Dolly's Tea Room Falmouth new owners want a Soho vibe

Barney and Abi, both 28, have taken over the iconic Dolly’s Tea Rooms in Church Street after former owner Dolly Makin decided to call it a day after 11 years.

Barney and Abi arrive in Falmouth having run a grade two listed village pub in the Cotswolds, which they took over just ten days before the first lockdown.

The teas room has had a lick of paint (Image: Barney Kenny)

Their tenure at the pub, which they completely refurbished, was marred by lockdowns and restrictions but now they have decided to opt for a quieter life by signing the lease on Dolly's.

Barney, a semi-professional musician, was at Falmouth University before meeting Abi when they both worked for the National Trust in the Lake District - Barney as the events manager and Abi as assistant manager front of house.

Barney is also a semi-professional folk and roots musician and wants to continue doing that while running Dolly’s at the same time.

“We’re excited to get our teeth into this,” Barney told the Packet when it paid a visit two weeks after a soft opening. “It’s nice to step down and do something that’s a little less intense.

“A definite change of pace from 20 hour days, seven days a week.”

A selection of sandwiches are available (Image: Barney Kenny)

"We were looking at different property but it fell through at the last minute and scuppered house move.

But the problem was solved when they found the lease for Dolly’s was for sale with a fully self-contained flat above it.

“Luckily this was on the market for the right price in the right location. It’s a lovely space and we could see what we wanted to do with it straight away," said Barney.

“We loved the history of it but we really want to respect the room and the atmosphere of the place.

“It’s a lovely Georgian building and doesn’t need to be changed too much but I think initially our plans are to create a lovely traditional shabby café bar lounge feel because we don’t want to call it a tea room because we have plans for the bar element in the evening.”

Barney will play blues records from his own collection (Image: Barney Kenny)

There will be a Speakeasy vibe in the evening with the candles and red velvet curtains, with vinyl being played on the bright red record player from Barney’s personal collection.

In the daytime there will be 'premier cream teas', a good selection of cakes and sandwiches and soups. They are also looking at introducing brunch.

The day is split with the day service finishing at 5pm and then reopening at 7pm or 8pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.

“We would like to move away from the quirky tea party vibe, take it out of the forties and bring it into the neo-antique niche,” says Barney.

“We’ve slimmed the menu down but will be expanding it going forward - but we really want to concentrate on local produce and spirits especially.

The beautiful Gerogian building used to be home to Mission to Seafarers (Image: Barney Kenny)

“We’ve taken the menu from what felt too extensive and tried to slim that to cakes, sandwiches and cream teas offering a brunch option in the future.

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“Along with tapas on an evening with really nice cocktails and drinks.”

They are also going to be putting on events and entertainment with acoustic intimate concerts as well as jazz evenings and Gatsby nights.

“We are just trying to bring a bit of Soho life to Falmouth while cornering the afternoon tea market as Falmouth’s premier cream tea place,” says Barney.