Oh I do love a wee bit of posh, and that's exactly what you will find at The House of Herb and Roses in Dural. This nursery/gift shop/tea house is the perfect spot to stop for a light lunch or afternoon tea when you next want to escape the city and take a weekend drive out to the north west.
The House of Herb and Roses is so much more than a nursery. The quaint A frame house is home to a posh little gift shop where you can stock up on gorgeous gifts, home wares, beauty products and bits and bobs for your garden.
Once you have finished browsing you enter the tea rooms, where very friendly staff will greet you and show you to your table. The tea rooms are decorated in a very chic style with feather embossed wall paper adorning the walls and lovely French style home wares placed in every nook and cranny (everything is available for purchase). Every table has a vase of fresh flowers which adds to the wee bit of posh feeling.
We visited for afternoon tea. I would highly recommend that you make a booking as The House of Herb and Roses is very popular with locals and city day trippers. They live by the motto that "Life is short....have dessert first", so their decadent home made cakes are a must - heavenly lemon meringue pie, sticky sweet fruit tarts and moist gluten free orange and almond cake are to name but a few.
As it was a cool winter's afternoon we opted for the Devonshire Tea. There is a huge selection of tea from the quirky SerendipTea range. Examples include Congo Bongo (coconut, mango and organic black tea), Temple of Heaven (Chinese gunpowder green tea), and Cha Cha Chai (cloves, cardamon, ginger, cinnamon and pepper), as well as your traditional favourites. Your tea is served in very dainty and pretty tea cups and saucers. If caffeine is more your poison, they serve excellent Allpress coffees.
The scones were freshly baked and were served with home made jam. Unfortunately the cream was a wee bit disappointing - there wasn't much of it and it tasted as though it had come out of a spray can. I so much prefer a big dollop of double cream with freshly baked scones.
If you decide to visit at lunch time you can dine on freshly made soup, frittatas and savoury scones as well as the daily specials. The House of Herb and Roses also serve High Tea but this must be booked in advance. For a girly afternoon out why not book one of their floral workshops where you can learn the art of flower arranging and indulge in high tea at the same time? Oh so perfectly posh!
