I turned 30 in June (sob), and my wonderful best friend Tracey surprised me with a ‘Mad Hatters’ themed afternoon tea at Teacups Tearoom, Newark.

Tracey and I have known each other for 14 years this year, although it feels like only a couple of years ago we sat next to each other at our first day of college. (How do we look older in this photo than we do now??) Since then, we have been bridesmaids for each other, she has had a couple of beautiful children (I’m Godmother to the youngest) she has helped me through heartbreak on more than one occasion. and we have cried and laughed our way through many a night. We don’t get to see each other a lot (family life, work commitments and just sheer exhaustion) and the 45 min that separate us can sometimes feel like an ocean. So to spend a couple of hours gossiping and catching up with each other’s lives were amazing.

Anyway, back to Teacups. It’s a gorgeous cafe located just off the market square (a little tough to find as it isn’t on google maps, and we aren’t local, but asking the market traders we eventually found it). Gosh it is beautifully decorated. I absolutely love the shabby chic trend and this hit every nail on the head.

Vintage cups and saucers, a beautifully preserved rocking horse, French dressers and bunting adorned the walls.

We were seated upstairs, which can seat 35 for private functions.

All tables were occupied by ladies, which was lovely to see. A daughter surprised her mum by getting all her friends together, which bought a tear to both mine and Tracey’s eyes, it was super cute and the mothers reaction was amazing to see.

On each chair was a vintage hat available to wear. Well of course everyone was wearing them! We got complimented on ours by the surprise table which was great, as I really don’t suit hats as a rule.

The table was also beautifully decorated with a scrabble ‘reserved’ sign, sugar bowl, jar of fairy lights and metallic confetti.

The afternoon tea that Tracey had booked included one drink, a selection of sarnies and sweet treats, and the cutest little milkshake ever!

Tracey had called ahead to inform the team that I am lactose intolerant and they couldn’t have been more prepared!

We ordered drinks (a chocolate milkshake and a coke for Trace and a Fanta for me) and then awaited our food.

After about a 20 min wait, we were presented with the most beautiful cake stand full to the brim with delights. I also had a separate plate of sandwiches without dairy, and they had put coloured flags in everything that was lacto free on the stand.

My sandwiches were salmon, ham and chicken. Tracey enjoyed a selection of cheese and pickle, salmon, tuna, prawn and ham. We also had a little cup of crisps to share.

On offer for sweet treats were macarons, brownie, a Bakewell tart, chocolate buttons, a huge piece of rainbow cake and chocolate biscuits. We also had jelly babies, Parma violets, strawberries and assorted sweets.

The food was fantastic and the selection for lactofree was brilliant, one of the best I have ever seen. The atmosphere and decoration was beautiful and the staff were amazingly friendly and fun. The price point was £15 per person, one of the least expensive and well worth it. I’d love to take my mum back as she is a huge fan of afternoon tea and the little things such as the hats, made it even more fun than expected. Highly recommended!