Elsies Vintage Tea Room in East Northamptonshire

Going back in time is the future. Wonderfull place for a relaxed lunch with good friends.

This is a step back in time. So delightful, reminiscent of all that is great from the 1950s, 60s and 70s, absolutely fantastic atmosphere. Tea is lovely, strong brew and perfect.

We went on 15th august for a birthday celebration. My husband had booked an afternoon tea. What a treat, it was delicious there were a very good variety of sandwiches, cheese and pineapple on sticks, cocktail sausage rolls and cheese sausage rolls, unlimited tea and then came the cakes, fruited scones (still warm), jam and clotted cream (with a very generous helping of cream). There were also mini cakes a great selection. There was so much food we had to admit defeat and took some of the mini cakes home with us!! I would like to say thank you to the lady and gentlemen who provided excellent service, nothing was too much trouble and it was a very relaxed venue. The shop itself is fascinating its like stepping back in time. We will be back as I have my eye on the knickerbocker glory and my husband has his eye on the banana longboat!! Given how much the garden centres charge for an afternoon tea this was a bargain.

Needed a place for lunch near the A1. Found this on TripAdvisor and were so pleased we went. Cute little place with a great atmosphere. Family loved looking at the vintage decor and reminiscing. The food was perfect, sandwiches, jackets and pastries. Scone was delicious. Was impressed with the service and little touches. Would heartily recommend. Might be worth booking as it was quite busy even at 2.00.

Friendly & helpful service in traditional environment. Do not take card payment but bacs offered. Highly recommend!!

What can I say? Everything is perfect, the tea room you dream to find. The owners, the service, the food, the ambience, all are perfect

The hat selection is amazing along with the memorabilia, we were of cause the main event, great owner and atmosphere

Brilliant,took me back 50years.nostagia with a capital N.

Adorable little tea room, staff are very friendly and helpful, I would describe this tea room as a Fairy Tail team room, loved it

A lovely tea rooms with a good range of food and drinks

Way to expensive charged 22 pound per person.

Just visited this quirky tearoom. What a lovely find, gentleman very friendly, will certainly be re-visiting

My daughter, husband and I visited this little gem this morning. It was a step back in time. Such a beautiful quaint little tea room. The gentleman that served us was lovely, so polite. Unfortunately we didn't know this was a cash only place, we weren't turned away as we were able to pay by card. The tea was really lovely, came in a teapot which I like, none of this teabag in a cup nonsense. Scone was delicious, would definitely be returning.

A wonderful tea room with a 50s vintage theme nestled in the beautiful village, Fotheringhay. A menu of jacket potatoes, sandwiches, and homemade cakes all very reasonably priced. They are only open a few days a week, and booking is essential to ensure a table as it is very popular. Highly recommended.

There's a little gem of a tea shop called Elsie's in Nassington. What a wonderful place. Step back into the 50s. We had lunch and homemade cake with tea. All the food is made by the owners a husband and wife team. The atmosphere is quiet and relaxing and the owner was very welcoming. There is an opportunity to browse and buy Nik Naks that are on display. They serve Jacket Potato, sandwiches and a range of cakes. I am definitely returning as I would like to try one more of their cakes. They are only open a few days a week and I would recommend booking. It is a cash only establishment.

We absolutely love Elsie’s have visited many times. The food is amazing, the ploughman’s is totally amazing. It’s our little piece of heaven. Graham and Clare are wonderful hosts and we are treated and consider them our friends. Such a wonderful place as soon as you walk in your feel transported back in time to your grans front room. We love it and so lucky to have somewhere like this to go too. X

Lovely little tea shop brought MIL here which she enjoyed. Booking is a must and is a cash only shop. There are lovely ornaments around the shop that can be bought even some old knitting patterns at the back. Food was scrumptious sandwiches were a lovely variety. We had afternoon tea which has to be ordered in advance. The scones were lovely. The tea pots even came with the knitted covers. Thank you for a lovely experience x

Finally made it to Elsie’s Vintage tea 🫖rooms at Nassington with my parents & husband. What a delight! Such a vintage treasure trove of amazing memorabilia from 1940’s/50’s/60’s - as well as lovely traditional fare from the era (cream teas, coronation chicken, ploughman’s, banana splits, knickerbocker glories, etc). Everything is served on vintage cups, saucers, plates, gorgeous table cloths & of course you need knitted 🧶 tea cosy’s! So much to look 👀 at & such a knowledgeable owner. A real experience 😊 & a blast back in time 🤩.

