Babington's Tea Rooms

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Standing at the foot of the Spanish Steps, Babington's Tea Rooms has been serving tea since 1893, which makes it the oldest tea shop in Rome.

​Rome’s first tea shop was opened by two English ladies, Isabel Cargill and Anne Marie Babington, at a time when it was only possible to buy tea at a chemist's. 

Babington's was initially situated in nearby Via due Macelli, but was such a success that within a year it had moved to the much more prestigious site at the base of the Spanish Steps, where it has been ever since. 

The current owners of Babington's Tea Rooms, cousins Chiara Bedini and Rory Bruce, are the great-grandchildren of Isabel Cargill, who died in 1944.