Sparta House Tea Room and Restaurant

Had the pleasure of having lunch here, it was recommended by our museum guide. The food was good, decor authentic (old stage house), my only complaint would be that the prices were a little dear.

A group of us went to this charming little tea room last weekend ,after taking the train trip nearby . All of us are from England , so we were hoping ( since they advertised an English Cream Tea ( that we would actually get something resembling and English Cream Tea. We weren't expecting tea at the Ritz, or even Selfridges, however we were expecting some quality and value. We ordered for " cream teas " with scones cream and preserves . The tea was ok, an orange pekoe tea bag and hot water ,The scones were dreadful, tasteless dry as dust and lacked any resemblance to a scone. They were more in the line of overcooked buttermilk biscuits, and were sorely in need of vanilla, sugar, and some fruit of some kind. The preserves were served in a tiny thimble plastic container , with what tastes like no name jam. The 2 scones and tea were $ 10.00 For anyone who has ever made scones, or eaten real scones, ( such as those from the Scone Witch in Ottawa ) you will know what I mean . This was lacklustre, the server never did come back to ask if any of us wanted more hot water for our tea, two of us asked for lemon and extra butter for the scones, which we never did get . Service wasn't even adequate, and based on that none of us felt that a tip was in order . The scones were very much out of a box , mix type, and not even the Greenes mix imported from England, which at least taste like good old English scones .If you are going to advertise English Cream Tea, make edible scones, good tea and boiling not merely hot water , , fresh preserves with real fruit, not a jelly out of a jar . The only good thing was that we hadn't made a reservation for the tea with the sandwiches etc. At least we only wasted $ 10.00 ( food cost only , not taxes etc .)

Understandably this is a tea room and perhaps their cream teas are good. We stopped in for lunch and chose to only have soup because it was the cheapest item on the menu at $5.00 for what amounted to about a cup of soup with two packages of crackers...no bread offered. Sandwiches are 11.00 !!! They had other British food at 14 -18.00 but we just wanted a light lunch...well we got it. For $5.00 I think they can supply a bit of bread and butter or something! Disappointed, soup wasn't anything to speak of, quantity was lacking, price ...too much.

I used to love this little tea room but this time didn't receive the proper service over my gluten free questions.If I ask about the food it's because I don't want to get sick not to make their lives miserable. Please do food safety training around allergies and celiac! To be told the last guy ate the pie ok doesn't help, nor does being told there wasn't any cornstarch when I needed to know what it was made from! You have good food, ambiance and a lovely spot, just please please, become aware of food safety! Thank u

Went for lunch here, food was all premade, nothing seemed fresh. Very over priced for what you get. Would not recommend eating here at all.