Cost – £21 (June 2015)
Background – The George in Stamford is a big old coaching inn on the main street into Stamford, only a short distance from the centre of the town. It is a popular venue for tea and it is advisable to book ahead. There are various areas for eating inside or there is a large courtyard with tables and chairs outside.
It is possible to buy vouchers for afternoon tea at The George. This trip was a present to us from one of our sons.
Contents – 4 finger sandwiches (smoked salmon, cucumber and cream cheese, roast beef, egg mayonnaise), a good sized fruit scone, a dish of strawberry jam, and a dish with an ice cream scoop of clotted cream, a finger of sponge with almond slices on it, a small piece of chocolate slice, a mini Victoria sponge, a small fruit tartlet and finally a finger of biscotti on the side of the tea cup. The tea was made with teabags in a large teapot with extra hot water and was refillable. There was a choice of teas available.
Comments – We chose to sit outside in the courtyard of the hotel. It was very busy and it was difficult to find a table at first. We then had to wait to order as we were a little early for afternoon teas which started promptly at 3.30. The afternoon tea was then served all together, with the tea arriving at the same time as the cake stand with the food items on it. The afternoon tea was served on a three tier cake stand with round white plates.
The sandwiches were of a good size, fresh and were well filled. It was nice to see roast beef included. Unfortunately the cucumber in the cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches was left as chunks rather than slices so was not as easy to eat as it should have been.
The scones were of a good size, not too small, and had lots of fruit in them. They were very tasty. The jam and cream were on separate small dishes. There was plenty of jam but there was only just about enough cream.
Finally the cakes were all fresh and tasty. The chocolate slice was our favourite item. All of the cakes were quite small.
The tea was of the right strength but got cold rather quickly as we were outside. A refill was offered. There was a small selection of teas available.
Service was a reasonably attentive and pleasant. The surroundings were very nice but the main path to the busy hotel entrance went right down the middle of the courtyard meaning there was a constant stream of people walking past the tables.
| Sandwiches | 2.0 |
| Scone | 1.5 |
| Jam | 2.0 |
| Cream | 1.5 |
| Cake (variety) | 2.0 |
| Cake (quality) | 1.5 |
| Tea | 1.5 |
| Presentation | 1.5 |
| Service | 1.5 |
| Value | 1.0 |
| Total | 16.0 |
Sarnies Scones and Cakes 