Cost – £29.95 (March 2018)
Parking and Access – There is a reasonable amount of parking in the village of Woburn, some of which is quite close to the Coffee House. There is also a reasonably large public car park behind the Woburn Hotel, accessed from the road leading through the park. There are some cobbles to get over on the pavement area. The Woburn Coffee House has steps to access the toilets, lounge area and the conservatory.
Background – Well, I did say we would be back!!
This time we were celebrating a birthday so we thought we would try the new Spring menu. We were sat in the front room of the restaurant this time as there was a ‘do’ going on in the conservatory at the back of the building. The room was full and we saw people who had not booked being turned away at the door. Booking is definitely essential here.
Options Available – Traditional, Celebration, Vegetarian Traditional and Vegetarian Celebration.
Contents – Watercress, chick pea and avocado salad with mango dressing, crab cake with lemongrass mayonnaise, garlic, spinach and parmesan pinwheel, purple sprouting broccoli and Roquefort tartlet, smoked salmon and chervil cream cheese on a beetroot muffin with limoncello caviar, beetroot and feta muffin with tomato jam. Chai tea and carrot scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream. Cocoa and banana cake with malted cream and white chocolate cigarillo, tonka bean cheesecake with salted caramel mousse and raspberry tuile, rhubarb and prosecco Eton mess, rose water and rhubarb pate de fruits.
Comments – As before, we booked our Tea at the Woburn Coffee House some time ahead. It was chosen to celebrate a birthday so we wanted a specific day. We were booked for 1.00. This is earlier than we would normally go for but it turned out to be ideal. On this occasion, we were seated in the front room of the restaurant as there was a Golden Wedding event taking place in the Conservatory where we sat on our previous visit.
This was the first day that the new Spring Afternoon Tea was being served.
Our coats were taken from us and we were shown to our seats. We were then each given a menu to choose drinks from. The restaurant has just gained its licence so alcoholic beverages are now available. However, we ordered a jug of homemade lemonade. We also chose English Breakfast tea plus a cappuccino for one member of our party. We were told the tea and coffee would come when we started our scones unless we wanted it to arrive earlier. We decided this would suit us as we were drinking the lemonade as well.
As before, the table was beautifully laid with matching tablecloth and napkins and pretty flowered china.
The lemonade arrived quickly in a glass jug. It was sparkling, cool and was delicious. We ordered a second jug later.
The Afternoon Tea arrived on two five-layer brass cake stands and looked fabulous.
As on our previous visit, the savoury items were varied,
interesting
and absolutely delicious!
My personal favourite was the garlic, wilted spinach and parmesan puff pastry pinwheel, even though I’m not really very keen on spinach usually!
We worked through the savoury items together,
all enjoying each item
and being constantly amazed by how good they all tasted.
Whilst we were eating the items on our stand, we were each offered a cheese and chive scone with butter and kiwi and pepper jam. It was delicious.
Our tea and coffee arrived when we finished our savoury items. We had a large china teapot of tea between three of us plus cappuccino for the fourth person. The tea was made with tea bags.
The chai tea and carrot scones were interesting and different. They were very tasty.
There was enough strawberry jam but not really enough clotted cream. Luckily, we were able to share the cream left for our non-cream eating party member, to give us just about enough for the scones. We were given some butter, on request, for the non-cream eater.
Of the sweet items,
my favourite was the rose water and rhubarb pate de fruits. I don’t usually like rose water as it can be a bit overpowering but I couldn’t really taste it.
The rhubarb flavour, on the other hand, was really good. I also particularly liked the rhubarb and prosecco Eton mess.
Naturally the other items
were really good too.
I mentioned that this Afternoon Tea was booked to celebrate a birthday. As we were nearing the end of our Tea, a waitress approached us saying she believed one of us was celebrating a birthday. We were presented with a pretty piece of dark chocolate with Happy Birthday (and the person’s name) written on it in white chocolate. This was a really nice, personalised touch.
Service was pleasant and helpful.
As I said at the end of my original review of the Woburn Coffee House, we will be back!! After all, there are the Summer, Autumn and Winter menus to try out yet!!
| Sandwiches | 2.0 |
| Scone | 2.0 |
| Jam | 2.0 |
| Cream | 1.5 |
| Cake (variety) | 2.0 |
| Cake (quality) | 2.0 |
| Tea | 2.0 |
| Presentation | 2.0 |
| Service | 2.0 |
| Value | 2.0 |
| Total | 19.5 |
Sarnies Scones and Cakes 