Afternoon Tea: Metrodeco, Brighton

Last week, I was lucky enough to wangle my way into a tea-tasting event organised by Qype at Brighton's only 1930s-style tea salon, Metrodeco. Nestling on the edge of Kemptown but with a distinctly Parisian vibe, the ground floor houses a gorgeous tea room, while downstairs there's a showroom full of all sorts of antiques and art deco treasures.

But the treats on offer at Metrodeco aren't just aesthetic. Alongside an assortment of sandwiches, the menu includes scones with jam and clotted cream, delicious chocolate brownies and a droolworthy parsnip cake with cream-cheese frosting.

And there's the teas. Metrodeco's extensive tea menu includes all the usual suspects, as well a long list of their own exclusive blends, all with 1930s-inspired names such as Salome Kick (a rooibus infusion that tasted of honey and aniseed) and The Devil is a Woman (green tea blended with lemon and ginger), all served from cute metal teapots into proper porcelain teacups.

After sampling a selection of their wares, I invested in a bag of loose-leaf Terracotta Sunburst from their take-home counter, and am supping it as we speak. It's £4.80 for 100g, and tastes of vanilla, rhubarb and custard (also known as heaven in a teacup).

Afterwards, we retired downstairs to the showroom, where a snoop around revealed, among other delights, 1930s art, accessories, cocktail cabinets and furniture, including this amazing hand-cranked record player and a somewhat saucy male mannequin sporting a hat, blazer and pearl necklace but no trousers or undercrackers.

As well as the upstairs tea salon, the showroom can be hired out for parties or other special events, and they also put on their own shindigs, with live music, performances and speakeasy-style teacup cocktails, again made to their own recipes using their own blends of tea, but this time served over ice with copious amounts of booze.

You can find Metrodeco at 38 Upper St James Street in Kemptown, Brighton. Just look for the life-sized model of the male gymnast in the window. An ingenious marketing ploy if ever there was one, once you've perved over his muscles you'll definitely need a nice cup of tea and a sit down!