Date visited: Wednesday 18th September 2024
In The Mood is a difficult-to-miss 1950s-themed tearoom on Digbeth Street in Stow-on-the-Wold. With a bright pink painted frontage, it stands out amongst the Cotswold stone. There are seven tables in a single ground-floor room for those wishing to take tea, as well as another three in a rear courtyard. The theming is relatively mild, with a small amount of decoration, including several tin-plate toy cars, and 1950s background music. Prior to 2019 is was run by different proprietors as a 1940s-themed tearoom.
The food menu extends to four pages, with one page for breakfasts ‘served all day until 2 pm’, another page for lunches (including burgers and jacket potatoes), a page for light bites (sandwiches, toasties and paninis), and a page for ‘cream teas’ which included options for fruit scones, cheese scones, crumpets, and tea cakes. There were also three cakes and two tray bakes on display at the counter when I visited, as well as one ‘special’ – a sausage roll with salad and spicy chutney – displayed on a blackboard. Beverages include a small selection of teas, as well as coffees and soft drinks.
A tuna mayo and cucumber sandwich, with a choice of white or granary bread, a slice of Bakewell cake, and a pot of English breakfast tea came in total to £15.20. The sandwich came with plenty of salad. The cake was one I haven’t come across before, with the taste of a Bakewell tart but the texture of a Victoria sandwich. And with the extra pleasure of it being a double sandwich!
When I visited on a mid-week afternoon, it was quiet, with only one other table occupied, as well as one takeaway customer whilst I was there. It was busy but not full when I passed earlier at lunchtime, so is a good alternative for those wishing to have a lunchtime tea in Stow-on-the-Wold, when the Market Square tearooms are more likely to be very busy.
In The Mood is open from Wednesdays to Sundays, between 10 am and 4 pm.
