Tea Hee Espresso Bar & Cheesemonger

Sophie Smith runs this busy cafe in pretty Easingwold with enthusiasm & boundless energy: when she’s not baking/serving/chatting you might catch her zipping about in her snazzy blue Citroen ‘Tea Hee’ 2CV, sourcing ingredients. She rescued the Georgian tolbooth Cottage from 40 years of dereliction, & now this elegant-but-homely building off the town’s cobbled square hums with happy customers. Nothing matches: chairs are salvaged, there’s local art on the walls & her dad’s jams are displayed on wooden wine crates. Tea Hee may call itself an espresso bar & cheesemonger, but there’s so much more. Roast fennel soup with warm Danby bread is robust & creamy, while Stoupa salad (barrel-aged feta, free-range Raskelf chicken, olives & toasted pine nuts) makes a delicious combo; there are also plates of local air-dried ham, & Sophie’s warm spiced banana bread & butter pudding with local ice cream is to die for.