National english meals

Tea Rooms
The UK is one of the world’s biggest tea consumers, which is ironic given that tea is not native to the country. In fact, the tea consumed by people in England largely comes from Sri Lanka, India, and China. When tea first came to England, was an expensive good reserved only for the wealthy who could afford it. Now, tea is widely accessible to English people of all income levels, most of which drink it on a daily basis. It’s estimated that the British drink of 60 billion cups of tea in a year! Tea is equally as popular with men as it is with women. A good brew is key fuel to get through the day.
The English tea shop is more than just an establishment for tea-drinking. Tea rooms are actually where the early feminist movement was able to grow. In the Victorian era, tea rooms were one of the few places women could go without needing a male escort. Tea rooms were also the answer for single women who wanted to have a career and thus would take up employment in these establishments.
Tea rooms soon grew to serve as important hubs for meeting and socializing, but their biggest role was in housing the suffragette movement during the early 1900s. This is because tea rooms were a safe space for women to congregate and for the idea of feminism to spread safely and discretely.
The Aerated Bread Company and J. Lyons & Co. became the pillars of large-scale tea rooms, which J. Lyons & Co dubbed “Corner Houses”. These chains set up tea rooms throughout the country in the late 19th Century. Today you can find tea rooms almost anywhere in England, where you can dine just as the suffragettes once did: over a nice hot cuppa and traditional English tea time food, from finger sandwiches to scones to desserts.
Popular Food Chains in Britain
While American fast food has colonized Britain, there are plenty of native British chains that you can count on enjoying a better meal at. Some examples are:

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  Nando’s - This South African/Portuguese import specializes in spicy jerk chicken. It’s amazing.
  
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  Leon - Specialized in gourmet foods served in a box.
  
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  West Cornwall Pasty Company - Specializing in Cornish Pasties.
  
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  Wimpy - The homegrown British equivalent to McDonalds.
  
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  Pret a Manger - While the name is French and they’re all over the world now, they originated in London specializing in freshly prepared sandwiches.