The Book and Bee Cafe and Tea!
Last week on Spring Break, we took a little day trip to Hendersonville, NC to finally be a part of a new venture my extended family have been working hard to bring to life: The Book and Bee Cafe and Tea! It’s a delicious taste of England which will warm your heart before you even step inside! There are so many details to catch your eye that you can’t possibly take it all in in just one visit, but book lovers and tea lovers from all around will be making this place a favorite destination for sure!
This is the realization of a dream of my aunt and my cousin, Lesley and Victoria, who have taken their love for travel to the UK and brought it a lot closer to home for all of us to enjoy. In the short few weeks they’ve been open, the word has gotten out about this place and people are traveling for miles to see what its all about!
The fun starts outside as you walk up the stacked book steps which is the perfect way to enter!
Walking in feels a lot like walking into a storybook itself with each of the different themed rooms depicting a different taste of England. The gorgeous murals were custom choices done by my personal favorite wallpaper company, Wunderwall!
The Garden Room is the first room you enter and big gorgeous blooms greet you immediately. A faux fireplace filled with book pages is at one end, and on the other is a journey through the Cotswolds to other regions!
Through the passage is the Jubilee Room filled with all kinds of tributes to all things British royalty. This room reminds me so much of a shop we visited once in Notting Hill!
Next on the tour is the Eagle and the Child Room, which is a booklover’s dream. (Fans of English literature will know this room is named in honor of the pub in Oxford where C.S. Lewis and Tolkien and others would have their famous meeting of the minds.) But don’t bother trying to pull one of those books off the shelf– this is a mural! And it turned out amazing!
And on the other side of the building is the Stratford room where we sat to have our lunch!
We started with the tea tier which was amazing from bottom to top! These come with a pot of your choice of tea and not one bite will disappoint! (Take note that you need to request tea tiers 24 hours in advance)
I would choose a favorite off of this tier, but every bite was my favorite, so I can’t!
We ordered a pot of the Hobbit tea, which was a taste of blueberry and maple! Delicious! (P.S. You can also buy bags of loose tea to take home!)
We also sampled several different items off of the regular lunch menu and they were all fantastic. I had the reuben which I would love to be tasting again right now!
I was so stuffed after this, but of course Dave insisted that we try some desserts and how could I not? My Aunt Lesley makes the lemon blueberry cake and bread pudding herself and they taste as beautiful as they look!
As I said, it could take several visits before fully taking in all there is to see and taste here. So many of the decor pieces are from Lesley’s and Victoria’s trips to England and make everything feel so authentic.
I love this special tea cup cross stitch art my other aunt made for the tea room as a gift for its opening…
We’re so happy for Lesley and Victoria both for all of their hard work that so many of us will get to enjoy now!
And my little cousin Emily is learning the business well herself as a waitress and assistant!
Obviously, we highly recommend a trip to The Book and Bee if you’re anywhere near Hendersonville. Be sure to follow them on Instagram and Facebook for all the latest and to contact them for reservations and special events!
We’ll be visiting again soon so maybe we’ll see you there!
kandi
March 25, 2021 @ 10:07 am
Cant wait to go.
Julie
March 26, 2021 @ 4:17 pm
You will love it!
Mary
July 8, 2021 @ 1:19 pm
I love about a mile from the tea house and enjoy taking friends there. It reminds me of my trips to England. I love the Jubilee room the best. This area has several great tea houses – each with its own style. A tea lovers dream!
Julie
July 8, 2021 @ 8:21 pm
Oh wow! What treat. I hope you have met Lesley & Victoria! Enjoy your visits!
Sherri
March 25, 2021 @ 11:02 pm
Blimey! I love this! I live in northern Virginia and it’s a 7.5 hour trip, one way, but I must plan a visit with my five daughters! We were stationed in southern England for 2.5 years and could see the Isle of Wight from our quarters in windy Lee on the Solent. We loved every minute we were there! Our first six children all had English accents, so I was called mummy! Our seventh child was born at the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton in 2002, the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. Her middle name is Grace, so we jokingly call her “Your Grace.”
I’m thrilled that your clever aunt and cousin made their dream come true! The Book and Bee spares no thoughtful detail. So brilliant (as the Brits say)!
Julie
March 26, 2021 @ 4:19 pm
Aww! That is great! I love England, too, and I bet those kids’ accents were so cute!! I hope you all get to visit here sometime! They would love to have you.
Vivian Anderson
March 26, 2021 @ 1:00 pm
Great pictures. I look forward to a visit this spring or summer. Your mom had shown me pictures similar to your pictures the other day when we met for lunch. Also I’m excited about the remodeleding of the house you all purchased and hope to see a virtual tour again and again when all the updates are made. What fun to do all you all do as a family. Love you Vivian
Julie
March 26, 2021 @ 4:21 pm
We are definitely having fun! You and the girls are going to love the tea room! Maybe one day when you come this way you can stop by and see the house! Love you too!
Elisabeth
March 26, 2021 @ 1:55 pm
What a fun tea house! They did a lovely job decorating it and that lemon blueberry cake looks delish! I love their entrepreneurial spirit and wish them the best! I live in Arizona but if I ever get back there I would definitely love to go.
Julie
March 26, 2021 @ 4:22 pm
Thanks so much! I think you’d really enjoy it. And yes, if you ever get to go, get the cake!
Friday favorites… – The Maine Kinnellys
March 26, 2021 @ 2:54 pm
[…] Spring brings out the wanderlust in me. Especially now, perhaps because the pandemic has kept us at home for the past year. No, we are probably not going to venture out to travel anytime soon, but I’ve already found a great little café to go to if/when we visit our friends Ron and Pat in North Carolina. (Our last trip down was nearly 14 years ago on our honeymoon and we always wanted to go back.) In Hendersonville, NC, this little café opened, featuring two of my favorite things: books and tea…all with a taste of England thrown in. [You can read all about it here: https://lessthanperfectlifeofbliss.com/2021/03/the-book-and-bee-cafe-and-tea.html%5D […]
Jennibell
March 27, 2021 @ 7:17 pm
This is such a neat place!! Thanks for sharing….will keep it in mind if ever in the area 🙂