Cost – £28.00 for two (July 2018)
Parking and Access – There is no parking specifically for this venue, however, there is on-street parking nearby and there is a public car park just behind the main street, a short walk away. There is a toilet available but it is up a steep set of stairs.
Background – Camellia Cottage is a very picturesque cottage right in the middle of Sheringham. It has tables inside on the ground floor and in the small upstairs area. There are also gardens in front and behind the cottage where you can sit and eat.
Inside, there is a small counter with cakes and slices in a covered area. Behind this is the small kitchen area.
We have been trying to book to have Afternoon Tea at Camellia Cottage for some time. The first few times we tried to book, the phone just rang unanswered. Then we tried again and were told that ringing the day before did not count as giving twenty four hours notice (despite the fact that it was well over twenty four hours ahead)! We even tried booking in the café and had trouble even getting attention as the staff were just having conversations with each other. After this, we had decided not to try again. However, after waiting a year, we decided to give them another try. This time I spoke to a very helpful person on the phone and managed, at last, to make the booking.
Contents – Two finger sandwiches each (cheese and chutney and ham) plus a small chicken wrap and a circular sandwich of smoked salmon and cream cheese. One large spiced fruit scone, a small Tiptree jar of strawberry or raspberry jam and a small Tiptree jar filled with clotted cream. A mini Victoria sponge, a small Eton mess cheesecake dessert, a shortbread biscuit and a small piece of lemon tart. A pot of tea.
Options Available – There were no options available.
Comments – This was our final attempt to try to book an Afternoon Tea at Camellia Cottage. Luckily, on this occasion the phone was answered by a helpful and polite young lady who was happy to take our booking.
However, things didn’t get off to the best start with us standing by the counter for some minutes, whilst three people worked nearby ignoring us. Finally, a fourth person arrived who spoke to us. She showed us to a table laid ready and reserved for us in the small front room of the café. The table was laid with mismatched vintage china plus a set of cutlery and a paper napkin each.
The tea arrived quickly in a large patterned teapot accompanied by a jug of milk. It was made with teabags and was of a good strength. We were offered a refill of the pot.
The Afternoon Tea arrived after a short while. It was served on a three-tier spindle stand with round white plates. The jam and cream was on a separate round patterned plate.
The sandwiches were very fresh and were all well filled. The menu had included ham with mustard and chicken with pesto. As we are not keen on either mustard or pesto, these had both been replaced with extra chutney at our request. We were pleased with this option. There was also some lettuce served with the sandwiches. The cheese and chutney sandwich was my favourite.
The large fruit scone was described as being spiced fruit. It was delicious with a hint of mixed spice!
We were served with one pot of strawberry jam and one of raspberry. I chose the raspberry jam. There was a good amount of both jam and clotted cream.
Finally, the cake section was also good. The mini Victoria sponge was not too mini and was tasty. Whilst both the mini dessert and the lemon tart were really good! As usual, I would have liked more of the lemon tart.
Service was good after the initial glitch, with several visits to check all was well.
| Savoury | 2.0 |
| Scone | 1.5 |
| Jam | 1.0 |
| Cream | 1.5 |
| Cake (variety) | 2.0 |
| Cake (quality) | 2.0 |
| Drink | 1.5 |
| Presentation | 2.0 |
| Service | 1.5 |
| Value | 1.5 |
| Total | 16.5 |
Sarnies Scones and Cakes 