Brewing up a storm
Where: Soho's Secret Tea Room
Business background: The Coach & Horses in Soho opened a tea room in October, aiming to capitalise on the afternoon tea market.
Licensee Alastair Choat opened the tea room after he noticed that the only places available for tea drinkers in London were "stiff, formal and expensive" hotels.
"It's been going from strength to strength," he says. "I've always been a great fan of vintage style from the '30s, '40s and '50s." He collects crockery and tablecloths from the period and uses them in his tea room.
"It has a very vintage, casual, laid-back style. The secret element excites people." The room is above the pub and only accessible through a door at the bar, so people have to enter through the pub itself.
Music from the '70s and '80s is played during the day. It seats 36 covers and can serve from 20 on a Monday to 100 on a Friday and Saturday. "It gets booked out," says Choat. "We get a very broad mix of people from teenagers up to people in their eighties."
Choat says average spend per head is £14-plus and the cream teas are the most popular order with Earl Grey, Breakfast Tea and Yin Zhen as the most regularly ordered teas. It has also doubled the pub's Champagne sales, as the menu encourages people to trade up.
What's on offer: There are 15 loose leaf teas on offer, five of which are available in a pot for one. Prices for a cup range from £2.95 to £3.30 for the Yin Zhen and pots come in at £2.95 to £3.40. Larger pots are
also available.
Coffee is served in a cafetière or espresso pot from £3.50 to £4.95 and hot chocolate is £2.95, made with vanilla, 32% cocoa and sugar.
Other snacks on offer, made daily by the chefs, include sandwiches, scones, cakes, shortbreads and jams. Customers can choose from cucumber, egg & cress or smoked salmon & cream cheese sandwiches for £3.
There is always a range of home-made cakes available and cupcakes for £3 in flavours including chocolate fudge, vanilla, and lemon curd. Two fruit or plain scones are £3.60 served with jam and clotted cream.
For £6.10 customers can enjoy a cream tea deal with a pot of tea, two scones, a selection of jams and clotted cream. For more peckish customers, £14.80 per person will buy the cream tea deal plus a slice of cake, cupcake and sandwiches.
"It is exceeding all expectations," says Choat. "It is drawing in a new customer base so has grown my regular visitors."
Marketing: Choat has a public relations company, but has done very little advertising for the tea room. There are boards outside and the tea room has been reviewed in the press, but Choat attributes most of its success to date to word-of-mouth advertising.
It has been going so well that he has had to extend the opening hours, which were originally 2pm to 6pm, to 12noon to 8pm, seven days a week.