Cost – £22.95 for two (May 2016)
Background – Huntingdon has quite a pretty town centre but it is rather run down and has suffered over the years. The Falcon is situated on the Market Square in the centre of the town. It is a big old inn with vintage tea rooms upstairs. The waitresses are in period dress though this was somewhat spoiled in the case of our waitress by garishly coloured trainers under her black dress!!
Contents – 6 triangular sandwiches (ham, smoked salmon and cucumber), a large fruit scone, a small dish of strawberry jam, an individual tub of Rhoddas clotted cream, a small pat of butter and a slice of Victoria sponge. The tea was loose leaf in a large open bag.
Comments – Our table was reserved over looking the market square outside. We were the only customers in the tea rooms which are large, covering several rooms. Whilst the table was rather small, it was in a good position and was decorated with a jam jar of flowers. The waitress was dressed in Victorian dress but had bright green trainers under her long dress!!
The waitress brought out matching teacups and saucers plus a small jug of milk and a large non matching patterned tea pot.
The Afternoon Tea itself was served on a patterned three tier spindle cake stand with round patterned plates.
The sandwiches were fresh and were adequately filled. The ham was from a pack but there was enough of it. The cucumber was sliced but not particularly thinly.
The scones were large and fresh. They were of the softer variety and were very tasty. The jam was tasty with strawberries in it rather than the catering jam we often receive. The clotted cream was served in a sealed individual pot. It was very small so we asked for a second pot. This was provided with no charge. Butter was also provided but we did not use it.
The cake was a reasonably large slice of Victoria sponge filled with a thin layer of jam and butter icing. It was fresh and reasonably light. The filling was a little thin for my taste and the butter icing was not very buttery. It was not bad but I have had better.
The tea leaves for the tea were contained in a large loose tea bag trapped in the lid. We removed this when we were served the tea as the tea was of an appropriate strength for us already. There was enough for two and a half cups each. We didn’t ask for a refill.
Service was reasonably attentive but we were not asked if we would like the tea refilled.
| Sandwiches | 1.0 |
| Scone | 1.5 |
| Jam | 1.5 |
| Cream | 1.0 |
| Cake (variety) | 0.5 |
| Cake (quality) | 1.0 |
| Tea | 1.5 |
| Presentation | 1.0 |
| Service | 1.0 |
| Value | 1.5 |
| Total | 11.5 |
Sarnies Scones and Cakes 