Vegan Afternoon Tea at the Laura Ashley Tearoom, Coventry


Disclaimer: This is a gifted review however all thoughts are my own.

If you told me a couple of years ago that I’d be invited along to try out some afternoon tea, my eyes would be popping out of my skull. It’s one of my favourite things to do (and gobble down) so when I found myself sitting in the Laura Ashley Tearoom in Coventry waiting for our vegan afternoon tea I was almost trembling with excitement. The room was empty so I kept getting off my seat to walk around and take photos, with my husband’s eyes following me in amusement. Soon the waiter came in and laid out a delicate bowl of tomato soup in front of us (aka tomato amuse bouche), and I couldn’t contain my surprise. Soup? Where was the tiered platter of cakes? We waited for a while but soon realised that the tiered platter was not going to turn up anytime soon, and tucked into the soup.

Eating vegan afternoon tea at the Laura Ashley tearoom in Coventry by hellolizziebee
And this little piggy went to afternoon tea…

As soon as our soup was cleared (which was lovely, by the way, and I was glad it was only a small bowl as it was pretty filling), the waiter brought out the long-anticipated tiered of vegan afternoon tea, fully adorned with cakes and scones. This was what I was looking forward to the most, and if it wasn’t for the fact that I needed to write a review I would’ve dived straight in. My husband and I were trying to guess earlier whether or not we’d have clotted cream and how they’d make it vegan, and the answer to that was that it was coconut cream. My nose wrinkled at the sound of that. Coconut and I aren’t pals, so I scoffed down the sandwiches first.

My favourite was the avocado and tomato drizzled with lime, and I was so glad that my hubby didn’t like it as much so that I could have them all to myself. It was so lovely, that I was sad to see that I had eaten them all in a matter of seconds. The other flavours were tomato and shallot chutney, cucumber, and then pepper and hummus. My hubby’s favourite was the pepper and hummus but it was one that I turned my nose up at as I wasn’t keen on hummus.

related post: Alice in Wonderland Afternoon Tea at Kona

Then it was time for the scones.

I watched my husband layer on the coconut cream and jam onto a half of his scone, taking note of every small reaction that the lines of his face would reveal as he took a large bite into it. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment in curiosity and then raised in surprise. I couldn’t wait any longer and did the same, and was pleasantly surprised. This was gorgeous and I could barely taste the coconut. In fact, it was perhaps the most delicious scone I’ve ever had and I’ve had many in my lifetime. It soon became one of the favourite things out of the whole platter (sorry, delicious macarons!). Even when I moved onto the cakes I always took another small bite of the scone that I had left, just to balance everything out.

Afternoon tea

You might think I’m only saying this because it’s a gifted review, but I’m not going to lie to you – I was thoroughly impressed with the vegan afternoon tea at the Laura Ashley Tearoom. My hubby and I ate everything apart from 2-3 cakes, which is a rarity as we’d usually leave a lot more. I don’t know if it’s because it was vegan, but the afternoon tea wasn’t anywhere near as sweet as the previous ones I’ve had which was why we were able to eat so much.

Have you tried vegan afternoon tea before? What was it like?

Love,
Lizzie xx


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26 Comments
  • Jenny in Neverland
    March 9, 2019

    This looks amazing! The place looks stunning and all those treats…. I’m very, very hungry now! I’d love to try a Vegan afternoon tea. I’m not Vegan but I bet you’d get a nice variety and perhaps something a little different to your regular afternoon tea!

    Jenny
    http://www.jennyinneverland.com

    • hellolizziebee
      March 9, 2019

      Yes I am also not a vegan, but I thoroughly enjoyed this as it was a lot less sweeter than afternoon teas in the past. Usually I feel a bit sick but this time I managed to eat quite a lot of it!

  • Mary
    March 9, 2019

    Ahhh every photo you upload is simply gorgeous!!! I’m pinning everything ❤ Also, I wish I could do my ponytails above my ears like yours but mine always droop down near my neck; o ;

    • hellolizziebee
      March 10, 2019

      Awh thank you so much sweetie! Ah you just need to make your hairband tighter!

  • Deborah Wyatt
    March 10, 2019

    What a gorgeous place, and such delicious sounding food too.

  • Emma
    March 10, 2019

    Wow! This place looks amazing, you cannot beat a good afternoon tea in a beautiful setting.

    Emma | http://www.lifeofemmax.co.uk

  • Jessica & James
    March 10, 2019

    This sounds like such a great place, so picturesque too! We’re not vegan, but we’d love to try it out! Never had soup with afternoon tea before but I wouldn’t complain if we did! Will have to put it on our list of places to visit!

