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From the outside, it may seem like a corner shop post office, but step inside and customers are transported into a Bridgerton world of Georgian grandeur. Lord Morton’s Tea Rooms is an eccentric escape to a parlour of oil paintings and an absurdly glamorous toilet.
Not far from Junction 5 of the M5 for Bromsgrove and Droitwich, you’ll find Lord Morton’s in New Rd, Cutnall Green. There’s a few tables and chairs outside but it’s easy to miss this cafe as it’s an extension to a village post office in leafy Worcestershire.
If you enter through the shop, there’s rows of sweets, newspapers and Royal Mail parcels ready to go on the post office counter. Yet, cross the threshold into the tearoom and suddenly you feel like Penelope Fetherington venturing on an assignation with Lord Colin Bridgerton or Lady Danbury.
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The post office was bought in 2001 with the tea rooms created as part of an extension in 2007. It’s a regal affair with the logo featuring a crown, while the menu has images of gents in stiff collars and bow ties. Here’s more of what you can expect from inside.
Inside Lord Morton’s Tea Rooms
A red carpet leads diners into the tea rooms from the cafe entrance. Chandeliers hang sparkling while a plump gent stares jovially out over proceedings in the dining room.
The painting is of Georgian personality Daniel Lambert – the type of man who famously wrestled a bear and wouldn’t be amiss in the fantasy world of Bridgerton. The tea room can hold up to 48 diners and there are a scattering of tables, which often get booked up in advance.
Friendly waitresses are at hand to take orders and, if you’re lucky, the eccentric owner ‘Lord Lee Morton’ may be around in his top hat and full length faux-fur coat.
Food and drink at Lord Morton’s
There’s a hearty menu offering everything from light snacks and breakfasts to sandwiches, hot meals plus old fashioned puddings and cakes. For ladies who want to whisper latest society gossip over tea and scones, there’s even the full blown afternoon tea.
Some of the finest worldwide produce has been procured. There’s 24 varieties of tea, coffee blends direct from Italy along with the best of local on the doorstep – ice cream from Droitwich’s Bennett’s Farm, Mawley Milk’s dairy items and bread from Meadow Mill Bakery.
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Picking from the Light Bites section, my friend and I tested out the Mushroom Soup and Homemade Haddock Chowder, which both came with chunky bread and butter. We also had a side of Chunky Cheesy Chips.
The creaminess of the warming chowder was a hearty dish with large chunks of fish and new potatoes in the homemade broth. Maybe not as refined as a restaurant chowder, but just as delicious. The soup too was full of flavour and was a generous-sized serving.
Moorish chunky chips were large, crisp on the outside and with plenty of fluffy potato. The cheese is a guilty pleasure on top that adds to their appeal. It all tasted like good, wholesome, hearty home-cooked food at its best.
Grandest toilet in the country
Popping for a loo break before dessert, I came across a water closet that sets hearts a flutter. Packed with classical paintings from floor to ceiling, there’s even not one, but two large crystal chandeliers overhead.
Entering via the post office, its grandeur comes as a wonderful surprise and can’t help but raise a smile. It’s like an antiques shop has been turned into a washroom.
Desserts at Lord Morton’s
Save space for a hot pudding, which all come with cream or a scoop of famous Bennett’s ice cream from up the road. The homemade choices range from Chocolate Brownie to Bakewell Tart and Ginger and Walnut Pudding.
I plumped for the Sticky Toffee Pudding. Although it had an overkill of icing sugar dusted over it, the hot, sweet sauce was a perfect partner to the sponge. Delicious enough to lick the spoon clean.
Service
The busy waiting team are friendly and efficient, offering plenty of advice on the menu. Food and drinks arrive quickly and servings are piping hot, which is always a good sign.
There’s a family feel to the cafe with long-standing members of the team who know the owner well.
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Prices
Prices are average for this kind of cafe. There’s hot drinks from £2.75 while soup or chowder with bread, or a range of sandwiches, all cost from £5.95 to £7.95.
Most hot meals including jacket potatoes, breakfasts, chilli con carne, pasta dishes and even chicken tikka masala are available for between £8.95 and £10.95. It’s good quality grub so the prices are fair.
Verdict
Packed with charm and eccentricities, Lord Morton’s is a cafe that offers unique and inviting delights. It’s a mix of old world grandeur combined with a menu for modern appetites at a reasonable price.
There’s plenty of wholesome, good quality homemade food and although it’s not the most refined to look at, it tastes delicious. Added to that, the cafe has a busy, buzzing and friendly atmosphere..
If there’s one thing viewers of Bridgerton have learned it’s to not judge a book by its cover. That goes for Lord Morton’s Tea Rooms too as behind the practicalities of a post office frontage, there is the decadence of a restaurant with hidden depths.
Lord Morton’s Tea Rooms, Corner House, New Rd, at the junction with School Lane, Cutnall Green, Droitwich, WR9 0PQ. 01299 851201.
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