The British Pantry & Cafe

As other reviewers have said, I don’t really understand the negative reviews that other people have left. My husband is English, and he absolutely delighted in the wonderful teas, sandwiches, quiches, scones, and cakes. It was plentiful, fresh, and the staff were all so courteous and helpful. The price was right on point for what we were served. I feel we absolutely got what we paid for, and then some.
Making reservations were a bit challenging, but it was a really nice lunch out with good friends. The tea room is small, but was decorated beautifully. It was comfy without being cramped. There are plenty of selections of tea and they bring 2 – 3 pots at a time for a group of four with the option to swap them out anytime. We easily went through 3 on our own. The pastry wrapped sausage was delicious and the cakes were all so moist and sweet. Complimented the tea perfectly.
I also recommend their market. It was lovely that they had some imports that we haven’t been able to find elsewhere and they have a lot of frozen pre-​made savories that I, as an American, am less inclined to make but that he loves. Makes for a very happy hubby. Thank you all!

Today we had a miserable experience at The British Pantry, because they lost our reservation and we ended up publicly humiliated in a full tea room.
I had called and made a reservation for their tea room a month ago, and when we arrived today, they said they didn’t have a reservation for us. They proceeded to seat us anyway, and served us a pot of tea. A few minutes later, the manager came to our table and said that they still couldn’t find a reservation for us. I ended up showing her the call history in my cell phone, and the manager confirmed that the number in my phone was correct, but still proceeded to tell us that they needed our table for another party, and that we would need to leave. Mind you, this was AFTER we had already been seated and served tea. She and I talked about the specifics of who the reservation was made with. I told her I thought it sounded like a young man when I originally called them, though the manager was adamant that only she and another girl take reservations – more or less implying that I was lying. By this time, too, people at the other tables were starting to look at us (it was a full, very small tea room), so it goes without saying that we felt publicly humiliated over an oversight by The British Pantry’s staff.
Suffice it to say, we won’t be going back there.
What upsets me is, the manager a) made no effort to see if she could accommodate us otherwise or in any way make things right, in the interests of good customer service, b) instead just assumed we were lying about our reservation, and c) wouldn’t take responsibility for the reservation being lost. The only decent thing done was, we weren’t charged for the tea we were served.
What I would love to know is, just who was it I spoke to on the phone when I made our reservation? It obviously had to be someone who works there, because no one else would know their reservation schedule.

The price has gone up from $ 25 to $ 38 on the weekends over the years. You get small pastries and cut sandwiches. The clotted cream is plentiful. But, let’s be real. The sandwiches are simple, plain and it’s a whole lot of white bread and white wheat pastries you can buy for much, much less. The owner/​hostess is an ornery, non-​friendly, surly person. I don’t know why she does this, since she doesn’t seem to enjoy the public company. They’ll kick you out if you stay too long and they’re not very accommodating, if plans change. If you want to leave, feeling like you’re a pest and unwanted, go to the British Pantry. I won’t go back, since you can get AMAZING, customer-​friendly, delicious and fanciful high tea at the Ritz Carlton for $ 12 more. AND, at the Ritz, you can stay as long as you like and they’ll still smile at you and serve you like you’re the Queen.

I absolutely love this place! I went here for the second time recently for a Doctor Who themed tea… the staff was just as excited as I was about it. They had themed food items and trivia as well. I love how they don’t rush you and provide refills of tea and even the scones. Also love the store where I can buy food items you don’t see anywhere else. I can’t wait to go back!

Being Brits in America we get quite annoyed by what some Americans call British so we were pleasantly surprised when we showed up here and were greeted by genuine UK Cadbury chocolate (not Hershey made) & other shipped in goodies in their shop. Then even more so when we had a delicious afternoon tea with yummy warm scones (with real clotted cream) and perfect individual Victoria Sponge cake. The building is a little bit worn and run down but don’t let it put you off, so worth the drive, delicious.

I don’t get the complaints. The prices are clearly advertised both on the website and when you call to make reservations for tea. The prices in the store are a little expensive, but it’s a novelty to be able to get these items in a rural-​ish area. I love this place! It’s not the most fancy tea, but it’s home-​y. Think «Anne of Green Gables» as opposed to Buckingham Palace.

Been here twice for tea and can’t wait to go back. Beautiful setting. Really friendly staff. And the food and tea are SO GOOD. I would go every weekend of money (and calories) was no object!!!

