The English Rose

The English Rose
Chattanooga Tennessee




Elegant china tea pots surround you in this former historic hotel turned English tea room. The English Rose is located across from the famous Chattanooga Choo Choo, thus the history as a hotel, as it was the ideal location for newly arrived train passengers to Chattanooga.

It's a comfortable place to sit and enjoy a pot of tea, which will arrive at your table dressed properly with a tea cozy. The tea is probably the best in the city and despite frequent attempts, I have never been able to match the taste in my own kitchen.

The food consists of dishes such as cottage pie, bangers, and Dover sole. The desert menus include sherry trifle, sticky toffee pudding, and lemon cheesecake. All food is carefully prepared and tasty. The staff is authentically British. There is also a small store selling imported British delicacies (my favorite is the rose flavored Turkish Delight) and eclectic gifts.




Dineometer rating: 90%

Restaurant Review: Apple Cake Tea Room

Apple Cake Tea Room
Farragut Tennessee




Except for a bunch of newly built gigantic houses, Deputy Travis Junior (Robert Ben Garant) of Reno 911 having graduated High School there, and the Apple Cake Tea Room, Farragut Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville, has few other talking points.



Housed in a log cabin just off I75, the Apple Cake Tea Room is the type of place that ladies go to lunch. The ambience is cozy with quilts on the wall and girly trinkets on the shelves. You could easily picture Mrs. Claus being right at home here. It's popular for showers and on any given visit you are likely to see a group of women surrounding someone who is unwrapping pastel colored gifts. Occasionally you will see a frightened looking man or two but I would estimate the clientele to be 85 to 90 percent testicle free.



The food at Apple Cake is relatively good with freshly prepared sandwiches and soups, served in lady-like small portions. My favorite was a chicken and dumplings soup that was served on one visit, but I have never seen again. When seated, you will be given a cute little muffin by a waitress that looks not unlike a Stepford Wife. (Discrimination lawsuit alert: If you are funny looking and live in the Knoxville area, please apply for a job there just to test out my suspicions. Let me know how that goes for ya.)



Being a tea lover, I mistakenly first went to the Apple Cake TEA Room several years ago, for a good pot of tea. At that time, they had only two different types of tea bags. I recently saw a box of Constant Comment on the shelf with at least two other different types of tea! Progress sure, but why not take a giant leap and invest in some little tea balls and loose leaf? Go crazy Apple Cake Tea Room. Hey, maybe you could also hire a few funny looking waitresses, just for variety.





Dineometer rating: 70%