Adam Ain't Cooking

Mystery Tea House in Preston is somewhere I've heard of via word of mouth for a long time, and always positively, but somewhere I've never had chance to visit until now, and to cut a review short, I'm very glad I did.

Hidden away on the narrow Cannon Street (which reminded me a bit of The Shambles in York). Mystery Tea House really does live up to such a fantastical name, as when you walk into the door, it's a rather dark but cosy space, decorated in bright colours and with a distinctly African design, from the artwork to the tribal masks on the walls. As my dad and I walk in, friendly staff members smile and welcome us, informing us that there's more seating upstairs should we want it, as downstairs was already bustling with happy and relaxed looking customers. The bar area where the staff were talking from boasted several ceiling height shelves full of all sorts of wonderful and exotic tea blends.

So we climbed upstairs, and entered another space, just a bright and colourful as downstairs, and keeping the same African style, but with more areas to lounge, such as sofas, tables looking out of the windows down over the street, and a cute little table under a tree with a bookcase, for those wanting to spend the afternoon.

We took a seat at a little corner table, and were immediately impressed at the menus. Both food menus offering sandwiches, cakes and delicious looking soups, but also an incredibly extensive tea menu, with teas of all varieties and blends to tempt you. I personally love flavoured black teas, but usually aside Earl Grey it's hard to find any in general shops and cafes, but Mystery Tea House had a whole page of intriguing choices!

After much deliberation, I decided to try the Rose Desire tea, and my dad, being somewhat a traditionalist, went for good old Yorkshire Tea, which as amusing an idea as it is, proves that the venue is not pretentious enough to deny people a good old fashioned cup of "builders tea" should they want it, and thus not alienate visitors.

The tea came in traditional side-handle teapot with non-handled cup, and with a side of lemon slices and a small jug of honey. A very nice touch indeed. My dad's Yorkshire Tea came in a more English-traditional teapot and cup, which he was perfectly happy with.

The Rose Desire tea was absolutely divine, with a lovely strong rose fragrance, and fresh a fresh flavour which forces a content sigh out of you with each sip. My dad commented how surprised he was that it smelt like Turkish delight, and after browsing the tea menu, had plans to try all sorts of new and exotic teas, he particularly liked the sound of the Jasmine Tea menu, and the Oolong Teas (even if he did keep calling it "oblong tea"!).

As for food, I decided on a ham and cheese toastie, wheras my dad opted for the delicious sounding and looking Tuscani baguette, opting for some extra salami topping.

When the food arrived, we were very pleased! My toastie was very tasty, but my dad's Tuscani was massive, clearly freshly made, and very appetising indeed! He raved about the flavours and quality as he ate it, and insisted I try some, which at first I turned down, but in the end agreed to... and I'm glad I did! It was flavourful, cheesy, with delicious mushrooms and that extra salami my dad wanted. For under £4 we were very impressed, and said we'd get again for certain when we next visited!

During our meal, the friendly and helpful staff were happy to bring me extra hot water so I could enjoy more of that delicious rose tea, and told us about some other tea options I might like next time based on my enjoyment of the Rose Desire tea.

When we went downstairs, we chatted to the staff about our enjoyed experience, and how we both had plans for different teas we would try in future. The staff member behind the bar happily brought various jars off the shelves, telling us about the types of tea, and letting us take a deep sniff of each blend. My dad later told me that he was very impressed with this service, as well as the friendly approachable nature of the staff, allowing him to be brave enough to ask about whether you would have milk and sugar in various blends, without feeling silly.

Our experience at Mystery Tea House was very pleasant indeed. Relaxed and comfortable, but with some great options to explore. The tea we had was lovely, and the food was superb, it was also nice that they sold loose tea to take home, as well as tea making accessories and tea sets for the tea lovers out there. But the thing that stood out for us was the service. Friendly, helpful, polite and genuinely enthusiastic staff full of personality really made this place feel welcoming, and most definitely made us want to return! Well done, Mystery Tea House! :)