Are you kidding me with these prices?
Sitting down for tea is supposed to be a very classy, very elegant engagement for people to do. Tea time in the UK is very serious business, and in some areas an insult if you don’t accept an invitation.
Here at the British Pantry and Café, they take that elegance and turn it into a joke. For a party of six at $ 30.00 per person we got a few biscuits with cream and jam, three sandwiches cut into four, boxed cookies and cakes, and frozen quiches that had been baked in an oven. In addition, we got one kettle of tea — I.E. one cup per person.
What a rip off.
When I say a party of six, I actually have to take a step back and say it was actually a party of five. One person ended up not being able to come. Get this though — The shop owner told me that she would still have to charge me for the sixth person because they plan their food around the reservation total. So you’re telling me you can’t just put those items back in their boxes that they came from and back in the freezer again?
This place is spitting on British tea time, and making hand over fist cash in the process. It’s so apparent that the food is pre-​made items you would find in a grocery store. Granted it may be a grocery store in the UK, but nonetheless, you’re still paying gobs of money for someone to heat up frozen food.
If those weren’t enough reasons to stay away, then perhaps the fact that you don’t even get to choose what you want to eat will. Don’t like egg salad? Too bad. Want more sausage rolls? Too bad. The food and quantity of it is dictated by what «package» you buy, and you have to do so at the time of your reservation. So don’t even think that you’re going to get there and decide you want something else, or heaven forbid more of something.
If you want to have a true English tea time with friends, do yourself the justice and favor, and research authentic recipes online and turn it into an event of cooking and tea time. You’ll spend far less money buying the ingredients then you will coming here.

I went there with my mother and her friend to buy some stuff. The lady there was rude and snotty. We are there, as customers, giving them business. My mother and her friend had to use the bathroom (they drove quite a distance)…and the lady there very rudy and snotty-​like said.“the restrooms are for tea patrons, not the public.”
Didn’t she see we were there w/​baskets and items to buy… we are customers. We all put our stuff back on the shelves and will never go there again!

Worth the trip only if you are unable to make your way to a World Market. Overpriced and with a shockingly disappointing selection of tea at prices that are far, far too high. Twenty dollars for a box of Twinings? Twelve for a jar of mustard? No thanks.

I’ve been to the British Pantry twice and both times it was delightful. The food and tea were delicious and plentiful and the tea room is definitely part of the charm. If some of the food items are not homemade, it’s not the end of the world, they are still tasty and adorable. The ambiance is what you are here for; tea cozies and doilies – that’s how you do it. It is a hike from the DC area and a tad steep at $ 30, but if you want some old-​world English tea, this is a great place to get your fix!

I am so surprised by all the negative reviews for the British Pantry. My sister, mum, and I just had afternoon tea this morning, and it was absolutely lovely. When I called and made reservations I mentioned that we were vegetarian, and they were very accommodating. The food was delicious, and they had a large variety of teas. Even the waitress was remarkable in that she was friendly and welcoming. After tea, we looked around the shop and found many treats that we missed from our time in the UK. Overall, The British Pantry is a wonderful gem that we will most definitely be revisiting.

They sell some good stuff but a lot of disappointing overpriced stuff as well. Massive disappointment with Hopper’s mince pies. Tasteless dry pastry and very little filling.

This place is a joke and so is their so-​called «afternoon tea». I’ve gone there several
Times over the years, but it seems like management has changed. It used to be a really lovely afternoon tea that was actually worth the $ 25 you paid per person. They’ve increased the prices now and DECREASED the quality. For almost $ 30 a person all you get is 1 sandwich per kind (which totals one whole sandwich with the crusts cut off) and a bunch of boxed cookies and frozen quiches. Absolutely terrible quality! This place should not be in business. They are a complete and utter RIP OFF!

I used to go here pretty frequently to buy the British snacks I enjoyed during a semester in the UK. Now, I try to go and either can’t buy what I’m looking for because they don’t have it, or I can’t shop at all because they’re not open when their website or even the sign on the door says they are. I tried to go twice this week only to find them closed, despite the website or door sign claiming they were to be open.
And apparently they were closed on Mothers Day, according to the website. Doesn’t that seem like a missed business opportunity?
Anyway, I’ve given up on this place and will order online from now on. Which is a shame, because I liked supporting a local business, but if they’re not reliably open, then I can’t very well shop there.

