Vintage Emporium & Tea Rooms, 14 Bacon Street, Brick Lane, London, E1 6LF

Opening Hours:

Cafe: Monday to Sunday, 10am-10pm

Shop: Monday to Sunday, 10am-7pm

http://vintageemporiumcafe.com/

There are more vintage clothing shops on Brick Lane than you can shake a stick at, and so, in my modest opinion, there was no real need for another such shop to open up its doors earlier this year. Or at least this was what I thought as I reluctantly walked up the steps, into this little shop that sits just off Brick Lane. As I was soon to find out, however, the Vintage Emporium and Tea Rooms isn’t just another vintage clothing shop.

As the name suggests, the place is split up into two sections: a clothes shop and tea rooms. Walk down the staircase and into the basement and you will find the Vintage Emporium, a treasure trove of old-fashioned costumes. Unlike most vintage stores, which seem to feature the sort of ill fitting and garish clothes you ridded yourself of 10 years ago, the Vintage Emporium features a selection of clothing that genuinely is vintage and not just second hand. It includes fashions from the Victorian era to the nineteen fifties and is reasonably priced for such old clobber.

Back upstairs you will find the Tea Rooms, whose Victorian-theme, well thought-out décor and laid back atmosphere provides a welcome break from chain-store coffee houses. It serves delicious and generous portions of homemade cake and a vast selection of hot beverages, which are served enormous china cups. The place is quirkily furnished and you will never find yourself short of conversation looking around at old Bakelite-style telephone hanging on the wall (which, incidentally is fully functional), the shelves of books and the old antique chests, tables and chairs.

Another great thing about the Tea Rooms is that they are open until 10pm and host a wide range of events, including drama for adults on Mondays, life drawing classes on Tuesdays, open mic night on Sundays and the occasional poetry night. For full details of these events and more information please see their website.