Making Memories at Brambles English Tea Room

It was Estero residents Allison Rick, Dylan Rick, Ruby Mina and Teena Thompson's first visit to Brambles. Dylan and Ruby made their own fascinators.

Pinkies up or pinkies down? Do you put the milk in the tea first or second and do you actually eat the sandwiches with your fingers? The Brambles English Tea Room in Naples was established in 1995, and visiting Brambles has become a tradition for many visitors to Naples. Some call Brambles a "hidden treasure," serving traditional English tea service in beautiful imported English Bone China in the cozy ambiance of a tea room in a small English country village.

Our group decided to celebrate our friend Rosie Mcabier's 85th birthday at Brambles in the heart of Old Naples. We could not wait to indulge ourselves in the rituals of a traditional afternoon tea service. Their traditional afternoon tea is served in three courses and usually on a three-tiered tray alongside your choice of a pot of tea, all served together.

The traditional afternoon tea service is served in three courses on a three-tiered tray. The tea sandwiches are on the bottom, English scones are in the middle, and sweets are on the top.

A pot of chilled Peach Apricot Brandy tea served from a traditional English Bone China teapot.

And there is an order to follow - the bottom tier, or the first course, holds the savories and tea sandwiches such as Brambles chicken salad or English egg salad; the middle tier holds the traditional English scones with golden raisins jams served with clotted cream and strawberry preserves or the Scone of the Day; and the third or top tier holds the sweets. And yes, you can use your fingers to eat all three courses.

It was a very hot and humid afternoon, and we were very parched, so for starters, we ordered two pots of cold Peach Apricot Brandy, a black tea with peach brandy flavor, and one of their best sellers.

Bonnie and Rosie ordered the gluten-free Ellen's Fruity Chicken Salad which is baked chicken breast on a bed of organic spring mix topped with avocados, walnuts, mandarin oranges, and strawberry and they both had leftovers to take home.

Bill and I stayed traditional with Brambles homemade quiche Lorraine served with tomato, carrot, and cucumber salad and Brambles mango chutney dressing. Their traditional Chicken Pot Pie was very tasty and also served with cucumber, carrots and tomato salad. The Shepherd's Pie (English call this Cottage Pie) was also a tempting alternative.

Bonnie Calvin, Bill Hulbig, Donna Fiala, Charlie Lamb and celebrating her 85th birthday, Rosie Mcabier of Marco Island.

Nettie Morton of Naples celebrating her 95th birthday with friends.

Nettie Morton of Naples was celebrating her 95th birthday with friends at Brambles. According to her friends, Nettie has been having teas in her home for over 40 years, but for this occasion, her friends decided to bring her to Brambles.

A display of traditional English Bone China tea sets.

An invitation to a proper English Tea usually comes with a few rules. For casual Florida, it would mean "smart casual" attire. Allison Rick and her friend Teena Thompson came from Estero – this was their first visit to an English Tea Room. They came wearing fascinators to match their elegant and classy English garden floral motif dresses.

Brambles is a classic place to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, mother-daughter afternoon lunch, ladies catch-up lunch, or just make memories with new friends. And since it is a very popular place, don't be surprised if you run into someone you know. Everybody knows Donna Fiala and she was also visiting Brambles with a friend that afternoon. Some might call the ambiance "English to the bone," with a large selection of loose teas and yummy desserts. On my next visit, I will try Brambles Scone of the Day – served with clotted cream and take home a couple of packages of a specialty blended Royal Wedding black tea – one for me and one to gift.

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