Sally Lunn's serves a bit of Brit on Nassau Street

A trip to Sally Lunn's Tearoom and Eatery on a gloomy day in early spring gave me some insight into how the British deal with constant clouds. Tucked in between a furniture shop and CVS on near the corner of Nassau and Washington, the quaint British-inspired establishment conjures lively chatter, good eating and country British charm that warms anybody.

The menu — for "brunch, lunch and afternoon tea" — boasts about 50 types of tea, a list of regular entrées and a whiteboard full of daily specials to keep patrons occupied. The 15 or so desserts aren't listed because they are prepared daily and displayed on a cart in the back of the parlor.

When my partner-in-good-food-crime and I arrived, the tearoom was virtually empty. Only two or three out of about 15 tables — all small and intimate — were occupied. Chatter was as not as evident as British marches playing in the background. The two waiters were handling their jobs with ease.

The menu was a delightful change from the more common Asian or Italian restaurants in Princeton. I sifted through items named Tiddy Oggi, Cockney Pie, Cornish Pastie (not a typo), and Ploughman's Lunch, in addition to more conventional quiche, soup, sandwiches, salads and potpies. All entrées were accompanied by a garden, Caesar or potato salad, and sandwiches also came with some fresh fruit.

I decided on the Cockney Pie, a flat piece of Sally Lunn bread topped with spinach and other vegetables, goat cheese and mozzarella. English sausage was optional (I seized that option). My dining mate ordered the Broccoli Swiss Melt, a similar concoction with said ingredients.

Once the pressure of ordering had passed, my eyes wandered up and down the walls of the parlor. Was I in Victorian England? Oval portraits and country landscapes hung in between mirrors with heavy bronze frames and pink china plates.

A large wooden display cabinet and other wall shelves displayed delicate tea sets, dried flowers and small woven baskets. Pink curtains hung loosely around the window frames, and small chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

Our food was on the slow side to come, maybe because we ordered hot food that required oven time.

Other patrons that ordered cold dishes received their food in less time. The salad and main entrée came on the same plate. The garden salad was fresh and not overwhelmed by the raspberry vinaigrette dressing. The entrées were good, fresh and filling, though not especially flavorful.

As we ate, the British march music gave way to the chatter of the now half-full dining room and a softer violin tune. The waiters were busier but still comfortably handling patrons, the majority of whom were women between the ages of 30 and 60.

Our plates were taken away not a minute too early or too late. It was the most relaxed I had felt eating a meal in a while, and I could have spent the afternoon sipping tea with good company.

The other patrons seemed to think the same thing, and by the time we ordered dessert and tea, the dining room was quite full of people and chatter. Seated by a window looking over Nassau Street, I felt that a warm British glow protected me from the dreary 40 degrees and clouds enveloping New Jersey.

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The dessert menu was an interactive one — a cart in the back of the parlor loaded with fruit scones, fresh berry and rhubarb pies, several death by chocolate options, bread and butter and fruit puddings, crumbles, layer cakes and cheese and carrot cakes.

I stood for a long time in front of the cart and almost broke the rule written on the inside of the menu, "No drooling." The final decision involved banana chocolate cake and a slice of berry cheesecake topped with chocolate lace.

We returned to our table, and the waiter promptly brought us a tea list. Some of the more interesting choices were among the fruit teas, including items such as chocolate mint and cherry caramel.

The classics were there as well, and we asked for recommendations and ordered two popular choices — English Breakfast Tea and Ginger-peach. In addition to tea, we could have ordered other hot drinks including cappuccino, coffee and hot chocolate.

The dessert and tea came at the same time, which was overwhelming in a wonderful way. Both desserts were incredible. My friend and I ate in silent bliss for several minutes, communicating only in smiles and "mmmm's." The whipped cream wasn't too heavy, and thankfully, the portions were manageable.

We took a break in the eating action for some tea, which came in cute little pots with tea strainers. One item that was missing was cream or milk. At this point, the parlor had become pretty crowded and the waiters were busy. We could not catch them to request any. Did they forget or did we have to request cream or milk? We're not sure, but we took our tea with sugar only (I was also a little disappointed they didn't have sugar lumps, only packets).

I think the tea was more fun to pick out than to actually drink, and though it was good, it paled in comparison to our desserts. The waiter brought the check once we had finished our desserts, but since we hadn't finished our tea, we stayed and chatted till we had. I looked at my watch and two hours had passed. The dining room was bustling, and only one table was available.

The bill came to $38 dollars for two of us, including entrees, desserts and teas. All entrees, including specials, salads, sandwiches, and "Hot from the Oven" items, were $7 - $10, soup was $5.50, desserts were well worth it at $5.75 and the tea was $3.25 a pot (I think you pay partly for the selection experience). The portion sizes were perfect, a quality hard to come by these days.

Though we got up from the table, our visit to Little Britain continued with a trip downstairs to "Sally Lunn's Country Shoppe and Takeout." Adorned with the same décor as the dining room, the shop carries Lion bars and other European Nestle favorites, in addition to a wide assortment of Cadbury products more difficult to come by in the U.S.

The shop also sells imported jarred, canned and baked goods, including mincemeats, hot cross buns, all kinds of imported teas and fresh preserves. Scones, cookies, shortbreads and pies and everything on the menu are available for takeout. Of course you can also buy your very own tea set.

All in all, the original Sally Lunn, who emigrated from France to Bath, England, and started baking about 300 years ago, would be proud of the small parlor on Nassau Street.

The entrees are hearty and bland in good British tradition, and the desserts and baked goods are out of this world. The scones and breads offer a fresh alternative to Panera bagels, and the atmosphere provides a fun, warm and chatty alternative to Bucks, Small World and Starbucks for coffee dates and catching up with friends.

In better weather, it will probably be easier to leave, but when I went, it was tough to walk out the door into the dreary New Jersey day and leave behind the warmth and heartiness of a British meal and tea.