Shelly's Tea Rooms — Restaurant in Plymouth

A charming small tea house to enjoy a British afternoon tea. Reservations are highly recommended, since an afternoon tea can last up to 1 hour, 45 minutes, and even if you want to take less time, there is only one waitress who makes at least six trips to each table for all the tables to bring out the items.

One most impressive item is that there are over 100 varieties of tea to select from! You can also buy the packaged tea or frozen scones, fresh made scones or desserts as well plus other gifts.

The fancy china teacups and plates and teapot made the experience even more memorable. I loved the picture covering an entire bathroom of Big Ben in the women's bathroom. There are two fun photo opportunities with the non-working English red phone booth outside the restaurant and inside, near the bathrooms, photo cutouts with Queen Elizabeth and King Charles with a throne to sit on.

There are three types of tea you can get or you can get items ala carte. Cream tea - two scones, clotted cream, strawberry preserves. The Windsor Afternoon Tea - hibiscus ice tea during the warmer months or hot mulled wine tea in the colder ones. Crustless finger sandwiches, two scones (plain and a seasonal one) with the items above, a few desserts, and choice of tea Prince & Princess Afternoon Tea (for children under 10) - crustless finger sandwiches, one scone with with cream and preserves, and a petite cake and tea You could get a gluten-free afternoon tea as well.

The cold hibiscus tea was a lovely way to cool down on a hot and humid summer day. There were a choice of four crustless finger sandwiches on white or wheat bread such as cucumber and watercress, ham and cheese, egg salad (that was good!), and a cheese one. You can pick any combination or all of them. I have been to a lot of afternoon teas and I found that the amount of filling was extremely thin, except for the egg salad which was fine. I know the tea sandwiches have a thinner layer of filling than a normal sandwich, but my ham and cheese was so thin that I did not have ham and the cheese sandwich did not have cheese, just mustard. During the second sandwich offering, I could at least taste the ham and a tiny bit of the cheese. If you are coming for a lunch, I would not recommend the sandwiches since they were more bread than substance.

The scones were a stand-out for me with the most delicious apricot and white chocolate seasonal scone - moist, lighter, and very delicious. In the case, you can buy chocolate chip, blueberry and others both fresh and frozen to make at home. You can ask for more clotted cream if needed.

For desserts, we received three desserts on the three tiered serving tray - a Battenburg cake (pink and yellow cake covered in marzipan frosting), a caramel shortbread cookie, and a meringue and whip cream cup. Also, at the restaurant, they offered other cakes and even gluten-free cakes which looked delicious.

Most tables were getting some of their tea items to go. The To Go container were big blue crown-like boxes.

Buddy, the Golden Retriever, provided entertainment. He really seemed to love children and woke up from his nap to get his back scratched by the kids. He had his head on the ground with his rear end up in the air, like a cat, to get his back scratched by the kids. He never begged at the tables and he walked around but seemed a little shy when people wanted to pet him. The waitress moved his bed into an alcove to make a better path near the door. Buddy laid there for a while, then pulled his bed over to the middle of the room, so the waitress was having to step over him to get to the tables and he was in the middle of the action and nearer to the people.

Prices were reasonable, scones and tea were amazing and I...

Being from the UK myself, I was really excited to visit this establishment and treat my daughter to a cream tea afternoon. However, the excitement was soon diminished on the first minute of arriving. I approached the counter and asked if there was availability for two people and the owner abruptly asked if we had a reservation. How unwelcoming! If I had a reservation, I don’t think I would ask if there was availability. She then said she had availability and escorted us to a table (that was so close to a wall I could hardly move my right arm) and we sat there for 15 minutes before she came back to take our order. While waiting, my daughter and I decided we would share “The Windsor” ($35.95 per person) as we are not big eaters and buying two would leave a lot of leftovers. When ordering, I asked the owner if we could get one of The Windsors and two pots of tea. She said no, as it’s only for one person and it takes too long to prepare, so we either buy two (at $35.95 each) or buy numerous other things and add in an order of scones and sandwiches. The owners attitude was frankly rude, and un-accommodating and subsequently led my daughter and I to walk out of the establishment. To this the owner had no reaction, which gave me the impression that she did not care she was losing potential customers that are locals. Truly the worst customer service that I have experienced in a long time. I can honestly say that this business is not a reflection of a real tearoom experience that I am accustomed to from growing up in the UK and I am greatly...

Shelly’s tea room is an absolute must visit. Whether you’re looking for a quiet date by yourself or if you want to spend a day with a group you and your loved ones will have a delightful relaxing evening.

Shelly’s offer a variety of treats that can easily accommodate a number of diets (including gluten free ) making it not only a great experience but a fantastic choice for many.

Not only do you have a positive experience in the means of dining but the owners and staff are extremely friendly and accommodating. Buddy perhaps being the best host you’ll ever come to know and will ensure your satisfaction while you drink one of the many delicious teas.

My most recent experience I had called ahead looking for a reservation for the next day. I only had a small window due to my schedule and The owner actually went out of her way to sneak me in without me asking. Unbeknownst to her it was for my birthday and so I thanked her for it stating how she made my birthday that much more special. Not only did they go out of their way to fit me in - the day I came in she surprised me with a chocolate sponge cake and a candle. I was blown away.

It’s evident that the staff and owners care greatly and with that their warmth, hospitality and professionalism exudes throughout the quaint shop creating a comfortable...