The food scene is always evolving; menus change, cafes close or change hands and then just one day, scones are booted off the menu, for whatever reason. Here is a list of the Devonshire Teas that either didn’t make it in to The Devonshire Tea Guide or had to be removed because they have gone on their merry way.

NSW

• The Tea Parlour (see above photo) brilliantly brought scones to the Bohemians in downtown Redfern.
• When Berkelouw Books Newtown closed it’s doors, this put a stop to the weekend scones in the cafe upstairs.
• The lovely Harrogates in Pyrmont was a quaint tea shop with small rooms upstairs for a more intimate vibe.
•  An unusual choice for a wine bar to put on the menu, but that one summer of scones served up on a bread board at Firefly in Neutral Bay was mighty fine.
• The T2 Teahouse at the Macquarie Shopping Centre has been replaced by a not-as-exciting coffee emporium, what a shame.
• When I finally stumbled upon the quirky Bottle Forest Cafe in Heathcote, it closed it doors too soon after.
• Sugar ‘n’ Spice Cafe tucked away in an arcade in downtown Katoomba has downgraded to another specialising in toasted scones.
• In gorgeous Mt Wilson (Blue Mountains), Chimney Cottage Cafe was a cosy respite from the cool mountain weather.
• Another eatery has finally reopened in the former Bay Leaf Cafe in Mt Victoria.
• Hartley Valley Tearooms & Nursery sold up and moved on.
• The owners moved on and closed the cool Cafe Tarana the tiny village of Tarana.
• Acropole, a Bathurst institution, closed then a year later reopened minus the scones on the menu.
• Bye bye Bridge Tea Room in Carcoar, hopefully the new owners will give the Tea Rooms a go.
• Hume Cottage in Mittagong (Southern Highlands), your femininity will be missed.
• Braemer’s nursery has a replacement for the former Jen’s Country Cafe.
• Hill End’s loss, Betty has thrown in her tea towel at Rose Cottage.
• Full Throttle Diner in Hartley on the western edge of the Blue Mountains has changed names and owners.
• Apparently off the menu for now, the Hawthorn Cafe in Mosman is keeping it’s divine clotted cream from hungry diners.
• No great loss when the old North Fort Cafe at Manly’s Northhead changed hands.
• The restaurant at the historic Imperial Hotel in Mt Victoria was once called the Lead Light Brasserie and served scones by the fireplace.
• Short but sweet, Hill End’s General Store lost interest pretty quickly in bringing scones to the people.
• The Top Tea House in Sydney’s CBD has packed up the tea and tea pots and closed it’s doors.
• A visit to Orange showed that the religious The Rock Coffee Shop & Pancake House no longer occupies the Summer Street digs.
• The Mountain Tea House at the foot of Mt Canobolas in Orange has been sold, renovated and replaced by Miss Daisy’s Teahouse.
• After several years of being for sale, closed or just ‘I don’t know what’, The Old Block Factory in Faulconbridge has finally closed.
• Oh no! Mon Dieu! The Three Creeks Cafe in Robertson has become a South American Diner. What a shame as that was one worthwhile DT.
• The Coffee Shot in Katoomba is not so much closed down, but has been transformed in to a completely new business, The Little Paris Cafe.
• The owner of Hosie’s B&B Collectibles and Cafe has thrown in the towel.
• The French Traders General Store that was hidden behind a white picket fence and luscious gardens is no longer selling French provincial homewares or serving citron scones, the property is up for sale.
• Oh no! The T2 Teahouse in Hornsby has shut its doors and now Sydneysiders are without those raspberry scones.
• Bizzy Birds in Rylstone has gone and has been replaced by the sterile Cafe 47.
• Mudgee’s Alley Cats Coffee House has new owners, a new name and a new image.
• The MoS Cafe is now The Governors Table, and has done away with Devonshire Teas, but if a Colonial High Tea takes your fancy on the weekend?
• Beties Cafe in Southern Antiques in Kogarah has transformed into the Laughing Goat Cafe.
• No great loss, but Kalay’s Kitchen has been replaced by Lotus Coffee House, not sure whether they have scones.
• The bow worthy Purple Mint Cafe at Flower Power Warriewood that has been replaced by Sanctuary Cafe and Restaurant.
• The Tea Centre’s 20 year tenure in The Glasshouse is up to make way for an H&M’s store. The retail shop will reopen in Piccadilly Arcade minus the Tea House and lovely Devonshire Tea.
• Bon Bon Fine Chocolate Cafe has disappeared from its Strand Arcade location (tears) and replaced by Koko Black – still chocolate but no cafe.
• Level Fourteen, At The American Club disappears, which is no great loss from my own experience as well as the many others on Trip Advisor.
• A favourite for stocking up on loose-leaf teas, Mountain Harvest Cafe in downtown Katoomba has been reimagined to a Mexican Restaurant.
• Jacks Coffee House & Eatery in Kangaroo Valley is now a purveyor of ice-cream, lollies and fudge.
• Cafe 47 in Rylestone didn’t last long and now the corner cafe space is up for lease.
• What a bummer! Master Expresso in Roseville is done and dusted and is now Match Smoke House.
• Four Friends, Coffee, Chocolate & Tea in Crows Nest is nothing but an empty shell with a ‘For Lease’ sign on the door.
• The Cortile Lounge at Sydney’s Intercontinental only offers the High Tea stands and buffet, and has done away with the Devonshire Tea for the cheapskates!
• Old school Cafe Savannah in Oberon has vanished, and is replaced by hip Long Arm Cafe.
• The Plaza Coffee Lounge in Thirroul has closed it’s doors. Probably the word got out about the lousy cream.
