The Irony of British-Inspired Tea Parlors in New York City | The New Yorker

"I learned that this popular West Village tea shop was conceived by London expat Nicola Perry—who drafted a business plan in the nineteen-eighties—and that she held the first afternoon tea there two days before Christmas in 1990. The classic service (tea service from $40) arrives on a two-tiered platter of finger sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream, vanilla sponge cake, and hot black tea served in the daintiest of cups; the atmosphere can even take on the feel of a pub. Perry has had to institute house rules printed on the menu, including No. 5: “Be pleasant to the waitresses.”" - David Kortava