Journey to Britain without leaving Rhode Island by visiting the Basically British Tea Room, an Anglophile’s delight, complete with cucumber sandwiches, clotted cream, bangers and, of course, all kinds of tea – at least 40 varieties in all.
Owner and operator Fariba “Fab” Goldberg, raised in England, opened the tea room 14 years ago in Bristol. She then moved nearly two years ago to her current location in a converted mill, not far from a slew of artists’ lofts and studios, near the historic center of Warren.
The 3,400-square-foot site was once a messy, abandoned, old boiler room, full of ugly pipes and lots of junk. Goldberg had the place gutted, got rid of the dirt floor and whitewashed the soot-encrusted brick walls. She has filled the space with a combination tea room and antiques shop, a place for patrons to enjoy “high tea” and peruse her eclectic collection of old-time treasures for sale.
Speaking with a distinct British accent, Goldberg recalled how she fell in love with the boiler- room space and knew it would be perfect for her tea room, even though her family and friends thought she was insane. Neither were bankers she approached for a loan impressed. No bank would provide financing when she opened 14 years ago or again when she moved because her business is so unusual.
“Banks don’t like restaurants anyway,” she said, but they particularly didn’t like hers because “you couldn’t put a category on it, it’s part antique shop and it’s part restaurant.” So how did she manage to finance it? “I winged it,” she said with a smile, showing more than a bit of British fortitude.
On shelves along the wall in the tea room is a collection of impressive British memorabilia (that is not for sale), including teapots, mugs, plates and pitchers, some made of the heavy ceramic-type pottery Staffordshire is famous for. The top of an ornate brass box bears the image of a youthful Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip.
There’s a mug bearing the image of King Edward VIII, later the Duke of Windsor who abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry the woman he loved, American divorcee Wallis Simpson. He reigned only 11 months. On the right, at the end of a long line of mementos, is a plate bearing the now-poignant images of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, together at the time of their 1981 marriage.
British bric-a-brac aside, what makes the Basically British Tea Room really stand out are the edible offerings. High tea, served at the official British time of 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., comes with scones, biscuits (cookies, in America), finger sandwiches, including the cucumber version, a slice of cake and a pot of tea. Cost is $13.95, with an additional $2 for each guest. Reservations are now being accepted for Mother’s Day High Tea.
Goldberg said her tea room is famous for “Fab’s Fabulous Scones,” and indeed they are a treat, warm and sprinkled with roasted almonds, crusty on the outside and fluffy inside, not at all like the hard-as-rocks kind you often find stateside. At $4.95, a scone comes with good-sized helpings of jam and “double Devon clotted cream,” which Goldberg said is flown in fresh from England.
Lunch offerings on a recent day included a “Cotswold grilled cheese,” with tomato and caramelized onions, served with a cup of soup. Yes, Goldberg said, the cheese really is from the Cotswolds.
Dinner plates, at $10.95 each, include shepherd’s pie made with ground sirloin, and “Irish bangers (English sausages) and Heinz beans.” Steak pie often is on the menu, but not steak and kidney pie. “It’s a little too much for people,” Goldberg said of the kidneys.
High tea and lunch are offered every day except Tuesday, when Basically British is closed, and dinners are served on Fridays when live entertainment is offered, usually music of the Celtic variety. Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays; and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays. Lunch and dinner menus can change according to the season.
Tea is brewed with spring water and can be purchased by the ounce. Goldberg said she has 40 to 60 different kinds of tea, depending on the season, and varieties for sale now include China Green Dragon Pearls, Lady Grey, Darjeeling (of course), spicy chai, raspberry and jasmine, to cite just a few. Coffee is served, too, although Goldberg said she resisted offering it until her customers kept on demanding it. •
company profile
Basically British Tea Room
OWNER: Fariba “Fab” Goldberg
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Restaurant and
specialty store
LOCATION: 16 Cutler St., Warren
EMPLOYEES: 10
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1994
ANNUAL SALES: WND
