The Rose Arbour

The Rose Arbour occupies a Queen Anne-style Victorian house on School Street in Chester, Vermont, just off the village green in the Green Mountains, a New England setting rather than the British Chester the name might suggest. Owner Suzanne Nielsen, who describes her own role as 'Chief Cook & Bottle Washer,' bakes and runs the tearoom herself, with her artist's studio housed in the same building.

The tearoom serves cream tea to walk-ins and a fuller afternoon tea by reservation, built around finger sandwiches, fresh scones with jam and whipped cream, chocolate-covered strawberries and cheesecake. Its English black currant scones have drawn particular praise from visitors, with one review comparing them favorably to scones in London itself. The attached gift shop stocks British and American teas, Yorkshire Gold and Taylor's of Harrogate among them, along with tea accessories, home decor and British specialty foods. Open on a seasonal, limited schedule with reservations recommended for full tea service, the Rose Arbour leans into what it calls a slower 'pace of life from an earlier era,' treating the sit-down tea service as an experience to be savored rather than a quick stop.