• An Avalon local informed me that Cafe Ibizia has packed up shop, so no more Mediterranean reminiscing.
• The Old Farm Kitchen in Moss Vale is now Yolo Cafe.
• No more bargain buttermilk scones at Cabana Restaurante and Pizzeria, as another restaurant is reopening in smaller premises.
• Escarpment in Blackheath is still in business but now functions as Tapas Escarpment, minus the scones.
• Govett’s Leap Cafe in Blackheath have left the building.
• Piccolo’s Coffee in Katoomba has made way for another cafe spruiking a Devonshire Tea.
• It was only a matter of time – Country Organic Coffee in Lithgow.
• What a shame, The Quintessential Coffee Shoppe in Picton is gone.
• We’ll miss secret Sydney’s Flora Bean Gallery Cafe and their wonderful lavender scones.
• The plants have over taken Weber’s Nursery cafe in Blackheath.
• Le Pain Quotidien in the gloriously restored former police station in The Rocks has vanished.
• Taste Gourmet Pantry & Café in East Gosford has shut it’s doors.
• Zee Emporium in Glenbrook has disappeared completely.
• The pop-up style High Tea Garden in Chatswood Chase unpopped and vanished.
• Hooray! Alice’s Tea House – gone. A disgrace!
• The scones at Kitchen Café at Mayfield Gardens were short-lived.
• Annangrove Bar & Dining has shifted out to make way for Moroccan meals.
• Tea’se Me Tea Emporium in Wollongong, has been replaced by a hip bar.
• Devastating news! The Gunners Barracks have backed out of the Devonshire Tea game.
• A lovely cafe by the Hunter River in Morpeth, Crisada’s Riverview Cafe is no more.
• I don’t know where it went but there’s a Dominos in place of the funky Tea Monkey Lounge.
• The Coonabarra Café has sold up and shipped out and is now Café Patina.
• The lovely nursery-based Mother Earth Cafe has returned to its roots.
• After so many bad reviews, Café Belle Fleur has packed up and gone.
• The Navigator Brassiere has navigated itself to oblivion.
• Westfield Warringah Mall has had a renaissance with yet another café disappearing – Mall Coffee Corner.
• Now the Wagyu Cafe, Cafe Lakeview has been transformed, but who knows whether the scones have remained.
• The Local Press was only a ring in anyway; for that year, on Sundays, and in winter.
• The Bar at The Stamford Circular Quay has decided to only serve a Deluxe Devonshire High Tea, which is really just a tiny step away from a High Tea.
• Too much competition from The Tea Cosy next door no doubt closed the Swagmans Post Courtyard Cafe down.
• My local source tells me that Bianco Nero Expresso in Randwick have shut up shop.
• Oh no! The utterly extraordinary Amelia Kate’s has wound up the knitting yarn and tossed away the fabrics.
• The Blue Box Cafe Patisserie in Kurrajong Village has been transformed in to the Feeding Frenzy Cafe.
• Cafe Crema in Cammeray has disappeared, but no great DT loss there.
• Nessie’s Daffodil Tearoom at Rick Rutherford’s Country in Lawson has shut down.
• Out with the old and in with the new. See ya New York Metro Cafe, a once classic Town Hall station cafe.
• Ellie Cats Cafe on the Bells Line of Rd has left the gallery and moved on.
• The Clay Pot Cafe in Blaxland has given up on trying to sell over-priced sconewiches.
• The sister cafe of Anonymous, Synonymous, has taken over the former location of Brown’s Siding.
• The cavernous Three Sister’s Cafe has become a collection of swanky outlets without a scone in sight.
• No more bellbirds singing at The Bellbird Echo Cafe & Restaurant on The Bells Line of Road.
• The Botanic Gardens Cafe has been upgraded; out with the old and in with the new – the scones are out the door.
• High Valley Wine & Cheese Co. now shares its premises with Gilbert’s Cellar Door and focuses more on cheese – as they should!
• New owners have transformed Berrima Farmgate Cafe into the Bee and Bear Cafe.
• The ‘women’s only’ Le Beau Cafe in Morpeth has metamorphosed into Common Grounds.
• Anson’s Teahouse & Eatery and Dotted Eight Cafe in Orange have been transformed in to other businesses.
• Melba’s Verandah Cafe, a great loss for the titchy town of Broadwater.
• Caroline’s Cafe in Merriwa is now another cafe.
• David Mahoney Art Gallery in Sandy Hollow has hung up his paint brush, so get the scones!
• God only knows what happened to the terrible Steam Mills Cafe at the Old Goulburn Brewery.
• Grandmas at the Farm has hung up her apron and left the money making to the city outlets.
• A right old shame about The Terrace Tea Shop in Bundanoon.
• Gilbert’s of Mittagong has been replaced by the ordinary, The Roses Cafe.
• Jazz Apple had the best Devonshire Tea in Glenbrook.
• Crago Cafe in historic Crago Mill Bathurst, has made way for other ventures.
• Becks P & C Bakery in Bathurst has cleared out.
• The Train Carriage in Cobargo got out before the bushfires swept through town.
• Glenbrook lost Cafe Cee.
• Springwood’s Elvis rockin’ Mountain Blue Cafe just couldn’t pull in the crowds.
• The best thing about The Train Stop Cafe was its proximity to the Dog on the Tuckerbox.
• Sheridan Bouteaque in Gundagai has given up on the ‘tea’ and decided to become a penny-farthing peddling coffee house.
• Mountain First Cafe in Blaxland disappeared quite a while ago.
• It’s a sad sad situation when the historic Paragon Cafe in Katoomba ceased to exist.
• The religious rocking has ceased at The Rock Coffee and Pancake House in Orange.
• Maybe Guellen’s Chocolatier and Patisserie was great for all things chocolate, but forget the scones.
• Come By Chance Café in Picton thought that enough people weren’t dropping by on the off chance they had scones.
• Springwood would be missing Kemp Café’s fluffy scones.

