Destination Tea: Waffle’s English Tea Room

Where: Dahlonega, Georgia
Style: Eastlake home, country interior
Tea Selection: 16 loose leaf teas, some by local tea blender Tea Rabbit’s Teas
Teatimes: Thursday to Sunday, 11, 1 or 3
Reservations: Reservations highly recommended
Contact: 706-509-9024
Cost: $59.99 Waffle’s Afternoon Tea for Two; $34.99 The Balmoral; $24.99 The Sandringham Tea; $16.99 Children’s Tea (ages 12 and under); $12.99 The Windsor Cream Tea
Destination Tea Tips: Leave time to shop Dahlonega’s historic square, just a block away, with numerous antique stores (great teacup finds at No. 3 Vintage), Waffle’s sister store for anglophiles – the Crown & Bear gift shop, and Tea Rabbit’s for magical gifts and oodles of original loose leaf tea blends.

Prices and teatimes are subject to change. Please see our Georgia afternoon tea directory for the latest details.

exterior Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia

Destination Tea Notes: At Destination Tea, we dream of a teahouse for every historic downtown, and so were very pleased to learn that British expat Fiona Bagley was opening a tearoom in downtown Dahlonega earlier this year. Fittingly, the tearoom is named after daughter Katz’ Corgi — a favorite breed of the British royal family — Sir Waffle Dean McWaffleburg Wigglebum. After the Dahlonega Downtown Development Authority beautifully restored the 1909 Head House, they chose the Bagleys’ tearoom for their first floor tenant. The charmingly appointed tearoom is not the only loveliness here. Tea is served using the Bagley’s teapots, collected over twenty years, including vintage beauties you may have never seen before. We loved finding locally blended teas on the menu, and most enjoyed the savories. Food manager Missy shared her evolving plans to make this afternoon tea as homemade as possible in a tearoom with no oven. (During the house’s redevelopment, the former kitchen’s restaurant equipment was actually removed.) Pre-made scones are imported, while desserts are outsourced, save a homemade treat: Fiona’s 300-year-old syllabub recipe (which she gave us permission to share with you). The friendly and attentive customer service here makes Waffle’s the perfect place to rest a spell and charge your batteries during an afternoon on the square.

interior Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — The beautifully refurbished Victorian home lends its first floor to the tearoom.

table set for tea at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — Farmhouse style seating is accented in dusty blues and soft white.

private party room at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — A portrait of the tearoom’s mascot Waffle overlooks the back room where a larger party has more privacy.

Tea Selection

fresh flowers at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — We notice these little touches: the personal welcome, fresh hydrangeas, mini lemon wedges with tongs.

tea menu at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — We begin by selecting two teas which we were invited to switch out later in the meal. We tried Tea Rabbits, Memento Mori, Orange Creamsicle and Countess Grey.

Fiona Bagley at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — The proper hostess, Fiona kindly pours our first cups while we comment on her pretty teapots.

vintage teapots at afternoon tea at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — As we were sharing two pots between four guests, it was not as much of a concern that the tea leaves remain in the pots, but the final pours were partially bitter. We prefer that teas are decanted in the kitchen, though some tea-goers enjoy the ritual of using the individual tea strainers, covering any oversteeped taste with plenty of milk and sugar.

Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets

tea for two at afternoon tea at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — Tiered trays arrive, each serving an afternoon tea for two.

savories at afternoon tea at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — We were happy with every bite of the savory course: cream cheese and cucumber finger sandwich; Missy’s famous chicken salad, coronation egg (rather than the traditional coronation chicken), and the table favorite — roast beef with horseradish on a toasted round.

scones and spreads at afternoon tea at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — Fruit scones were served with jam, clotted cream and lemon curd. Perhaps they would have broken apart more easily for spreading if they had been warmer or less dense.

desserts at afternoon tea at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — Commercial desserts such as cream puffs, macarons, petit fours and mini cakes could not delight us the way the tearoom’s homemade syllabub did. Food manager Missy says she plans to get creative with this course to allow her to make as much in-house as possible without a full kitchen. We’ve seen this done well once before, by working with a local baker, at the former White Rabbit Tea Shoppe in South Carolina.

Making a 16th Century British Dessert: Syllabub

Fiona Bagley’s recipe for Lemon Syllabub (thank you, Fiona!)

Serves 2

2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 cup White Wine
1/4 cup Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Lemon, zested
1 Lemon Wafer

In chilled stainless steel bowl, beat cream, sugar and nutmeg until stiff peaks form.
Whisk in wine, lemon juice and lemon zest.
Freeze for at least 30 minutes.
Serve in chilled glasses, top with wafer.

British gifts at afternoon tea at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — Just a sampling of the British goods for sale in Crown & Bear around the corner.

front porch at afternoon tea at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — Tea hats and fascinators in a trunk on the wrap-around porch invite guests to accessorize for afternoon tea.

Corgi love at afternoon tea at Waffle's English Tea Room in Dahlonega, Georgia — A nod to Waffle the Corgi, as you enter his tearoom.

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Tea Selection

Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets

Making a 16th Century British Dessert: Syllabub

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