The Original Maids of Honour

At The Original Maids of Honour on the Kew Road, the owners have been keeping traditional baking skills alive for over 120 years. Fascinatingly, its history dates back even further - to Tudor times when the dainty little cakes were first named. Legend has it that maids of honour were brought to notoriety by Henry VIII who so loved these melt-in-the-mouth delicacies that he took the recipe and kept it under lock and key at Richmond Palace. Today these delectable pastries are still served warm, straight from the oven at The Original Maids of Honour - with a wide variety of other sweet and savoury treats all made by hand to traditional recipes using fresh, natural ingredients. Adjoining the shop is a dining room offering a warm welcome to visitors from near and far searching for lunch, coffee and cake and high tea. Choose from a variety of classic dishes on the lunch menu, from roast of the day served with a selection of fresh vegetables and potatoes to vegetarian, minced steak and Cornish pasties and homemade quiche. Those with a sweet tooth will find themselves in heaven, as croissants, Danish pastries, strawberry tarts and scones are all laid out before your eyes, begging to be devoured. Surviving the 1940s blitz, The Original Maids of Honour has gone from strength to strength, still retaining the same shop front from those days. And the maids of honour recipe? That's still a secret - one that will stay a secret for a long time to come.