Beautiful tea room. Was a bit disappointed with the customer service. 4 of us for lunch. Arrived at 1.30pm to be told there were only 2 jacket potatoes left! Had our lunch with a pot of tea and coffee. When table was being cleared we decided we would like another pot and some cake to be told the table was needed in 15 minutes for another party. We were not told at booking that we were on a time limit so very disappointed, so went elsewhere for our tea and cake. Owner just seemed a bit offish, maybe he was having a bad day! Would not return.

My first time to Elsies for a celebrated Birthday afternoon tea with two special friends was a wonderful occasion, just like stepping back in time. The owners were so friendly certainly on my radar to go back, if you want a proper afternoon tea with good homemade food, then Elsies is the place. Thank you for making my Birthday a special one to remember. Happy Easter Pamela

We visited Elsie's Tearoom with family on Mothering Sunday for afternoon tea. Absoluty amazing tearoom full of vintage items some you can buy. Lovely afternoon tea and our hosts were busy as the tearoom was full were welcoming and attentive. They have a large variety of old fashion sweets to buy and beautiful homemade cakes to take home. It is best to book a table would recommend a visit and we will be back soon. Loved our visit.

We have travelled from Cornwall for the weekend to visit friends. We went here for lunch today for lunch. What an amazing place, lovely food, well worth a visit.

When we booked our stay in the area the first thing we did was reserve a table at Elsie's. We came last year and it did not disappoint. Graham is a fabulous host, he was very attentive and as he knew we were interested shared photos and history of the building with us. Everything about it is vintage and many memories of our childhood visits to grandparents came flooding back. Thank you Graham and Claire. This is a rare find, ran by people who really care what they do.

Wonderful afternoon tea at Elsie's as always. Took our mother for Mothering Sunday. Lovely food and service from owner Graham and Clare. Having a conversation afterwards with Clare and Graham left me astonish. After one person in a party of five who were meant to be eight complained to Graham after he explained they would need to cover the costs of the missing three as they had not cancelled. You need to book at Elsie's as they are so popular,we wanted to book extra for our party but we're told they were fully booked for both sitting on this Special day. It is easy enough to leave a message and explain. As l understand this party we're given food to take home to cover the missing three. Please ignore the derogatory remarks and review of a person who has no defence for there inabilty and curtacy to cancel a booking in adequate time. Check out all the other reviews as we have had nothing but a great time at Elsie's.

Such a beautiful place with the worst customer service experience I could ever have . Scammed to pay extra money … definitely food is not worthy £180 , had the table reservations for 8 people tried to cancel 3 people but there was no response, we were not informed about the cancellation fee or anything , we showed to the owner on the phone that we tried to call , he gaslighted us that phone did not rang … still had to pay full amount of 3 people that had to cancel and the food wasn’t served for that … the owner would not listen if you wish to order anything extra during the experience of the afternoon tea , would just not acknowledge that you are waiting to be served service itself not worth the time , is just rude not to care for your guests . Beautiful place but is definitely not worth the amount of money and food is not as great … Definitely would never come back .

Such a beautiful place with the worst customer service experience I could ever have . Scammed to pay extra money … definitely food is not worthy £180 , her the table reservations for 8 people tried to cancel 3 people but there was no response, we showed to the owner on the phone that we tried to call , he gaslighted us that phone did not rang … still had to pay full amount of 3 people and the food wasn’t served for that … the owner would not listen if you wish to order anything extra , would just not acknowledge that you are waiting to be served just rude . Beautiful place but the experience is definitely not worth the amount of money and food is not as great …

Such a lovely tea room, everything was perfect & a nice selection of memorabilia... a blast from the past. Enjoyed a great conversation with the owners, Graham & Clare, who have put so much work into setting up the tea room & sourcing the endless trinkets to make it perfect. See you again soon

Wonderful tea room, so welcoming and the food is so good. Graham and Clare work tirelessly to make everyone’s experience of visiting their quaint tea room special, I can’t praise this beautiful tea room enough.

