Princess Afternoon Tea at the Tea Terrace

Lots of little girls love princesses… so what better way to celebrate a birthday than an afternoon tea inside a Cinderella-style carriage? This beautiful set-up is at the Tea Terrace in Cobham, Surrey, which I’ve just found out has unfortunately closed – but they do still have a venue in Guildford.

We booked this for our daughter’s fourth birthday, as she was at nursery so it was the last year we could have a day out on her actual birthday unless it falls on a weekend from then on. We followed it up by going to see Oi! Frog and Friends, the live show based on Kes Gray and Jim Field’s bestselling series of books, which we all love (and Daddy got picked to go on stage as a Duckbilled Platypus called Dolly, but that’s another story!).

The Tea Terrace is a beautiful, pink, floral and perhaps ever so slightly twee tea room where you can have a drink and snack, lunch, or a full afternoon tea. They have regular tables and a couple of throne-style chairs, and also two Cinderella-style carriages which are really magical. You have to pay extra to use them – an extra £12.95 per person in the carriage which seats up to six (if they are small or children – I would say a family of four could sit more comfortably). There’s also then a minimum spend of £21 per person in addition to the usage fee, which makes this a fairly pricey experience overall, but I thought it was worth it for the look on our daughter’s face and hopefully the memories that she will have.

The Cobham venue boasted something else unique – the UK’s first robot waitress, Theresa. She could apparently come to your table and take your order by herself and then return to the table with your food and drink on a tray, where a waiter (human this time) would unload it. We had the option of whether we wanted Theresa when we booked and while my husband I were quite intrigued by the idea, I wasn’t sure what our daughter would think of it, and I didn’t think robots really fitted with a princess experience. In the end when we arrived on the day there was a sign saying Theresa was out of order! Now that the Cobham restaurant has closed, I do wonder what has happened to Theresa.

The afternoon tea itself was very nice, served on pretty plates and cake stands with a selection of sandwiches, scones and cakes. We had a choice of flavours not only for the sandwiches but also the scones, which is unusual – the white chocolate and cranberry ones were lovely. They also have a vegan and a gluten-free afternoon tea on offer.

Overall it was a fairly pricey experience but sitting in the carriage in a very pink, floral tearoom felt quite an immersive experience and was very enjoyable and a lovely way to spend our daughter’s fourth birthday.