A NEW tea shop and cafe with a bit of a royal flavour is set to open in York city centre.

Work is underway to turn what was Mr P’s Curious Tavern in Low Petergate in to The Tea Palace, a London-based tea company with a Barnsley manufacturing base who currently sell at Harrods and the Orangery in Kensington Palace.

Sales director, Daniel Ibbotson, said they plan to open the shop on April 12, all being well, with a takeaway tea menu of 180 different blends - the largest in Yorkshire and possibly the country.

The downstairs shop will feature a coffee roaster and espresso bar alongside tea blends including the one made especially for Kensington Palace Orangery where Princess Diana used to take tea. There’ll also be a range of chutneys, jams and coffee pods to buy.

Upstairs in the cafe it’ll be all about afternoon tea with a range of menu options, from something for students, to the Yorkshire afternoon tea - complete with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, to a children’s afternoon tea and a more indulgent offering with cocktails.

Mr Ibbotson said: “We’re in a 17th-century building, full of charm and we’re looking to bring our passion and out extensive range of teas from London up to Yorkshire.

"I know Yorkshire tea is a staple, but there really is a whole world of teas out there for people to try.”

Founded in 2005 The Tea Palace used to have a shop in London’s Covent Garden and they currently sell many different London blends.

Mr Ibbotson said there is a plan in the pipeline to introduce specific York blends later in the year.

Mr P’s Curious Tavern closed last year having first opened in Low Petergate in 2016.

The man behind the venture was York’s Andrew Pern, the executive chef/director of The Star Inn the City in York, The Star Inn The Harbour in Whitby and the Michelin-starred Star Inn at Harome, near Helmsley.