When a life–sized Charlie Chaplin greets you at the door, you know this is going to be a unique experience.

The Venue
On Shipley’s Westgate, Interlude is difficult to miss; Charlie waits to greet you and there’s a small table outside, bedecked with china crockery. The strains of Pennies from Heaven or The Charleston waft from within. You literally step into the 1920s when you cross the threshold.

The attention to detail is incredible. The place is stacked with old pictures, postcards, memorabilia and furniture dating from the Roaring Twenties to the 1950s. Interlude comprises of a few small rooms on three floors: the ground floor is a shop/counter; downstairs is the tearoom; upstairs is a vintage boutique shop. The entrance itself houses a glass counter containing an awesome array of home-made cakes, pastries, pies and the most colossal scones, all of which are made in-house by their own baker, who has some 30 years’ experience, and, if asked, will even recreate an old recipe or bake a favourite cake for you.

There are hand-made chocolates and even memory lane sweets, such as Black Jacks and Fruit Salads, on sale, jostling for attention among the butterfly buns and fairy cakes. A modern coffee machine looks slightly incongruous beside this tempting display, but Interlude has a takeout service too, with coffee and cakes to go.

The Atmosphere
It’s well worth dining in though, for the experience alone. The cheerful staff will show you downstairs to the tearoom, which is seriously retro enough to make you forget which century you’re in. You almost feel underdressed, as though you should be wearing 1920s gear, but let it take you along - it’s a pleasure to be able to forget the present day for an hour or so.

It’s crowded, cosy and busy, with tables squashed in all over the place, antique sideboards full of china, bric-a-brac, and even vintage clothes and hats (for sale) draped on mannequins. Each table is set with an old-fashioned table cover, and sports a vase of huge, coloured ostrich feathers. Even the menu books are actually fashioned from old recipe books – which it’s difficult not to become engrossed in – with their own menus pasted within the front pages. Scattered on every table are other interesting touches, such as original ration books, and vintage movie magazines for you to browse through, which help while away the waiting time if it’s busy – which it usually is if you visit at lunchtime. It’s easy to become distracted by this memorabilia and forget to look at the actual menu.

The lovely staff make you as welcome as possible. These are people who genuinely love what they do, and it shows. Any questions are answered with patience and enthusiasm, even when the place is heaving. Interlude is probably not aimed at the majority of young people; it’s frequented more by ladies (and occasional gentlemen) who lunch, all of which adds to the genteel, tearoom theme.

The Food
You ring the little hand bell on your table when you’re ready to order. The menu is simple, and reads like the contents of an Enid Blyton midnight feast at Malory Towers. A breakfast menu (served all day) offers such childhood joys as boiled egg and soldiers, and porridge. The sandwiches have traditional fillings, from tuna mayo, or cheddar and Branston at £2.80, to Brie and cranberry sauce, and the most perfectly cooked crispy bacon (£3.80). Fillings are substantial, and the sandwich rolls – white or brown, and home made by their baker – are as soft, fluffy and as fresh as it’s possible to be. Homemade soup (£2.90) is served with, yes, a homemade bread roll and real butter. At £3.95, their jacket potatoes come piled high with fillings such as chilli, cheese or beans, and even the specials, such as corned beef hash with a fried egg – very wartime – are unbelievably good value at around £4.95.

There are cream teas, too. A deluxe version (£9.90 per person) is a feast of tea, sandwiches, cakes, scones and their hand-made chocolates. A more modest version of this comes in at £4.95. It’s all reminiscent of tea at gran’s on Sunday afternoons. Cakes are brought to you on old-fashioned, fancy china cake stands - enormous eclairs and sponge costs £1.20, whilst warm treacle or cornflake tart, with custard, is £2.80.

The Drink
It’s not licensed, but who cares when a big, fat teapot of Yorkshire Tea for two comes out at £1.25 per person. It seems to last forever and is served in dainty china cups and saucers. And it’s no surprise that even the drinks hail from years gone by, and include Horlicks, Ovaltine, Bovril and Marmite, and other marvellous memories such as Vimto, dandelion and burdock and cream soda.

The Last Word
It’s the thought, care, and attention to detail that’s gone into the whole concept which will make you want to become in Interlude regular. There really is nowhere like it.

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