Where: Pittsboro, North Carolina Style: Traditional dining room Tea Selection: 26 loose leaf teas by Harney & Sons Teatimes: Thursday to Sunday, 12 to 3; Private parties of 15 or more by reservation Reservations: Reservations required Contact: 919-542-2121; events@fearrington.com for private parties Cost: $65 Classic Afternoon Tea; $35 Prince & Princess Tea Destination Tea Tips: Find The Fearrington House by entering Fearrington Village and curving to the right to park. Walk past the gardens to the house. Leave time to explore the shops of Fearrington Village, which include an independent book store.
Destination Tea Notes: One of the longer-running afternoon tea services in the Chapel Hill area is at The Fearrington House inside Fearrington Village. Once a 1770’s dairy farm, the property was redeveloped in the 1970’s, converting the original homestead into The Fearrington House restaurant. Beautifully manicured landscaping builds anticipation as you walk up to the restaurant, whose rooms intentionally all have garden views. Our expectations were high, and we found, with a couple of improvements, The Fearrington House afternoon tea could be top notch. We like that the restaurant emphasizes locally grown ingredients in its menus, which change seasonally, and star expertly crafted desserts. While our server Tyler was kind enough to quickly meet our requests for additional teas or catch plates, she also refrained from interrupting our conversation, which we appreciate. If you have good weather, part of the pleasure of visiting Fearrington Village is leisurely exploring the gardens and shops as you stroll along in your tea finery.
Entering Fearrington Village, established 1974
A brick path winds around the lawn to the restaurant’s entrance.
After a fire destroyed the original homestead, this new home was built in 1927, today repurposed as The Fearrington House Restaurant.
Perhaps the long room with wall-to-wall garden views feels more inviting than this front room where we were sat. The clean lines of the furniture and gray carpet inside did not carry the picturesque and historic setting of Fearrington Village inside.
Tables are set with contemporary dishware and a fresh flower.
Tea Selection
Guests are welcome to try more than one tea during their teatime, and we enjoyed our Milky Oolong and Fearrington Afternoon (though our server did not know what was in the blend). We like to see flavor or ingredient descriptions to help guests choose their tea.
We also prefer teas be properly steeped and brought to the table ready to pour. We were grateful that catch plates were provided upon request, so that our teas did not oversteep.
Fearrington Afternoon black tea blend (by Harney & Sons)
Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets
Beautiful speckled blue ceramic plates fill the curate.
Five tea sandwiches were offered: Egg Salad on Toasted English Muffin, Chicken Salad on Challah Roll, Jenny Fitch’s Pimento Cheese, Smoked Salmon with Crème Fraîche on Rye, Cucumber and Whipped Chèvre. Unfortunately, all of the breads were leaning towards dry and tough – perhaps our tray had been prepared earlier and sat out too long.
The touted clotted cream was a whipped cream, but although the golden raisin scones looked like they hadn’t risen much, they had a yummy soft interior. We left not one drop of the fabulous lemon curd behind.
For dessert, each guest receives five divine pastries, each one deserving admiration: Cherry and Vanilla Ice Box Cake with Whipped Berry Tea Cream on Graham Crust; Mocha Hazelnut Choux, Chocolate and Raspberry Tart, Peach Crumble Cake, and Banana Caramel Opera Cake with Dulcey Glaze. What we love about this offering is the variety of flavors, the tidy, artful presentation, and of course, deliciousness!
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