Carriage House Cafe & Tea Room

Located on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate is the Carriage House built in 1876. The Carriage House now houses the gift shop, changing exhibits, and a Café and Tea Room that offers Lunch and Afternoon Tea. Just FYI, this tea room was originally called the Twinings Tea Room, and is still listed under that name on Tea Map. After making our purchases in the gift shop, we headed outside for our scheduled tea.

On a beautiful September day, our group gathered under a large patio tent where we enjoyed dining al fresco. We were offered an iced Raspberry tea, said to be sourced from Harney & Sons. Teapots with hot water and an assortment of Harney tea bags were provided to each table.

A fresh salad was served quickly and efficiently.

Individual sandwich plates included a Cucumber Sandwich with seasoned cream cheese, Roasted Vegetables with savory hummus, and Chicken Salad on Raisin Bread. The sandwich plate also held a slice of Red Velvet tea bread and a Cranberry Scone. The scone was flavorful, but no cream or jelly was offered.

And dessert was an individual serving of a Chocolate Fudge cupcake with a chocolate drizzle, cream and berry garnish. Yummy!

The trolley took the group back to the pedestrian walkway in central Cape May where everyone had the remainder of the day to explore Cape May on their own. Many went shopping, others strolled the beach, some walked briskly to the lighthouse, a few relaxed back at the hotel, and even others visited with friends that have summer homes in Cape May.