While on holiday, I popped into the tearooms at Christchurch Priory, a beautiful historic church in the heart of town, to escape a heavy downpour.
They have an outdoor seating area, but it definitely wasn't the weather for sitting outside! The rain was coming down hard, so it was great to find somewhere dry to take refuge.
I initially tried to order an oat milk cappuccino, but the tearoom's coffee machine wasn't set up to foam oat milk. Instead, I went for an Americano with a small jug of oat milk. God works in mysterious ways!
The decor throughout was really nice, and the main seating area features beach hut wallpaper, which feels very fitting for the location. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best coffee I've ever had. I prefer a strong brew, but this was quite weak. At least it was wet! That said, the staff were very welcoming and the tearoom itself had a really nice, comfortable vibe.
Once I finished, I decided to head out and have a look around the local shops. The weather had other plans, though. The rain came down even harder than before, so I turned right around and went back to the Priory tearooms.
Because of the bad weather, the room I was in previously got quite busy. It seems a very popular place! Thankfully, the tearoom spreads across three separate rooms inside, so I moved into one of the other rooms where there were plenty of seats, where I ended up sitting very close to the vicar!
For my second visit, I ordered a black Americano, a cheese and onion pasty alongside a cranberry and white chocolate slab.
The food completely made up for the weak coffee earlier. The pasty hit the spot and the cranberry and white chocolate slab was delicious. The bad coffee aside, the friendly staff and great food made it a good haven from the rain, or should that be heaven?
