Courtney Pochin
Published March 3, 2026 6:06pm
Updated March 3, 2026 6:06pm
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The tea room dates back to 1860 (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)
If you’re looking to have an incredibly wholesome day out in London, hop on the Tube to Kew and head to Kew Gardens.
Now that the weather is starting to brighten up, the flowers will be starting to bloom, and you’ll be able to enjoy a real visual feast.
And when it comes time for something to eat, you’ll be perfectly placed to head on over to a true hidden gem serving up an actual feast.
Just across the road from Kew Gardens, at 288 Kew Road, you’ll find The Original Maids of Honour (also known as Newens), a tea room that’s been running on the same site since 1860, although the business is even older.
Online reviewers have hailed it as the ‘most authentic’ spot that looks as if it’s been ‘frozen in time’, and it really is the most charming little place to grab a cup of tea, a sweet treat, or even go all out and enjoy high tea.
It’s a local favourite (Picture: Courtney Pochin)
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What’s the vibe?
From the vintage Austin 7 van from the 1930s parked out front, to the salmon pink walls, dark wooden chairs and tables and the garish pattered carpet, everything about this place is straight out of another era.
And then there’s the food…
Before you even step inside, you can see the glass counter filled with nostalgic, retro treats through the large windows. And when you do go in, the food is the first thing that greets you.
It’s a quirky place, full of items that could be antiques or might just be random knick-knacks, but it’s cosy and inviting, and the staff are incredibly friendly.
I’d say this is an ideal spot for tea lovers, those who are in the mood for hearty comfort food, tourists (Americans will adore this place), and basically anyone who enjoys things that are a little whimsical.
What’s on the menu?
There’s such a wide selection of retro treats (Picture: Courtney Pochin)
The Original Maids of Honour serves breakfast and lunch and offers set tea and high tea options, as well as a selection of individual sweet and savoury pastries, all handmade on-site.
Afternoon tea in many spots around London can easily break the bank, but here it starts from £24.50 per person.
For this price, you can enjoy unlimited tea or filter coffee, traditional tea sandwiches including English cheddar, oak-smoked salmon, cucumber, egg mayonnaise, and ham, plus plain or fruit scones with clotted cream/butter and jam, as well as your choice from the day’s patisserie selection.
A Savoury High Tea is also available, which includes cocktail sausage rolls, as well as a portion of quiche or a savoury pasty.
And there are add-ons, such as a glass of fizz available, and various seasonal special teas throughout the year.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNkfbO0tR_C/
Other items on the menu include a Full English breakfast, omelettes, crepes, crumpets, salads, roast dinners, and a Ploughman’s.
It’s worth noting that if you decide to visit during peak hours, there is a minimum charge of £22 per person for the lunch menu between 12pm and 3pm.
Those who want something sweet can pick from a selection of cakes, tarts, pies, cheesecakes, and biscuits.
A must-try is the tea room’s namesake, the Maids of Honour Tarts. Thought to have been a favourite of Anne Boleyn, their history in Richmond spans 500 years.
The story goes that King Henry VIII came across Anne and her maids of honour, eating them from a silver dish, and tried one. He was so delighted by the tart’s ‘melt-in-the-mouth’ sensation that he confiscated the recipe and demanded it be locked away in an iron box at Richmond Palace (which sadly no longer exists).
By the early 18th century, the secret recipe had been disclosed to a bakery in Richmond, which was the original Mainds of Honour shop, and in 1850, the recipe was passed down to the owner’s son, who opened the shop in Kew Road.
The Maids of Honour tarts have been served warm to the people of Kew ever since, and the menu even states that ‘little has changed since then’.
They add: ‘The little tarts, cakes, pies, and pastries are all made by hand, just the same as they were hundreds of years ago.’
