The Old Bakery Tea Rooms, Berrima

A Devonshire tea in essential in any small country town.

It's been quiet around here because last weekend was spent on a road trip to Canberra for the annual Balloon Fiesta. We hit the road at 8.15am on Saturday with a scheduled pit-stop at Berrima in the Southern Highlands.


On the road


Berrima General Store

Berrima is a picturesque little town, population 879, located 122km south west of Sydney. There was only one mandatory destination in mind, I just had to follow the sign:



A former bakehouse forms the site of the Old Bakery Tea Rooms. You can still see the woodfire oven in the back room preserved as a mini-museum.


The Old Bakery Tea Rooms

Downstairs is a quaint little tea room, lined with cottage knick-knacks and flanked by a wall filled with old-fashioned crockery.


The downstairs tea room


Tea plates, tea pots and tea cups

We sat outside to enjoy the warm morning sunshine though, feasting on a hearty brunch that was hearty and delicious. My flat white was very impressive (strong and robust with a layer of crema) although the latte was a little too generous with the milk.


Flat white coffee with freckle petit four $3.25


Latte $4.00


Homemade pumpkin soup with thick toast $8.50

The pumpkin soup was sweet and not too rich, scattered generously with dried thyme. Thick wedges of toast were soft and fluffy in the middle.


Bacon, sausages, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and toast $12.50

We attacked the hot cooked breakfast with gusto. The G-man, J-girl and I had decided to go thirds in everything - a perfect way to try more things on the menu. The bacon was my favourite, pan-fried until crisp on the edges.


Meat pie with mushy peas, chips and gravy $12.50

The meat pie was slathered generously with a thick layer of pale green mushy peas. The chips were a golden crunchy colour, perfect carriers for the thick brown gravy.


Meat pie innards

And of course we had to finish things off with a Devonshire tea.


Devonshire tea $7.80
Tea with two warm scones with jam and fresh cream

Served warm, the scones were very light and fluffy, perhaps not so light after we spread them thickly with a thick strawberry jam and airy clouds of whipped cream. These rated fairly highly, but the CWA scones from the Easter Show still win with their unbeatable balance of density and fluffiness.


Mrs Oldbucks Pantry

We rolled ourselves back to the car with a brief wander through the Berrima landmark, Mrs Oldbucks Pantry.


Jams, preserves, sauces and honeys


Bullseyes boiled sweets

Next stop: Canberra

The Old Bakery Tea Room
Wingecarribee St, Berrima
Tel: +61 (02) 4877 1343

Mrs Oldbucks Pantry
Old Hume Highway, Berrima
Tel: +61 (02) 4877 1489

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Canberra Road Trip Part 1: Berrima
Canberra Road Trip Part 2: Canberra
Canberra Road Trip Part 3: Balloon Fiesta Nighttime Spectacular
Canberra Road Trip Part 4: Dinner at Les Rendezvous, Manuka
Canberra Road Trip Part 5: Balloon Fiesta at dawn, Old Parliament House
Canberra Road Trip Part 6: Breakfast at The Pancake Parlour, Civic
Canberra Road Trip Part 7: Lunch at Lynwood Cafe, Collector