This was a lovely belated part of my Christmas present from my daughter, what an enjoyable experience with a beautiful afternoon tea, everything was very fresh and extremely tasty and presented beautifully. Graham and Claire are very friendly , a well worth trip with lots of childhood memories thrown into the mix.

Cute, limited seating, cash only.

Went in September. Lovely people, lovely food. A+ 10/10 customer service. It was like going to my grandparents house. The Pasties and cakes were delicious. We'll be back!

A small village tea room. They have a small range of coffee and a number of home made food items.

Fantastic as always. You must visit.

Lovely 40's onwards style tea room. Great service by Graham & Claire. So heartwarming that there's still places like this around. Will definitely be going back. The place is full of history. Wonderful.

Elsie's tea room is the Gem in Nassington !! .It was my second visit and what a lovely experience it was !! . it's like a step back in time the food is lovely all home made it's is well worth a visit.

I discovered Elsie’s Vintage Tea Room whilst out doing some delivery driving. I was gobsmacked at its terrific attention to detail, and the whole aesthetic. I knew it was pitch perfect not just got me, but my wife, also. On my first brief/flying visit, I had (hone-made Battenberg cake, and tea. Lovely! And as soon as I could, I went back, with Teresa, my wife. She loved - or rather loves - it, just as I do. The decor is incredible. Period details abound. It combines a visual trip down memory lane with totally appropriate period music (Graham, one half of the husband and wife team that run the place is a former DJ!). The food and drinks are both modest, and modestly priced. A perfect combo’ for relaxed enjoyable eating and drinking. On our first visit as a couple, we both had baked ‘taters. The portions are generous. The fare, simple and unpretentious, is delicious. We capped it all off with one of their fabled knickerbocker glories. And it was glorious! Elsie’s is only open a few days a week. And it’s advisable to call and book. We can’t wait to get back there again. Highly recommended!

As lovely and welcoming as ever

Great place for a cozy tea on an overcast day. Feels like steps back in time, both the menu and decor are period. Some of the antiques are even for sale. Cash only -- though they also take bank transfers Next time we set off on a cycle ride we will bring cash. Assume they take decimal sterling!

This is a beautiful tea shop! Went for afternoon tea and it was perfect. Has a great style, beautiful china, amazing scones and just a lovely vibe. I would definitely recommend and will be returning.

A beautiful nostalgic tearoom , so much memorabilia . If you have a friend or relative e that has dementia I recommend you take them here to help how they feel and for them to chat. That said, everyone will love this place ! The owners are wonderfully kind , the food was delicious & presented really well & the cakes were traditional - battenburg, sponges, custard slices , banana boats. You can buy sweets too. They are a cash only establishment.

I was out driving - doing delivery work - when I stumbled upon this absolute gem. Everything about the place - the colour of the paint scene, the decor (internal and external), the food and drink - just blew me away. At the time I could only stop for a hurried tea (lapsing souchong) and cake (home made Battenberg; a very generous portion!). The price was very reasonable, the service attentive and courteous. And I can’t wait to share this little treasure with Teresa, my wife. I’m certain she’ll love it. Just as I do. Highly recommended.

A small and quirky tea room that is reminiscent of the 1950s. Opens at 1030 am. Limited number of tables but excellent service. Beware that some tables may have been reserved and not available on your visit. Traditional afternoon teas, toasted teacakes, proper china cups and surrounded by vintage bric-a-brac. If this is your thing it is definitely worth the effort to visit.

This was probably the most unique tea room I have ever been in. It reminded me of my nans house when I was a kid! For anyone who doesn’t want 20 types of coffee on the menu, this is the place for you! Be ready to step back in time!

