We are delighted to have found two places that serve real tea, along with assorted goodies. Perhaps it is not surprising that one place is British and the other Irish, both known for their devotion to a cuppa hot tea.

FRONT PARLOUR AT THE BRITISH SHOPPE in Madison, just off U.S. 1, the shop is in a 1690 clapboard house and consists of four small rooms displaying a wide assortment of British gift items.

In the far corner - beyond a tempting display of teas, jams, shortbreads, English cheeses and bangers - is the tea room.

The cozy room, with its stone fireplace, weathered pine floor boards, overhead wooden beams and a mere eight glass-topped tables, is well suited for a lunch or full afternoon tea, which was our main focus.

There are seven choices, priced from $6.95 for a pot of tea, crumpets, English jams and butter, to $17.95 for the works, the premium Duchess of Bedford tea service. This means thinly sliced finger-sandwiches, cake (frangipani and several other choices), a perfect, craggy-textured, currant-studded scone with jam and Devonshire cream.

The brands of tea, served in fetching Crown Victoria floral ceramic teapots and cups, are the shop's own Rather Jolly Tea Company label, with a selection of 12 black, three green (including our favorite Dragonwell), seven flavored and six decaffeinated teas. In the shop you can also buy a tempting selection of loose Fortnum & Mason, Jackson's of Piccadilly and other English teas.

Lunch entrees, priced from $8.95 to $10.95, feature seven choices. Among them are the traditional ploughman's lunch (crusty bread, butter and a generous slab of farmhouse Cheddar or any of the 10 different imported English cheeses, such as Stilton, Sage Derby, Royal Windsor, Wensleydale), the cottage lunch (shepherd's pie) and the miner's lunch (a Cornish pastry).

This delightful place, as close you are likely to get to Britain without crossing the Atlantic, should be a "must" for any nostalgic Anglophile.
The Front Parlour at The British Shoppe, 45 Wall Street, Madison; (203) 245-4521. Hours for lunch or tea 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Major credit cards accepted.



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