sitting in such a quaint little place and having so many options to choose from. An incredibly broad selection of tea, cakes, sandwiches, and sweet and savoury treats are at your disposal. Staff was also really friendly and welcoming. The only thing we wish we'd done was to have booked the afternoon tea beforehand. Not only does it seem like it might be the cheaper option but you also get a nicer high tea experience - more food variety and the classic three-tier cake stands. You can still pretty much enjoy the whole menu, however. Will...