I’m addicted… to high tea. On my last trip to London, I forgot to go for high tea because the city was experiencing record low temperatures and my girlfriend thought it might be too touristy for me anyway. But when a recent tragedy struck in my life, and I wanted instant comfort, I decided to make a reservation at Lovejoy’s Tea Room for high tea.

Lovejoy’s is like going over to your grandmother’s house and sipping from her mismatched china while she fawns all over you. Women clad in 1950s aprons wear a constant smile while they serve you and make sure your cup runneth over every time their hands are free. They have a diverse set of teas to choose from, as well as triangular finger sandwiches with the crusts cut off. I can recommend the Artichoke Hummus sandwich, which is the owner’s own grandmother’s recipe, with the perfect amount of garlic. I always pair that with the Fig & Olive Tapenade sandwich to please my sweet and savory palettes. I order the High Tea for Two, which along with the sandwiches, includes a marvelous green salad with mandarin oranges and homemade coleslaw.

On the top tier of goodies, warm scones await with rich Devonshire cream that soothes your throat. But I never finish there, as the finale includes my choice of two petit fours. The ladies bring them out on a tray and my favorite usually comes by request. It’s the Victorian Wedding Cake and it’s perfectly scrumptious.

Lovejoy’s Tea Room was perfect when I needed to bring my sister from out of town to meet our aunt who was distanced by a past marriage. My aunt had never had tea, and she wanted to meet my roommate-to-be. The four of us sat in delicate antique furniture and licked our pinkies when they weren’t sticking out from holding our teacups. We shared stories of our loves and our sorrows, and every ten minutes we and our tea pots were checked in on with a smile. I loved the experience so much that I came back the next weekend to have a pow-wow with a girlfriend. And then the weekend after that, I came again with another girlfriend to speak about her future job in Rome. Okay, I went about four weekends in a row.