WELLINGTON is full of some of the most delightful independent shops and cafes, and none more so than Odette’s Tearoom.

Run by Nancy Powell-Brace and Victoria Osborne, the tearoom came to fruition after the pair retired from their jobs as teachers.

“We opened in September 2015, it was something I had wanted to do for so long,” says Victoria, who does most of the cooking.

“We knew we wanted to go with a rustic French chic kind of theme combined with the beauty of Somerset.

“And then we also have the story of Odette Hallowes, she was a spy during Second World War who lived out near Whiteball Tunnel for sometime to look after her mother-in-law.

“She always spoke very fondly of her time in Somerset and said it was these memories which kept her going while she was captured and being tortured and she is the inspiration behind our name.”

And a cosy French theme combined with the warmness of the Somerset countryside is certainly what you are greeted with at the tearoom.

Victoria said: “We have our own garden where we get a lot of our produce from including the flower garnishes for the salads which just look so pretty on the plate.

“Instead of doing quiches we also do little tartins which no one else really does.

“We also do delicious salads with the most amazing yellow beetroot, soups and lots of egg dishes including Croque Madame Crowns and eggy bread Cordin Blea style.

“Most of our recipes are suitable for those who are intolerant to gluten and for vegetarians and vegans.

“Nancy is our baker and makes a lovely coffee and walnut cake and an award-winning Dorset Apple Cake using Somerset apples from our garden.”

As well as being open from Monday to Saturday, the tearoom also reserves Sundays for private parties and also runs an extremely popular bistro evening around every six weeks.

“We love doing the private events for people, Victoria adds.

“The tearooms have had everything in here from hen parties, baby showers, birthday parties and retirement parties for afternoon tea.

“It’s really popular and we always have such lovely feedback.

“We also hold bistro evenings every six weeks or so, the next one coming up is for Burns Night and we’re combining it with a Murder Mystery theme as we did this before and it was so much fun.

“The events can get over-subscribed so we’ve had to turn people away and we always say to keep a look out on our Facebook and book your place early.

“In February there will be a Valentine’s evening with three courses of food for £25.

“People never want to leave as they’re having such a good time so there have been some evenings where we haven’t left until gone 1am.”

Something else unique about the tearooms is the ever-changing window displays.

Victoria said: “Our displays are really popular with customers and people passing by.

“We change them quite often to reflect a certain theme or time of the year, and last Christmas we won the town’s window display competition so we were really pleased about that.

“Our theme at the moment is swans, which is dedicated to the Wellington Basins charity workers. The volunteers make the Basins a real asset to our town.”

To find out more about Odette’s Tearooms, visit Facebook.com/Odettestearoom