Lovely food and friendly service. Beautiful tea room😍

Phoned up to book two afternoon teas. Asked if they could do a vegan one- I would have agreed to veggie if not but the man just said - No and hung up! Rude!

This place is full of charm and is a proper tearoom , the food is fantastic homemade, home baked cuisine. Will definitely go again and take the family aswell

Amazing afternoon tea for Mother’s Day in a beautiful vintage tea room thank you Graham and Clare

Graham and Clare accommodated a last minute booking from us. I am so glad they did! What an authentic experience. A premium afternoon tea was offered with everything wonderfully fresh. Very generous portions which beat the three of us but luckily we were given a doggie bag! Many cultures have tea rituals and this experience was right up there with the best. Well done Graham and Clare :O)

My two daughters and I travelled a total of about 250 miles to Elsie’s - my favourite eaterie. Without doubt the quality, presentation of the food, the ambience and the friendly service are first class. Thank you Graham and Clare for making our day. It was wonderful. We’ll be back!!

What a lovely experience we had today, we couldn’t have been better looked after. I’d travelled all the way from Manchester for afternoon tea at my mum’s favourite eatery and I wasn’t disappointed. The home cooked food and cakes were delightful, as was the service and the surroundings were unique. Well worth a visit.

Lovely afternoon tea with my sisters. Plenty of food. My favourite was the cream tea. We asked for extra tea which was delicious. Take cash. No card reader although you can bank transfer.

The perfect tea room ,warm friendly nostalgic atmosphere. Food drinks cakes savoury foods ..perfect ,what a gem of a place.

Thank you to Graham and Claire for a wonderful afternoon tea. Such fantastic hosts (can’t do enough for you), lovely sandwiches and cake, and just most wonderfully charming surroundings. So much to look at and admire. This was my second visit. This time I brought my not-local friends with me and we all really enjoyed our afternoon. I love it here.

Without doubt the best scone I have ever had. Really lovely place and will definitely be back

Amazing lunch today. Jacket potatoes were just perfect along with coffee and knickerbocker glory absolutely scrumptious. Delicious homemade food and cakes. Bought cakes home for family. Definitely go back. Lovely friendly atmosphere and fab company. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We finally got round to booking an afternoon tea and we were not disappointed! The minute you walk through the door you are transported back to you Nan’s living room. A lovely warm feeling of nostalgia you can’t help but feel happy. The hosts Graham & Elsie could not have been lovelier it was so interesting to hear how the tearoom came about. Food was stunning and presented beautifully. The interior is a feast for the eyes we couldn’t stop looking around the room. The experience has kick started our Christmas feeling and we cannot wait to come back next year. Thank you 😊

Stumbled across Elsie’s Vintage Tearooms by mistake and couldn’t believe what we found. The decor is a fabulously eclectic mix of kitsch and vintage bits and bobs and I was transported right back to my Grandma’s parlour room! Even has vintage style Xmas decorations. The service from Graham was superb and nothing was too much trouble. Great home baked cakes, scones and 50’s style Knickerbocker glory ice desserts if you have the room! Will be returning regularly and it’s a must if you’re in the area.

Wow! What an absolute gem of a place, so lovely and welcoming. I visited with 2 of my friends to celebrate my 50th birthday, we had a delicious Afternoon Tea, so very special. Graham the host is such a gentleman and made us feel extremely welcome. My friends and I just had such a lovely time here, the scones were particularly delicious! Thank you Graham and Clare for a really magical visit.

Thank you, once again, for making it worthwhile to venture out in the very worst weather to enjoy Elsie’s gorgeous food. After eating at various other cafes, tearooms and garden centres, the comparison to Elsie’s food leaves the others sadly wanting. Once I’ve walked through your door, the ambiance is lovely, the welcome is warm and personable and the food is freshly cooked, delicious and very tempting. My friend and I have made many new friends solely through Elsie’s. It’s definitely the place to meet, eat and retreat before the love of all those calories prevents you going out of their door. Thank you Graham and Clare.

