Cost – £20.00 for two people (July 2017)
Background – The Whelk Coppers is a café situated above the promenade next to the beach in the attractive North Norfolk town of Sheringham. It is found near the slipway by the original lifeboat house.
There is a reasonably large outside area with several painted picnic type wooden tables overlooking the beach and the sea. It is in a fantastic position. There are parasols available for shade if the sun is too hot. There is also an inside area in two rooms.
Contents – Three finger sandwiches each (ham, cheese and pickle, egg mayonnaise and crab). A medium sized fruit scone, a small bowl of strawberry jam, and a bowl of clotted cream. A small slice of Victoria sponge, a piece of cinnamon and raspberry cake, a small piece of chocolate brownie and a small dessert of summer berries and clotted cream. The tea was made with tea bags in a china teapot with a metal jug of hot water to refill the pot.
Comments – We were originally seated in the outside area at a table reserved for us. However, the table next to ours had a dog on a long lead roaming around and barking. It was able to roam under the whole of our table. As I am rather scared of dogs we asked if it could be moved to the other end of our neighbouring table but the owners wouldn’t do this so we had to move table. We moved to a second table in the outside area which actually proved to be a much better table anyway. The waitress was very helpful and quickly moved the cups and plates, etc. for us.
The outside area has stunning views over the beach and sea.
The tea was served first in a chunky white china teapot. We were also served with a jug of hot water and a mini milk bottle of milk. The tea was very weak, only one teabag in the pot!
The afternoon tea followed quite quickly on a plain metal three tier cake stand with chunky round white plates.
The sandwiches were fresh and well filled. They were on brown bread with the crusts taken off. There was also a small amount of salad garnish. I was a bit wary of the crab sandwich due to a bad experience previously (see the Gonville Hotel review) but luckily it tasted fine on this occasion.
The scones were fresh but very slightly undercooked leaving them slightly stodgy in the middle. Mine was more cooked than my husbands. They were a good size and tasty. There was just about enough jam but, luckily, enough clotted cream.
The cakes were all supplied by a bakery in the town. They were fresh and very tasty. The chocolate brownie was very moist, almost a chocolate fondant. It was also nice and rich. I particularly enjoyed the cinnamon and raspberry cake which was very good. The small dessert, which was not too ridiculously small, was a really good summery addition with a nice mix of raspberries, strawberries and blueberries mixed with clotted cream.
Service was quick, helpful and friendly. We were asked if all was ok on several occasions by different staff.
This afternoon tea is definitely one I would recommend although it should be noted that you need to book twenty-four hours in advance. The relatively low price for the good food offered, coupled with the fantastic views over the sea make this afternoon tea unmissable.
| Sandwiches | 1.5 |
| Scone | 1.5 |
| Jam | 1.0 |
| Cream | 2.0 |
| Cake (variety) | 2.0 |
| Cake (quality) | 2.0 |
| Tea | 1.0 |
| Presentation | 1.5 |
| Service | 2.0 |
| Value | 2.0 |
| Total | 16.5 |
Sarnies Scones and Cakes 