@heyreiko_The most authentic English tearoom in Kew🥖🥐🥯🥨 Fun fact👑 Legend has it that ‘Maids of Honour’ were brought to notoriety by Henry VIII who so loved their ‘melt-in-the-mouth’ sensation, he took the recipe and kept it under lock and key at Richmond Palace! 💌 Save this for later and go with your girlies to enjoy this classy English vibes! 📍The Original Maids of Honour 288 Kew Rd, Richmond TW9 3DU 🚉 Kew Garden station, then 10 minutes walk 🕰️ Open daily, Mon – Fri 10-6pm; Sat – Sun 9-6pm 💰 They have minimum charge for different time. For us, lunch time min charge was £22 per person 📹 @lifechangediy
♬ If You Love Me – The Informers
What did Metro’s specialist food writer think?
I recently visited on a Saturday afternoon, around 3 pm, and the place was packed, with couples, friends, and families all gathered around tables, mismatched china cups in their hands and afternoon tea stands piled high in front of them.
From the outside, the tea room might not look all that special, but one look through the window and the retro pastries had well and truly enticed me in – think glazed fruit tarts topped with different coloured fruits, black forest slices, eclairs, carrot cake, and blackcurrant cheesecake.
A second counter, filled with giant quiches, sausage rolls, pasties and pies, quickly had me experiencing decision paralysis – the sheer volume of choice is overwhelming. I assume this is why most people opt for High Tea, so they can try a little bit of everything.
I wasn’t quite that hungry, though, so I ended up sharing a few different things with my husband to get a sense of what we liked and whether we’d want to come back. On this occasion, we split a slice of chicken pie, a slice of apple pie and a Maids of Honour Tart on the way home.
It was just the right amount of food, and while I hadn’t been sure what to expect, I can confirm that it was delicious and well and truly hit the spot.
The chicken pie had a perfectly crisp, thin pastry, a creamy white sauce, and generous chunks of meat inside. Served warm, it was proper, comforting grub.
The apple pie was yummy (Picture: Courtney Pochin)
While the apple pie was very old school, packed full of fruit and topped with a lattice pie crust as well as a layer of shiny apple jelly.
Also served warm, it was a unique take on apple pie, and while I’m still not overly sure it needed jelly, it definitely worked – the only thing missing was some ice cream.
We paired both of these with tea, which is served in adorable vintage tea cups, and then tucked into the Maids of Honour Tart a little later.
The tea room keeps the recipe for these tarts quite close to their chest, vaguely describing them as ‘sweet yet slightly savoury’ in terms of flavour, and this is exactly how they taste.
The tarts feature a puff pastry shell, and from what I can gather, the filling is made with cheese curds. It reminds me a little of a pastel de nata, only much softer, and with much less filling.
Honestly, there’s not a lot to the tarts, and while they’re tasty, they weren’t the best thing we ate on the day… the chicken pie takes that crown.
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What do other customers have to say?
On Tripadvisor, dozens of Londoners revealed that the tea room was a place they had been visiting for decades and always enjoyed coming back to.
One post, by worsleyr says: ‘We have been visiting the tea rooms for almost 38 years and have never been disappointed.’
Similarly, a reviewer known only as Kate wrote: ‘Lovely, cosy, unique traditional, British restaurant. I’ve been going here and visiting the shop since I was a child. Friendly team and delicious food!’
And Chrissy hailed it as ‘one of [her] favourite places to go’, sharing that it’s ‘super oldie woldie’.
She continued: ‘It’s like you’ve stepped back in time to old England, and then there’s the amazing food. The pies and sausage rolls are my favourite. Beautiful pastry, plus the cakes and the famous Maids of Honour tarts.
‘English breakfast is great too, quality ingredients. And to top it all off, the staff are always lovely and welcoming! A must visit, or else you’re really missing out.’
There are numerous other posts where people say they are ‘regulars’, proclaim the tea room to be their ‘happy place’, and say the food is ‘unbelievably good’.
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However, not everyone is a fan, with a few visitors branding it ‘tacky’ and suggesting it requires ‘full modernisation’ (they might be missing the point).
Others complained about the state of the loos and the lunchtime minimum spend. While a few people shared poor experiences with ‘boring’ and ‘stale’ food, and in one instance the dreaded ‘soggy’ pastry.
Clearly, The Original Maids of Honour is doing something very right, though, to still be going more than 160 years later…
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
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