Elsie's is run by lovely hosts Clare and Graham, it's an absolute treasure of delights from the fresh home baked cakes, scones and pastries to the best ploughman's you will ever experience. Everything inside the cafe is authentic vintage even items on the menu. Clare...

What a little gem of a place. Food yummy fabulous, great atmosphere & will hopefully be back. Graham was a fantastic host.

It has taken me a few years to get around to visiting this lovely tea room. I finally went there today. I had afternoon tea, and it was the best I've ever had. The food was home made and very fresh. The tea was very...

Great afternoon tea and lovely tea room. Like stepping back in time, we'll worth a visit

We love going to Elsie’s and today was no exception. Wonderful atmosphere, authentic vintage setting and chance to reminisce and chat about times gone by with Graham and other visitors. Pure escapism and there is nowhere else quite like it. Keep supporting Elsie’s- it is...

Great service, lovely food in a really nostalgic setting..highly recommend.

Really great atmosphere, a great place to eat in an unspoilt setting run by a couple passionate about what they're doing. Will return!

Afternoon tea...lovely food and all in an amazing setting...lots of old time bits and pieces that created a talking point

Beautiful tea room, full of vintage decor. Food delicious, scones are the lightest and tastiest I've had, good amount of jam and clotted cream, good size pot of tea. Made to feel very welcome, would advise booking. Can't wait to go back.

Great little tea room lovely cakes

Graham and Claire helped us with a surprise afternoon tea for my sisters 60th birthday. It was absolutely gorgeous. Wonderful food, lovely hosts and a nostalgic surrounding. A must visit!

Had an amazing afternoon tea. The sandwiches, savouries, cakes and scones tasted delicious and so fresh. The cafe took us down memory lane with all the arti facts and even the aroma as you walk in. Great service. Thank you Graham & Clare for your...

Enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea celebrating a family milestone birthday.

We booked and popped in for a coffee and cake on our way to the Nene Valley Railway with friends. Extraordinary place and atmosphere with lovely home cooked cakes and meals. Graham the owner was a wonderful and chatty host. It has to be seen...

Beautiful little tea room, lovely food and people, advisable to book as small and busy

Lovely traditional & very cosy vintage tea room in a lovely country location. Elsies can soon fill up & advanced booking is advised. Nice menu, that whilst limited, is freshly prepared to order & is delicious. (Lovely cakes too!) Graham greats everyone warmly & serves everyone with a smile. There are some vintage 'nick nacks' for sale too. Worth noting that only cash is accepted, but metric is now taken! Gorgeous find & we will definitely be back when next in the area.

This is an absolute must visit if you want a lovely vintage themed cafe. We came for tea and cakes, it was delicious, home made and very generous servings. Service is superb so needless to say we will be visiting again. Be sure to book...

A vintage tea room that took us all back to our childhood with our grandparents. Sounds, smells, sight and taste taken back in time. Extremely caring and friendly atmosphere. A revisit is a must! Five stars, a great place with lovely people.

Very nice sandwiches, will try the knickerbocker glory next time.

What a find. Reserve your table though. We didn't regrettably but Graham found us a lovely table in a small cafe which then became fully booked. The afternoon tea looked very nice but at our table we chose huge slices of custard tart, massive eccles...

Charming environment Food quality and service excellent. Afternoon tea for 20+ people produced “seemingly effortlessly” though I acknowledge the hard work and attention to detail which had produced this “sumptuous spread” to absolute perfection. Food quality and range superb and efficient speedy service. Friendly, welcoming caring teamwork from Graham and Claire. Cannot recommend highly enough .

Perfect tea shop with stunning nostalgic decor.

The place doesn't take card but that just adds to the whole environment which is good and friendly. The tea and cakes are good too.

