Cost – £12.50 (Sept 2016)
Background – Betty Bumbles Vintage Tea Rooms overlooks the old market square in St Neots. It is themed for the forties with appropriate decorations in the tea room and forties music playing all the time. There is a small tea room downstairs plus a larger room upstairs. There was a good display of homemade cakes on the counter downstairs.
This was our second attempt to have Afternoon Tea at Betty Bumbles. The first time we tried we were told we couldn’t have it as the kitchens were closed – more than an hour before closing time!! We were told we would have to arrive around 2 at the latest in order to have Afternoon Tea!! We managed this on our second attempt and it was worth making the effort even though it meant eating our Tea rather earlier than we would normally do.
Contents – 3 finger sandwiches each (your choice from a long list, we chose coronation chicken and cheddar with chutney), a few cheese and onion crisps. A large fruit scone, a dish of strawberry jam and a dish of cream. A Tunnocks bar, a chocolate covered marshmallow, your choice of a slice of cake from several available (we chose coffee and walnut). The tea was made with tea bags.
Comments – We sat in the upstairs area of the tea room overlooking St Neots Market Square.
The china was all vintage and mismatched. The tea arrived in a pretty white china teapot with gold around the edge. I also ordered a diet coke to drink as well which came with the tea. The rest of the tea arrived on a three tier spindle cake stand with pretty round china plates.
The sandwiches were well filled and freshly made. We shared the sandwiches between us, one and a half sandwiches each of each filling. They were very tasty.
The scone was large, fresh and warm. There was plenty of both jam and cream. However, the cream might have been whipped rather than clotted – it was difficult to tell. If it was whipped it was thick. Either way, it was fine.
The cake part of this tea was interesting in that there was a Tunnocks caramel wafer and a Tunnocks Teacake (chocolate covered marshmallow) as well as the cake. I must admit we shared both and enjoyed the trip back to our childhoods!
We had both chosen to have a slice of coffee and walnut cake for our tea. There was a choice of several types of cake, all of which could be seen on a counter in the downstairs area of the tea room. The cake was very good and was beautifully fresh. It was a good choice.
The tea was of a good strength and was refilled for us when we asked.
The service was friendly and helpful. Our only problem was that the forties style music was a little intrusive.
| Sandwiches | 1.5 |
| Scone | 1.5 |
| Jam | 1.5 |
| Cream | 1.5 |
| Cake (variety) | 1.5 |
| Cake (quality) | 1.5 |
| Tea | 1.5 |
| Presentation | 1.5 |
| Service | 1.5 |
| Value | 1.5 |
| Total | 15.0 |
Sarnies Scones and Cakes 