FAQs

OUR MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT AFTERNOON TEA

It’s our most famous service, and it’s held at The Assembly House every single day other than Christmas Day! Here is a selection of answers to our most frequently asked questions about our most frequently booked service!


  1. How do I book afternoon tea?
    You can book or by calling 01603 626402. Please note that we cannot take or amend bookings via social media.
  2. How much is afternoon tea?
    All prices are on our afternoon tea menu page here. Please note that a discretionary service charge of 10% is added to your final bill, 100% of which is distributed to all staff members, front and back of house on top of their wages.
  3. What time is afternoon tea served from and to?
    Generally, our afternoon tea service begins at noon, and the last tables can be booked at 3.30pm, but we sometimes offer later (or earlier!) bookings when we are very busy. If you are able to book later tables at weekends on OpenTable, it is because we have added extra services.
  4. How do I know I’ve booked the right afternoon tea?
    We only serve one tea at a time (unless for a pre-arranged private function, such as a wedding), so if you’ve got the right dates and booked the afternoon, you’re automatically booked for the right tea! ALL our afternoon teas are themed unless you have pre-ordered afternoon tea for a function.
  5. How should I let you know my dietary requirements?
    Please let us know if you have any allergies or intolerances or would like a vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free or vegetarian afternoon tea. We cannot guarantee we will be able to provide a dietary adaptation UNLESS we have had notice at least 24 hours in advance. You can inform us on the booking notes by emailing admin@assemblyhousenorwich.co.uk or by telephoning 01603 626402 during office hours. Vegetarian, vegan and dairy-free menus can be found here. All our dishes are cooked fresh to order. We handle numerous allergens in our kitchens and due to the potential for cross contact, we cannot guarantee that our food is free from any allergens including tree nuts. We do not declare every ingredient used within a dish on this menu, and recipes may be subject to change. If you have an allergy, please let us know before ordering so we can provide you with an allergy information in relation to the 14 legally defined allergens. Please check the allergen information every time you visit our restaurant as we may have changed the recipe or the ingredients of one or more of our dishes.
  6. Can I change the sandwich fillings? If you contact us prior to your booking we can offer you more of one of the other sandwiches on the menu if you would prefer. We cannot provide sandwich fillings which are not on our afternoon tea menu. We try to make the fewest number of changes possible to our menu to keep waste to a minimum and may not be able to cater for dietary requirements which have not been pre-booked.
  7. What drinks are included in the afternoon tea price?
    The price includes two drinks, so two pots of tea for one (you can choose two different teas if you’d like!), two soft drinks from the menu or two coffees or hot chocolates. Other drinks, including themed cocktails, shakes, Prosecco and extra drinks on top of the two offered, can be added to your bill.
  8. Can I add an extra person/people to my booking?
    If we can accommodate extra guests, it’s no problem, but we do need to know as we may need to change our table plan. Please call us on 01603 626402 if you need to amend a booking. Also, please note that we need to know if you are a wheelchair user or are bringing a pram or pushchair with you so we can be sure you have the space you need. If, for example, there are four adults and one child who requires a highchair, you would need to book a table for five - OpenTable automatically allocates bookings based on the number of seats you tell us you need. As we are often fully-booked, we may not be able to accommodate a larger number of guests at your table at the last minute.
  9. Is there a dress code?
    Just be your fabulous self. And if you want to dress up or wear fancy dress, we would be delighted!
  10. Where are you based?
    The Assembly House is in the heart of Norwich on Theatre Street. We are opposite The Forum, next door to Norwich Theatre Royal and a minute away from St Peter Mancroft, Norwich Marketplace and Chantry Place shopping centre.
  11. Is there car parking?
    We’ve got pay and display car parks behind us, beside and in front of us. You’d be hard-pressed to find a venue with more parking so close by! The Assembly House car park has pay and display spaces, including two bays for disabled parking, close to the back doors. Other nearby car parks within a two-to-three-minute walk are The Chantry (including four Blue Badge spaces), The Forum and Chapelfield East. For all parking information, visit our accessibility page here.
  12. Can I share afternoon tea with someone?
    Seating is at a premium at The Assembly House, and as such, we respectfully ask that an order be placed for each seat taken at a table.
  13. Can I see the menu?
    Our classic (and 'classic' just refers to 'no dietary adaptations’) and our vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free and children's menus can all be found here.
  14. I can't see a gluten-free menu?
    That's because if you make a note on your booking or tell us over the telephone, we can adapt the Classic menu for you, and it will be almost exactly the same, but GF.
  15. Can I bring children to afternoon tea?
    Absolutely! We love younger guests at The Assembly House and are very happy for them to come with you to sit down for tea. We also love them to dress up, particularly if we have a special theme (and that goes for grown-ups, too!). We offer a children’s version of afternoon tea, which includes plainer sandwiches with fillings; the menus are here and it’s offered to children under 12. Please note that our dining rooms can get extremely busy and that staff continually move throughout the rooms carrying trays of hot drinks and food, so children must stay seated at tea. Please let us know if you need space for a pram or a high chair at your table so we can place you on the right table. If children require a seat or will be in a pushchair, they must be included in your booking number.
  16. How long does afternoon tea take?
    Afternoon Tea takes around an hour to an hour and a half.
  17. Do you theme the restaurant?
    We tend to stick to the Georgian chandeliers and glamour as our theme for decor!
  18. If I book, which room will I sit in?
    We don't guarantee where you'll sit for tea - it could be the restaurant, The Ivory Room, or The Music Room (we'll normally tell you if it's the latter). Each room is Georgian, and each room is gorgeous. Our theory is that we'd rather not disappoint people by having fewer bookings than by guaranteeing everyone a seat in the main restaurant. Also, on occasion, we may need to close rooms for maintenance issues or other operational reasons.
  19. Do you offer a diabetic version of your afternoon teas?
    We cannot adapt our themed teas to be suitable for diabetics, but we can offer a savoury tea or our diabetic tea, which is largely fruit-based and was made in conjunction with advice from Diabetes UK.
  20. Do you offer a nut-free tea?
    Our team is allergen-trained, and teas for those with allergies are prepared in a separate area. However, all our food is prepared in a kitchen where nuts, gluten and other allergens are present, and our menu descriptions do not include all ingredients – if you have a food allergy, please let us know before ordering. We cannot adapt our themed teas to be nut-free. Full allergen information is available; please ask a team member for details or call 01603 626402.
  21. Do you offer a takeaway version of Afternoon Tea? We do! Take a look here.
  22. Is there a savoury version of Afternoon Tea?
    Of course, there is: Afternoon Cheese, here.
  23. Is there a breakfast version of Afternoon Tea?
    Of course, there is: Beforenoon Tea, here.
  24. Is there a baby shower version of Afternoon Tea?
    There is! Take a look here.
  25. Can I have afternoon tea in a private room?
    You can: we have a range of gorgeous private rooms to book, please call our team on 01603 626402 to find out minimum numbers and costs.
  26. Can I have afternoon tea for my wedding?
    Yes! And we have lots of options to choose from. Please call our team on 01603 626402 to find out more.
  27. Can you tell me what themes in the future will be?
    Well, we could. But we won’t ahead of our big reveal, which is always on our Facebook and Instagram!

Get In Touch

The Assembly House

For all general enquiries including wedding, private dining, corporate or questions about the House please use the form below and our team will aim to get back to you within 48 hours.