    Jessica & James | http://www.foodandbaker.co.uk

    • hellolizziebee
      March 10, 2019

      I felt the exact same about the soup, but it was delicious!

  • Ellen Penelo
    March 10, 2019

    It looks so beautiful there!

    I looooved a good cream tea when I was still veggie and ate more clotted cream than I care to admit haha, so when I realised I was lactose intolerant I figured I’d never be able to have scones and cream again! Later I went vegan and discovered I can eat everything I used to eat! I’ve tried the vegan afternoon tea at Terre a Terre in Brighton, it’s SO GOOD! I was also dubious about the cream being coconut, not because I don’t like it, but at the time I didn’t know it could be so thick and lovely! It was so nice! Since then I’ve used coconut cream on desserts in place of double or clotted cream and it works a treat! I’d love to try a more traditional afternoon tea like you did though, it just looks so beautiful! I’m hungry just thinking about it haha! 🙂

    • hellolizziebee
      March 10, 2019

      Awh man, well I’m glad that there are lactose-free options out there, especially now that veganism is on the rise over here! I would love to go to Brighton again one day… It’s been so many years since my last visit!

  • Isobel
    March 10, 2019

    I absolutely ADORED this place! And I’m going back there with my mum for a mother’s day treat! I very much enjoyed the afternoon tea especially how it was vegan! So lush! And the decor is incredibly beautiful!

    Isobel x

    New post: http://www.fashionistachic.co.uk/2019/03/beauty-lets-talk-about-shaving-ad-gifted.html?m=0
    Insta: https://www.instagram.com/isobelceline/
    New video: https://youtu.be/GrOdKnt3Ihg

    • hellolizziebee
      March 10, 2019

      Oooh I was thinking of taking my mum there, too! And I so agree. The outside isn’t as impressive but the inside was absolutely beautiful!

  • Nancy
    March 11, 2019

    I LOVE the setup of the afternoon tea! Everything looks delicious. Glad you enjoyed everything there! At least you got to have more of the munchies to yourself since your husband didn’t like it :P. Thanks for sharing your experience!

    Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me

  • Chrissie Brewster
    March 11, 2019

    I went to the Laura Ashley Tea Room in Solihull for the vegan Afternoon Tea (first one since going vegan in November). I have to agree with you that it was absolutely delicious! The soup they gave us was parsnip instead of the tomato one they gave you and even that was incredibly tasty ?
    There were four of us that went for this afternoon treat and we went in for seconds because everything was so tasty. The loveliest part was that there was no rush for the waiters to get us out- normally, when you have to book somewhere like this, you get your allotted time and they’re practically booting you out of the door before you’ve had chance to swallow your last bite, so this was a very pleasant surprise ☺️

    • hellolizziebee
      March 16, 2019

      Ooh yes I totally had the same experience – I too didn’t feel at all rushed which was super refreshing! I’m so glad you have a pleasant experience 😀

  • Ashlee
    March 12, 2019

    This looks so good! I personally am not vegan, but if I was ever in Coventry I would definitely want to try this.
    Really like the pictures as well!

    Ashlee | ashleemoyo.com

    • hellolizziebee
      March 14, 2019

      Yes I am the same – I’m not vegan but I’m trying to implement it more into my routine to live a better lifestyle, and I’m so glad there are sweet options for it! Thank you so much Ashlee!

  • Boxnip
    March 12, 2019

    Looks absolutely beautiful; such a gorgeous place for afternoon tea. Everything looks so yummy! I don’t like coconut either but after reading your review I’m really intrigued by what the cream & jam on the scone tastes like! ?

    Sarah ? || Boxnip

    • hellolizziebee
      March 14, 2019

      Ooh yes you should try it out because it didn’t taste too strongly of coconut, and mixed well with the jam! Thanks so much

  • Brooklyn Murtaugh
    March 17, 2019

    This sounds incredible! I’ve always wanted to go to afternoon tea (I live in Canada where it isn’t common) but it’s so hard to find somewhere that even offers a vegetarian version.
    I’m also not friends with coconut, so I understand being weary about the cream. I’m so glad it was delicious!

    • hellolizziebee
      March 17, 2019

      Whaaaat?! I don’t think I could live without it, haha! Hopefully you can find a vegetarian one soon… Otherwise I will ship one over to you tehe!

  • Michelle
    March 18, 2019

    Sounds amazing! I’ve never been to a tea room but would love to visit one, especially a vegan one! ♥

    http://www.mooeyandfriends.com

    • hellolizziebee
      March 18, 2019

      Ah you should totally try it out one day! Afternoon tea is one of my favourite things ever