The Cake Bake Shop
With locations in Broad Ripple and Carmel City Center, Cake Bake owner Gwendolyn Rogers’ glittery universe delivers a fairy-tale afternoon tea amid the gleaming counters lined with elaborately layered cakes under glass domes. The afternoon tea ($65 per person) includes a selection of teas, finger sandwiches, house-made scones with cream and preserves, and mini-desserts. Cake Bake also offers a children’s version ($45 for ages 12 and under), serving hot chocolate, lemonade, or tea.
6515 Carrollton Ave., 317-257-2253; 799 Hanover Place, Carmel, 317-257-2253
Cheeky Bastards
With a name like Cheeky Bastards, you know this Geist spot doesn’t stand on ceremony. Its whimsical reservation-only afternoon tea falls on the second Sunday of the month and features an assortment of finely brewed teas, finger sandwiches, fresh scones with clotted cream and jam, and pastries galore. The whole $50 affair is authentically British in that it is a little irreverent and a little proper.
11210 Fall Creek Rd., 317-288-9739
L.S. Ayres Tea Room at the Indiana State Museum
The Indiana State Museum houses a lovingly recreated L.S. Ayres Tea Room built using original furniture, historic photos, and period details to evoke the elegance of the original downtown department store restaurant. Visitors can step inside most days to view the decor and artifacts. Afternoon tea and lunch service are offered to the public only during the holiday season but are also available by private rental throughout the year.
650 W. Washington St., 317-232-1637
Ms. B’s Tea Room & Bistro
This woman-owned space in Clayton incorporates its line of teas into themed events that range from a period Sherlock Holmes Mystery Tea to last month’s “topsy-turvy” Dr. Seuss Inspired Teatime. But its daily afternoon tea service is also a celebration. No reservation is necessary for its standard $35 tea or Tea for Two (which includes an extra pot of tea) for $50. Vegan alternatives and other dietary replacements can be accommodated by reservation.
4883 Iowa St., Clayton, 317-539-2507
The Parlor P.S.
Next door to an antique shop in downtown Mooresville, Paul and Shelly Slagle’s Victorian-themed restaurant serves a $55 afternoon tea that feels equal parts formal dinner and Southern comfort. The tiered tray comes stacked with creamy crab dip and crispy wontons, fried green tomatoes, a chicken salad croissant, and Parlor Fries, plus a scoop of sweet cream cheese (in place of traditional clotted cream) alongside the ladyfinger cookies. There are no reservations at this first-come, first-served establishment open seven days a week.
6 W. Main St., Mooresville, 317-584-3010
Sassafras Lunch & Tea Room
In a sunny yellow Georgian-style home in historic downtown Greenwood, Sassafras feels like a visit to a very elegant friend’s house with linen napkins, fine stemware, and vintage teacups galore. Afternoon tea is served Tuesday through Friday after 2:30 p.m. and Saturdays after 3 p.m. (reservations required) for $30. The $12 Princess Tea offers a children’s petite version.
229 N. Madison Ave., Greenwood, 317-888-8449
Serliana
Located inside the new InterContinental hotel that repurposed a 100-year-old building just off Monument Circle, Serliana makes a great case for special occasion dining in downtown Indianapolis. And its Saturday and Sunday afternoon tea service ($30–$60) is especially fancy. Executive chef Craig Baker elevates the ritual with smoked salmon open-faced sandwiches on Amelia’s semolina, house-made scones with clotted cream, and artful princess cakes, lemon curd tarts, and other pretty pastries.
17 W. Market St., 463-303-0380
The Tea Room of Rustic Root
It is hard to imagine a more precious setting than this Beech Grove gift shop and tearoom filled with pretty table settings and dripping with flowers and chandeliers. The $22 Petite Tea includes tea, a sandwich, soup, a scone, and a sweet treat. And the $15 Princess Tea for ages 12 and under comes with a tiara.
626 Main St., Beech Grove, 317-591 9497
Twigs & Tea
This Fishers gift shop doubles as a sweet dining room. Its $45 tea service is a formal affair, with floral table settings and a tower of finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream, and seasonal desserts such as the popular raspberry coconut cake. Afternoon tea is by reservation only and available 1–3 p.m., 11399 Lantern Rd., Fishers, 317-288-4329
The Art Of Afternoon Tea:
How to handle the cups, scones, and centuries-old customs of afternoon tea like you belong at the table.
Modern afternoon tea originated in 1840s England—widely attributed to Anna Russell, the 7th Duchess of Bedford—as a moment of midday sustenance between the British aristocracy’s standard two main meals of breakfast and evening dinner (not to be confused with the heartier “high tea” evening meal, which emerged among the working class around the same time and was often served at high dining tables after a long day). The custom today often includes a brunch element. And though you don’t need a tiara or British accent to partake these days, especially as the Americanized service has come to focus more on fun and whimsy than ritual and propriety, it doesn’t hurt to keep a few rules of tea etiquette tucked inside your linen napkin.
Know the lay of the land.
Each of the three tiers of a teatime tray serves a specific purpose. The bottom level holds savories, mainly small sandwiches and sometimes extra treats like salty dips. The middle tier is traditionally for heavier, buttery scones with clotted cream and preserves, which pair nicely with your sips of tea. The top layer is reserved for the prettiest little desserts that are customarily saved for last.
Break the scone, don’t slice.
Never mind the crumbs, this lightly sweet quick bread is at its best when broken off by the bite and anointed with the accompanying cream and preserves. The jury’s out on which comes first in the slathering.
Don’t clink.
Adding milk and sugar to your tea is fine, but avoid hitting the side of the (often quite fragile) cup while stirring. And never leave your spoon in the cup afterward.
Pinkies down.
A throwback to a time when teacups lacked handles, the raised finger is now considered silly and performative—less Queen Elizabeth, more Dr. Evil.
