Taste sensations at Tessa's Tea Shop

If you read my post from last Tuesday, first of all WOW, I've actually written 2 #blogs in 1 week, (well nearly- in case this doesn't actually get published before tomorrow). And second of all you will know the blog was about my #holiday in Somerset, and some of the challenges I faced when trying to eat out as a #vegan (accompanied by one other vegan and one none vegan). The #intention of last Tuesdays blog was to actually tell you about a really lovely lunch that I had in one of the local cafes in Dunster, Somerset but in classic me style I rambled on so much that I decided to make it a little mini series of blog posts instead. And I'm just going to cut to the chase here and tell you about it.

We walked past Tessa's Tea Shop on both Saturday and Sunday but at the particular times we did it was sadly closed. I gazed longingly at the pretty chalk board with its vegan options (which unlike many other places both in Somerset and in #Birmingham were more than one).

These included:

Spiced Chickpea & Spinach Pie

Vegan Soup of the Day

Three Bean Chilli

Dark Chocolate & Ginger Torte

As well as being a tea shop it is also The Olde House B&B and sold antiques and vintage items. The outside was cute and quirky looking, and the inside equally so, with original features and a warm and friendly environment from both the feel of the space and also the staff who served us.

I opted for the smokey 3 bean chilli, my partner (also vegan) for a Thai style curry off the daily specials menu, and my dad (meat eater) for a cheese and ham sandwich. The food came fairly promptly, mine was a good portion with a side salad and vegetable crisps, and also on a bread board which I found a nice touch. My partners was served with rice, 2 coriander poppadoms, and a generous portion of chutney. My dads sandwich was on doorstop style bread (which I love but doesn't love me so much- bloated belly) stuffed with loads of grated cheese and what he said was really delicious ham. Also served with a side salad and crisps.

I can't guarantee that it was, but the feel of the place and look of the #food led me to believe it was #homemade, which added to the overall charm for me. My only disappointment was that I did have my heart set on the spiced chickpea pie from the moment I saw it (what can I say I'm a pie lover), and unfortunately that wasn't available.

The cake selection at Tessa's was the stuff of sweet tooth dreams- with both vegan and none vegan options (though I think only 1 vegan option on the day we went, but hey that's 1 more than many other places I've been to). Again, they looked homemade to me, but I cant say for sure. Me and my partner opted for the avocado and courgette cake. We had it to take out and I added some strawberries to it when we got home, and OMG it was delicious. Cannot fault it at all. In fact I could probably eat it everyday if given the opportunity to do so.

I had a quick look at the bits and bobs for sale before we left, and the information about the beautiful B&B upstairs. It wasn't until reading about it more online that I also realised there is a historic garden to the rear. Sadly we never got a chance to go back, but if I visit Dunster again I definitely will, and would highly recommend the Tea Shop for vegans and none vegans alike. A true little gem in a beautiful village.

House History

"The Olde House is full of history, and is a Grade II (2) listed building. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building which has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. There are just under 500,000 buildings in the UK to which this applies. Grade 2 buildings are particularly important buildings of more than special interest. 5.5% of listed buildings are Grade 2."

(Taken directly from website. To find out more information visit http://www.theoldehousedunster.co.uk)

The final part of my holiday food blog is my birthday meal at an Italian in the local town of Minehead. I could get used to this eating food and writing about it thing- if anyone/anywhere fancies feeding me vegan food for free in return for feedback give me a shout :)

Slight side note: Let me know any places that you recommend for vegan food, preferably near the Birmingham area for now, as I can never seem to think of places to eat out so am just going to compile myself a l