It’s waaaayyyy too expensive for what you get. I happily pay $ 30+ for a decent tea in D.C. (too much, but if it’s good, it’s good and worth every penny). It was $ 22 per person (so $ 44 for the two of us) for a plate of sandwiches (bread so thick & fillings so thin that I literally couldn’t taste what was in the sandwich without looking at it) and two scones. I wanted to get the tea with the sweets but it had a cupcake (what? whoever heard of a british cupcake? if it weren’t called the British Pantry I wouldn’t necessarily balk at it, but heck, if you claim your british, then be british) and a few biscuits/​cookies from the boxes of dried (not freshly made) stuff in the shopping area. What the heck!!! It was a very sad experience for me. Bit let down in fact. PS: I will say the scones were fine and they did have clotted cream! Big yum!

Four stars for the food and tea, but it’s not cheap, hence the three stars.
We came in for the Savory Afternoon Tea, which consists of a giant (and delicious) pot of tea, a scone for each person, some mini-​quiches, some sausage rolls, and a number of sandwich wedges. The scones are excellent; tender and delicious, especially with clotted cream and jam! I’m not a fan of quiches in general, but these were decent enough, and the sausage rolls were also decent. The various sandwich wedges were generally quite good; I am particularly a fan of the cucumber sandwich, but the others were all good as well (although the salmon-​salad didn’t really taste any different than tuna-​salad).
All in all this is a nice way to spend 60 – 90 minutes with people that you like to talk to, and unlike a restaurant you don’t have to shout. If it was a little cheaper I’d happily bump it to four stars.

Insert funny British saying that means YUMMY!
OK so Charity and I went here last weekend for Breakfast and Tea
Instead of Breakfast we opted for Bangers and Mash & Sheperds pie and of course a pot of tea.
The tea was great, the Sheperds Pie was something you might request as your last meal on death row (I couldn’t lick the pot because I couldn’t get my face in there!!) Everything is made to order and as fresh as fresh can be.
Of course we finished with Scones and jam and we left not able to eat the rest of the day not because we couldn’t have eaten more but because we didn’t want to ruin dinner by comparing it to brunch!!!
If you want something different and want something great NOT good. then come up rt 50 and stop at the British Pantry & Café!!!

**Please read the following review w/​a British accent**
Ello Gov’na … care for a spot of tea? Come off it, don’t be a wanker.
The British Pantry is a delightful spot to have afternoon tea with the ladies. I suggest you leave your bloke at home. You’ll start afternoon tea with different tea cups and saucers that are lovely. Your hostess will bring you a pot a piping hot PG Tips tea. After you’ve finished a cup or two, your hostess will then bring you a tower of goodies. The tower includes finger sandwiches (cucumber & cream cheese, egg salad, ham & cheese, and Irish cheddar & pickled something or other) w/​the crust cut off, heavenly scones (raisin scones and plain scones) w/​devon cream (a buttery cream cheese type of spread) & strawberry preserves, and yummy little cakes & cookies. It doesn’t seem like a lot of food, but it is!
You can also visit the BP’s café and order off their regular menu. They offer traditional British fare (bangers & mash, Shepherd’s Pie, etc.). There is a store attached to the café that has lots of imported British food (Cadbury Flake, Salad Cream, Spotted Dick Pudding, etc.), tea pots and tea cups, and a freeze that contains lots of bacon and the heavenly scones. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little put off by the expiration dates on some of the food (LONG expired).
The BP isn’t cheap, but neither is London so get over it.
Bottom line … You’ll have a jolly good time, so go! God save the Queen. Pip Pip Cheerio :-D

I’ve driven by this place many times and always meant to stop in — I finally did today.
As Courtney mentioned in her review — some of the stuff can be pricey — at least on the food side. I bought a t-​shirt that says: «Made in America — with Irish parts» and a bottle of the most amazing lemonade I’ve ever tasted in my life — it had damn well better be the best — because it was also by far the most expensive — I think it was $ 3.99 for a 12 oz. bottle!
They have all sorts of neat stuff to peruse and buy — there is also a small café — which requires reservations most of the time — the café was full up when I walked in.
They also have a small refrigerator with cold bottled beverages — which is where I got the lemonade — on the outside of the refrigerator — there was a small sign and illustration denoting that this fridge is a «TARDIS.» (Long time fans of Dr. Who who will know what this means! :-))
For some reason, I got 25% off the t-​shirt when they rang me up.
I got one of the café menus to go — I think this would be a fun place to take my Mom for her birthday!
Outside — they fly the flag of Great Britain — looks neat on windy days when it’s billowing in the wind and therefore fully extended. There is also an antique-​ish looking red British phone booth out front.