Brits enjoy high tea in the afternoon. But anybody who visits the Nostalgic Tea Rooms can enjoy high tea just about whenever they like.
Pete and Sara Norris, who are both from England, feature high tea along with other items at the restaurant in Sheffield Antiques Mall in Collierville, Tennessee.
They both grew up eating typical English fare. Pete, who is from Oxfordshire, says his mom used to make Toad in the Hole. “It’s Yorkshire pudding, but you cook it with sausage inside,” he says. “It’s made from a batter.”
They haven’t yet made Toad in the Hole at their restaurant, but Pete says, “We should give it a go.”
Not all the fare is from home, but there is enough at Nostalgic Tea Rooms to give diners the feel of merry old England.
Thirty years ago, Pete began working at The Old Kitchen at Magdalen College in Oxford, England. “It’s a big pub in the university. I cooked there. And also worked in the bar there. It was great fun.”
Pete taught himself to cook. “I think it’s one of those things. You can either cook or you can’t cook.”
He made salads, lasagnas, and curries, which he also makes at Nostalgic Tea Rooms.
Pete dresses up his dishes. “I think you also eat food with your eyes and not just your taste buds.”
Pete and Sara moved to Memphis seven years ago after Sara got a job at St. Francis Hospital.
“I just had a feeling,” Sara says. “I had to come here. My dad would have adored Memphis. He loved music. He loved Elvis.”
She enjoyed going to Sheffield’s. “When I moved to Collierville, it was always one of my places to walk around.”
When she learned the space for a restaurant was for lease, Sara and her husband talked about opening a tea shop. Pete said, “Let’s give it a bash. Come on. Let’s give it a go.”
“Pete owns it, but it’s my concept to have high teas,” Sara says. “I wanted somewhere people could come sit down and have high tea.”
And, she says, “I just love baking. And I’ve always wanted my own tea rooms.”
They wanted Nostalgic Tea Rooms to be a quiet, simple place where people can relax — as long as they want. “It’s your table. It’s up to you if you want to sit here for five hours. No time limit on your table. You can stay there all day or stay there for 20 minutes.”
The menu includes chicken salad, tuna, ham, or egg mayonnaise sandwiches on croissants and lasagnas, which are “more layered” than the Italian version, with grated English or Irish cheddar cheese on top.
Their high teas are popular, Sara says. They did eight on a recent Saturday. “The high teas start off with a selection of sandwiches from cream cheese and cucumber to ham with apricot relish and mayonnaise. Next layer is English scones with jam and Chantilly cream. On top is a selection of cakes.”
It’s best to book the high teas, which feed two people, in advance. People also can order a high tea when they arrive, but they take about 20 minutes to put together.
“Children love it. It’s sort of a fairy-tale thing, isn’t it?”
Their “cream teas” consist of two scones, French Chantilly cream, and jam with hot tea.
And, of course, they serve crumpets. “You put butter on it and it comes in two pieces. It’s quite unusual to describe. It’s got its own taste. But people like that. We buy them. They’re not easy to make.”
They also buy the croissants and crumb cakes. Sara bakes the English scones and carrot cakes and helps out at the restaurant in the mornings. She then works at night at St. Francis Hospital — Memphis on Park Avenue. “It’s one of the best hospitals in the world I’ve ever worked at. I adore working there.”
Nostalgic Tea Rooms is where Peter wants to be: “It’s my happy place, I must say. I do enjoy it.”
Nostalgic Tea Rooms is open 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. It’s located in Sheffield Antiques Mall at 684 West Poplar Avenue.
