I’d heard that there is a place, right smack bang in the middle of The Rocks (one of the loveliest, most scenic tourist and historical areas in Sydney) where there is a “secret tea room”. One where you can watch the busy world go by whilst partaking of some afternoon tea goodies for surprisingly reasonable cost. And of course one of the biggest lures were the above tea cosies.
The scone clock
The reason some consider it to be a Secret tea house is because it is only open on weekends (when the Rocks markets are on). It’s right in the centre of the action and there are tables outside right near the market stalls which provides a lovely buzzing vibe. If you walk through the Irish Design Shop, there are also tables to the right in a leafy walled courtyard as well as an enclosed, cosy looking room with a stove. My friends Lulu and Andrew have ventured into town from the Blue Mountains today to pay us a visit with their baby Audrey so we were excited to see them and find out all about this Secret Tea Room for ourselves.
Menu modeled by Audrey and her dad
The food menu is simple, consisting of 5 light meal choices: scones (plain or scone of the day), soda bread, raisin soda bread or a rhubarb and raspberry pie all paired with a drink of your choice for $9 or you can order a drink by itself for $3- $4 (a steal). We order a selection of everything except for the plain scones and Lulu points out the clock that signals that we have made it in good time, for only minutes ago, did they bake their latest batch of scones, a half hour ritual that lasts all day so that you know when is best to come back for the freshly baked goodies.
Our goodies arrive not long after and of course the Teapot with the ladybirds is the item I covet. My tea is the strawberries and cream flavour (just don’t add milk, it will curdle!) made with loose leaf tea as all of the teas here are. It’s delicious and very strong with strawberry flavour.
Soda bread with preserves and butter and a drink of choice $9
My Soda bread comes with a raspberry conserve and pats of butter. It’s thinly sliced and good and warm.
Raisin Soda Bread with preserves and butter and drink of choice $9
I try some of Lulu’s Raisin Soda bread and it’s absolutely chock full of raisins and the heady scent of cinnamon and cloves and mixed spices. Out of the two breads, this is definitely the pick.
Scones with double cream and jam and drink of choice $9
Andrew’s Scones are good, and quite hot as they’ve just emerged from the oven. As for Sydney’s best…well that’s a big claim. They are good no doubt and very fluffy and light and served with double cream and raspberry jam.
Rhubarb and Raspberry pie served with ice cream and drink of your choice $9
The rhubarb and raspberry pie is a generous slice served with ice cream and it’s deliciously tart (but perfect when paired with the ice cream) with a strong raspberry taste. It is served with Barry’s Irish tea, a black tea.
The cosy inner room
We wander inside the building to see what else lies within and it seems that there is also a gallery upstairs.
World name book
There’s also a flip book in which you can see whether your last name appears. Curiously, my husband’s doesn’t so we assume that it’s because they are Irish names but Lulu’s does and hers is English and there are also non Irish names like Rizzo and Rodriguez. Curious!
The courtyard area towards the back
“How about some tea for me?” Audrey asks
After 2 hours of simply angelic behaviour, Audrey starts to fidget so we prepare to leave, We check out the markets-as it’s a Sunday the food markets aren’t on, instead it’s the touristy souvenir markets so we don’t make a purchase. We still love the romance of playing tourist in our own city though.
Tara Tea Room
Part of the Irish Design Store
33 George Street, The Rocks, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9247 3233
Open weekends from 10am-5pm
http://www.irishdesign.com.au
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17 Comments | Add your own
It was fun to read this post! I stopped in and had a look around the Tea Shop and the Irish Shop (on your recommendation of course) while we were at the Rock’s Market.
Hi Lorraine!
So beautiful place and so cute all the photos…the teapot a perfect green touch.
I want some raspberry pie with some ice cream
Happy New Year for you!!
Gera .:. sweetsfoods
Tea cosies always make me feel like I should learn to knit better! That pie looks superb.
Well it’s not a secret anymore my friend. That double cream looks good!
Looks like a perfect pie for me as I sit watching the world go by.
It sounds enchanting! I feel a story stirring…
Love the tea cosies! It’s all about little touches like that, isn’t it
Hi Barbara-Oh cool! Does it bring back some holiday memories?
I wondered if you had a chance to go in (but didn’t want to ask in case it sounded pushy).
Hi Gera-Thanks! Those tea cosies are so cute. Everyone knew I’d go crazy over them
Happy New Year Gera! 
Hi Arwen-I’d learn to knit if I could make one of those-but it looks a bit difficult for a novice like me
Hi Christie-Girlfriend, any cafe in the middle of The Rocks Markets isn’t going to stay much of a secret for long!
Hi Cappucino-An outside table is perfect for people watching!
Hi Blond Duck-Oh yes! A story about it would be just magical. Work your Blond Duck magic!
Hi Y-Sadly I’ll admit I probably wouldn’t have been quite so drawn in if a) the tea cosies weren’t so cute and b)they didn’t have ladybirds on them
Love the tea cosies, as well as the idea of a secret tea room!
How cute are those lovely tea cozies! I think I am going to have to get my knitting needles out.
Coming from a land of Tea shops, that one looks great
Warm scones are a great thing 
rhubarb and raspberry pie for me, please, and as quickly as possible.
It does bring back good memories! I really appreciated your help! My husband and I almost had dinner at Quay and I tried to get everyone to go to Sailor Thai, but they were being difficult.
I love those tea cosies! Do they sell them there?
I like those tea cosies – but also the pie combination. Rhubarb and raspberry, yummo. Would make a nice jam, too.
It’s a steal price! Already including a drink too. I hope these will open on 2nd Jan. I will told my friend about this and I know they will be excited to go there. Is there any buttermilk scones?
Hi Helen-I’d love a tea cosy like that! Although it would have to be purchased as I can’t knit at all
Hi Jorden-Good idea! They’d be a great present for a tea loving friend too. Definitely, you can see that they take their scones seriously when they let you know when they’re out of the oven!
Hi grace-Haha me too! Just seeing the pics makes me salivate.
Hi Barbara-Cool! Oh it was nothing, I am so excited when a fellow blogger graces our fair shores that I just want them to have the best time possible!
Hi Renee-I haven’t seen anything quite like them here. Although it seems the sort of thing that would be sold at markets. I should have a better look one day!
Hi SydneyGal-Oh yes a very nice jam combo indeed! I was really impressed with how much raspberry was in the pie as a lot of places skimp of the expensive ingredients like berries
Hi Lilia-Yes it’s almost unheard of here. $9 would buy you a slice of cake maybe. I don’t know about buttermilk, you could ask them. It won’t be open on January 2nd as it’s only open on weekends!
Hello!
Ash the owner of tara tea room here. Just wanted to thank you for your review you did of us a while back, we have had a lot of people click through to our site as a result. Your blog is excellent and I’m often on there myself checking out my competition
Just wanted to let you know we’ve completely changed our menu and are now only doing scones, but lots of different varieties. We are going to be featured on Sydney Weekender this Saturday at 5.30pm on channel 7.
Hope to see you again, next time you are in the Rocks.
Ash
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