Just over two weeks ago, I wrote that I was enjoying the cool, calm interior of Babington’s tearoom in Rome. I first visited this peaceful, very English tearoom (here it is on the left) some 7 or 8 years ago and fell in love then with the old-fashioned charm and style of the interior and with the slightly quirky fact that it is located right at the very heart of Rome, at the foot of the iconic Spanish steps that attract thousands of tourists every year and create a perfect backdrop for choral performances, fashion shows and other eye-catching events.
Babington’s stands to the left of the steps while, mirroring it on the right, stands the Keats-Shelley house that is famous for its literary visitors and residents. Over the years, those who have lived or stayed here have included Lord Byron, George Eliot, Goethe, Coleridge, the Brownings, Henry James, Oscar Wilde and James Joyce as well as John Keats and Percy Byshe Shelley. It feels so right that the square should also offer the romance and tradition of British tea and tea time. The interior of the ‘Sala da The’ has hardly changed since it opened in 1896. Two very English ladies, Anna Maria Babington (what an appropriate name she had) and Isabel Cargill had established their new business in 1893 in a nearby street but when it proved a great success, they moved to these larger premises in the Piazza and Babingtons has flourished here ever since. The old photo below shows Aunt Annie, Isabel Cargill’s sister who ran the shop in the 1920s and 30s.
When one delves deeper into the history of Babington, it becomes clea
r that The Piazza di Spagna in the late 19th century had much stronger links with England and English culture than with either Rome or Spain. It was a centre for English shops, livery-stables, a library, bookshops, doctors, lawyers, writers, sculptors and painters. When Babington’s opened, the Roman Herald wrote that “A long-felt want in Rome has at last been supplied, and that is a Tearoom where ladies or gentleman, hard at work sightseeing… could go to refresh themselves with a comforting cup of tea …”. It obviously also suited all the British ex-pats who resided here.
Several generations later, the current members if the family who run the business are my friend Chiara Bedini and her cousin Rory. They are both bi-lingual and their staff all speak very good English so, if you are in Rome, don’t worry about not being able to order an egg mayonnaise sandwich, toasted crumpets or scones with jam and cream. You will feel quite at home and can conduct the entire transaction in English!
The tea list is impressive (I had gone to Rome to work with Chiara on all the teas and to discuss possible additions to the menu) and customers can choose from a range of house blends, Indian and Sri Lankan blacks, Chinese blacks, whites and greens, Japanese greens and Taiwanese oolongs, all of which are excellent. Some teas are brewed in china pots, some in silver and others in glass, to suit the different origins. And the menu is really tempting and offers lots of English specials to suit different times of the day - toasted muffins with various fillings, crumpets, sandwiches, fabulous cakes and scones, pancakes, omelettes and fantastic salads that are as fresh as can be and perfect for hot weather or for those who are watching the calories. With the vases of fresh flowers on the tables, the pretty china and typical English tea-time treats, you could easily imagine yourself in an elegant tearoom somewhere in central London.
The doors open every morning at 9am and the first customers arrive for breakfast, to browse through the papers before reluctantly heading off to their place of work. And then right through the day, there’s a steady stream of tourists from Japan, England and other parts of Europe, and of course locals who visit regularly. While in the shop myself, I watched as people came in from the blazing temperatures outside in the Piazza into the subdued lighting and the relief of the air-conditioned cool air inside the tearoom. Once inside, people often stand for a few moments, letting their eyes wander to the large stone hearth, the fresh flowers, the wooden panelling that lines the walls, the counter with its array of teapots, teas and tea accessories. As they take in the features of the unusual interior, their faces show delight and relief that they have found this haven, then they sit down at one of the tables with an audible sigh of pleasure and settle down to enjoy a great cup of tea!
At the retail counter, which Chiara developed and installed a few years ago to offer customers a choice of teas and tea things to take away as gifts or for use at home, the teas are stored in large cream tins that have bright red lids and an image on the front of the famous Babington’s black cat. The cat has been the tea room’s motif since the 1940s when it sat at the till all day with its owner, Giulia Nardoni, one of the girls who worked at Babingtons and helped keep it going through the very hard times of the 2nd World War. The cat appears on menus, on the lids of silver teapots, on china teapots and other tea equipage and adds his own touch of tradition to the tearoom. He is a very stylish cat who sits with his head slightly cocked to one side, his paws neatly together and his long tail curving away behind him to its very elegant tip.
If you find yourself in Rome, don’t miss a visit here. Step inside and link into the gentle history and heritage of the English at tea - both at home and abroad! And Tokyo is soon to get its own branch of Babingtons so you’ll be able to enjoy the teas there too.
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Loved Babingtons when I was in Rome last October. Thanks for filling in some of the gaps in the story for me.