Very friendly people and lots of jars of old fashioned sweets. They do a nice afternoon tea . Luv the bone China 😄

The couple from Surrey and family from Yaxley. Discovered this gem just driving through the village, stopped and had lunch, what wonderful food, sandwiches were fresh and we'll presented. Returned the next day with our family for lunch, big pot of tea and sandwiches, finished off by the amazing selection of cake's. The service and friendliness of the owners is brilliant. This is our new go to, it is like stepping back in time and just looking around on what is on display is mesmerising, some of the items are also for sale. A real gem.

Went with my husband, mum and mother-in-law for afternoon tea today. Absolutely fantastic - lovely food, plenty of it, never ending teapot and the oldies had a great time reminiscing about all the old nik naks. Will definitely go back

Horrendous experience. I booked the day before, for 4 people, and at no point was told they need 24 hours notice for an afternoon tea. Sorry, but isn't 'afternoon tea' the point of an old english tea room? It also wouldn't have hurt to mention on the phone that it's a 'cash only' establishment. Bearing in mind 4 teas would have been 60 pound.... who carries that on the off-chance, especially post-covid times. 45 mins into waiting we asked where our food was. "I told you we haven't got any scones" was the reply. "You need scones for afternoon tea". Consequently, we paid for 4 teas and left. Oh, we had to pay for the complimentary ice cream as well. This is a local tea room for local people!

Worst experience ever! Booked 24 hours in advance to take my mother for a special treat. Ordered afternoon tea on arrival and was told they had no scones but did have alternative cakes. So despite being disappointed went ahead with the afternoon tea order. 45mins later asked were our order was only to be told oh you have to order afternoon tea 24 hours in advance, but you took our order at the table?????. Do you not think this is something you should have mentioned when we booked ? Oh and you also forgot to mention you only take cash. Oh and thanks for making us pay for the complimentary icecream you gave us, while we were waiting for our non existent food. But wait if you are a friend of the owner you can expect first class service and your every whim to be pandered too. Don't bother making an effort to travel from outside the village, you won't be made welcome.

A gem of a tea room. Loved the 1940s type theme, very interesting and comfortable setting. The cream tea (scones with clotted cream and jam) was delicious and the gentleman serving was very friendly and helpful. We saw another family have an afternoon tea and that looked lovely so will definitely be coming back for one of those.

Service was slow to, the space is very tight between table's and the bread wasn't great sandwiches a let down but cake and scones very tasty.we were let down by the fact it doesn't say on the website or on the window it won't take cash.

Dropped in for lunch and had a lovely time, Graham the owner really looked after us and just loved the vintage interior, excellent food and good value. We’ll definitely be back.

What an amazing step back in time. We had afternoon tea for mums birthday and spent the whole time reminiscing. Excellent service and food. Many items for sale too. Somehow came home with a hand bag!!

Great place for an afternoon tea with a difference

We had a delicious lunch here - it’s a delightful setting packed full of genuine vintage items many of which are for sale. The sandwiches and cakes were delicious and it was excellent value. Make sure you book and check how long you have your...

We visited today not having a clue what to expect but fancied a drive out to something different. However, we absolutely loved it. The place is decorated up in your typical vintage taste, with music and a chilled atmosphere. We had delicious ploughman’s each followed...

This is a delightful little tearoom run but an equally delightful couple. We had a nice pot of tea, freshly-made sandwiches and a selection of home-baked cakes. Everything was delicious, the service was excellent and the prices reasonable. This is great value for money. Graham...

What a fantastic way to spend an hour or two Drinking a cuppa ,with a slice of homemade cake.

Such a lovely little tea shop. Friendly staff, quirky decor and delicious sandwiches and cakes - all at a very reasonable price. I've been a few times and I will go again. Great little spot if you're passing by on a walk or cycle.

Great teashop, interesting host, lovely relaxed atmosphere. Brilliant. Full of interesting nick nacks most of which are for sale.

Stumbled across this place on a Sunday walk and was so impressed, loads of character, lovely tea, cakes and people. Fascinating inside.

Staying locally with a friend overnight and absolutely delighted to find this joy of a coffee shop come vintage goods emporium. Spent a lovely hour or so browsing the shelves, eating and drinking and chatting with the oh so welcoming and friendly owners. Such a...