QLD

• The Elm Haus in Mt Glorious, Brisbane’s hinterland, was hit and miss.
• The Flying Nun Cafe in Samford, Brisbane did a mean Devonshire Tea.
• D’Luscious Cafe in Eagle Heights is now Cafe Scoop and Providore and still sells a Devonshire Tea.
• Another one goes down in Samford, Brisbane – The Happy Berry House.

SA

• Hahndorf Inn in the Adelaide Hills decided to stick with hearty German fare than borrow from the Brits.

TAS

• No great Devonshire Tea loss to Strahan – Glories Coffee & Fudge.
• Battery Point’s Village Cafe has transformed into a Thai restaurant – needless to say there are no scones.
• Just as mountain bike central Derby starts to explode, The Painted Door Art Cafe implodes.
• The raised Richmond Maze means no more clotted cream with your scones.
• MaFossies Cafe in Richmond is gonskies and replaced with another.

VIC

• While Echuca has gone ahead in leaps and bounds, it’s not the case for The Bridge Hotel.
• Crying as I write this, Jam and Cream in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne have called it quits.
• Java@Yack in Yakandandah was for sale when I visited, so I didn’t expect it to continue for much longer.
• The council has pushed out Wistaria at the port of Echuca, 17 years of wonderful business down the river.

ACT

• The Mitchell Tearoom has picked up sticks and muscled its way back into its former residence in Gold Creek Village.
• Indulge Tea Garden has disappeared, and replaced at the same venue by Adore Tea giants.
• I didn’t even get to post this one, but T on the Square closed it’s doors.