Quite similar to the English, the Dutch are avid tea drinkers and this can be traced to the Golden Age Period when the seafaring Dutch were trading spices, tea and other commodities with the east.
Drinking tea in the Netherlands is part of the culture, but unlike the English who have elevated tea drinking to a fine form of social art and grace, the no-nonsense Dutch don’t really make a big fuss out of it. They just drink tea in the afternoon like they drink milk for breakfast and lunch. So naturally, High Tea arrangements in the Netherlands is Dutch style which means you will seldom find scones and cream tea or clotted cream as popularly called on the menu, although recently, I noticed that many restaurants and hotels especially in Amsterdam are offering them now. But for those in and around Utrecht, don’t lose heart, De Bakkerswinkel serve them!
The ‘De Bakkerswinkel’ in Utrecht (translation: The Bakers Shop) is probably one of my cool culinary discoveries this year. I found them on the internet while googling ‘High Tea in Utrecht’ and they are the only bakery and restaurant that serves scones and clotted cream daily with no minimum persons limit for high tea in the city I believe. In addition, their restaurant is in the old brick basement right on the canal, so charming and gezellig.
So I met up with Blondine a few weeks ago after our summer holidays and we had lunch here—tea and scones and cream. We didn’t go for the real High Tea because it was too much—how many sandwiches, scones and pastries can you actually eat before your stomach begs for mercy? I just need one scone really and pass the tea please.
Visit Period: September 2010
Destination: Utrecht (Utrecht), The Netherlands
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