Dorset named best place for afternoon tea in the country

A recent study has shown that Dorset is the best county in the UK for afternoon tea. To celebrate, we reveal our favourite spots to try.

Sometimes, nothing beats a trip to a café or restaurant to enjoy an afternoon tea: the ultimate indulgent treat where the sandwiches are plentiful and the cakes are scrummy. Whether it's a birthday celebration or a well-earned weekend outing, there is no situation that cannot be made better by the arrival of a tiered plate of delicious mini foods.

Dorset Coastal Cottages were delighted to reveal that our own county of Dorset is in fact the best place for afternoon tea in the county - not that we needed telling! Using data from review sites like Tripadvisor, they analysed the breadth and width of the UK to find the best and most popular locations.

They found that the South still dominates the industry, picking up three of the top five spots for best areas to go. The highest rankers were as follows:

Dorset
Cornwall
York
Whitby
Isle of White

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In all of Dorset, the most highly reviewed location for afternoon tea was the Garden Gate Tea Room in Wareham. They are a delightful traditional tea room 'Where Friends Meet', offering afternoon teas, espresso coffees, sandwiches and much more. Reviewers have called them a hidden gem and praised their homely food.

Shannon Keary, Digital PR Manager at Dorset Coastal Cottages, commented on the study:

“With the hit that many local businesses have taken over the last year, it’s really encouraging to see that Brits are still actively supporting tea rooms and shouting about them online.

“With staycations at an all-time high this year, now is a great time for people to explore different parts of the country and enjoy a quintessential part of British culture - whether you think that scones should be topped with jam or cream first!”