Cost – £9.99 (Feb 2017)
Background – The Arundel House hotel consists of a converted terrace of grand houses overlooking the River Cam and Jesus Green. It is our nearest Afternoon Tea venue, being within walking distance of our house, so I don’t know why it has taken us so long to get there!! There is ample parking to the rear of the hotel which is really helpful in Cambridge.
This Afternoon Tea has not got the highest of scores but represents excellent value for money in an extremely expensive city. Unfortunately I messed this review up slightly by forgetting to take a photo of the plate containing the scones and cakes until after we had eaten the scones. I will have to return and try again!!
Contents – Nine finger sandwiches between the two of us (three each between two of cucumber and cream cheese, smoked salmon and egg mayonnaise) with a pile of mixed leaves in the centre of the plate. A medium sized fruit scone, a dish of strawberry jam and a dish of clotted cream. An éclair and a coffee cupcake. The tea was made with tea bags in a china teapot.
Comments – We were served in the conservatory area of the hotel which is reached from the back entrance next to the car park.
As usual we were first served the tea in an attractive white china teapot. We were then served with the sandwiches on a round white plate.
The sandwiches were reasonably well filled and the lettuce leaves made a nice addition. The cucumber was sliced in a rather agricultural fashion!!
When we had finished the sandwiches the plate was cleared away and a second plate was brought out which contained the scones and cake. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo until after we had eaten the scones.
The scones had been sliced in half and then warmed. This meant the cut surface had rather dried out. The jam was catering jam again and there was only just enough clotted cream.
The éclair was of a reasonable size and had a layer of chocolate on top. The cupcake had a lot of coffee squidge on top but this proved to be very light. The ‘cupcake’ was actually a small fairy cake that had been topped with the coffee rather than a deep cupcake.
The tea was made with tea bags and was rather too strong for us. We were also given a jug of hot water.
Service was friendly and helpful but not always easily available.
| Sandwiches | 1.5 |
| Scone | 0.5 |
| Jam | 1.0 |
| Cream | 1.0 |
| Cake (variety) | 1.0 |
| Cake (quality) | 1.5 |
| Tea | 1.0 |
| Presentation | 1.0 |
| Service | 1.5 |
| Value | 2.0 |
| Total | 12.0 |
Sarnies Scones and Cakes 