Cost – £14.95 (July 2018)
Parking and Access – There is a large public car park just across the road junction in front of the Tea Shop which is a pay and display car park. There is a toilet available at the back of the building.
Background – A Google search for Afternoon Teas in the Cromer area came up with Hatters Tea Shop.
We didn’t know of this venue, despite many visits to Cromer. In fact, we must have passed it many times as it is close to the public car park we usually use when we visit the town! I can’t believe we had been passing it by! We will certainly be stopping there in future.
This Afternoon Tea needed to be booked in advance but the Tea Shop also has some delicious looking cakes for spur of the moment visits.
There is also a small area selling gifts.
Contents – Six finger sandwiches each (two cheese and chutney, two ham, one prawn and one egg mayonnaise). Two medium fruit scones, a small dish of strawberry jam and a small dish of clotted cream. A cupcake, a small piece of chocolate brownie and a meringue topped with clotted cream and a strawberry. A pot of tea.
Options Available – There was a savoury option available rather than the sweet option we chose.
Comments – We had booked our Afternoon Tea ahead and on arrival we found a window table reserved for us with our name on it.
We spoke to the girl at the counter to say we had arrived and sat at the table. We were quickly served by another waiter who came and asked us which tea we would like (we chose the house blend). Shortly after, the owner came and spoke to us, checking what we wanted and that our tea order had been taken.
The tea arrived quickly in a small white pottery teapot each with a jug of milk between us. We were also brought mismatched vintage china teacups and saucers.
The tea was made with loose leaves which were contained in a mesh cage within the teapots. It was of a good strength. We were offered a refill of the pots when we wanted. We were also given a carafe of tap water later on.
The owner had said that the Afternoon Tea would take ten to fifteen minutes to arrive. It actually arrived quicker than that. We were brought a three-tiered spindle type stand with mismatched plates each.
We were also given a vintage plate, knife, fork and a paper napkin each.
First of all, we ate the sandwiches. There were six each with four different fillings. The sandwiches were all well filled, freshly made and very tasty. We both agreed that the egg mayonnaise was particularly good, followed closely by the cheese and chutney. There was a mix of white and brown bread.
There were two medium sized fruit scones each. We had been given a choice between fruit or cheese scones and had chosen fruit. The scones had been warmed up and were clearly freshly made. They were light and tasty. Two of the best scones I have eaten for some time. There was enough of both the strawberry jam and the clotted cream.
Oddly, this was the second time in a row that the cake section included a meringue topped with clotted cream and strawberry. This time the meringue was properly cooked and there was a whole strawberry on the top. It was very good! There was also a cupcake. Not usually one of my favourites but this was light and the frosting was not too sickly sweet. I enjoyed it. Last of all there was a piece of extremely delicious chocolate brownie. I could have eaten more of this as it was so good, however, we were nearing capacity by this point and I’m not sure I could have fitted any more in! Not something I would normally admit to!
The service was good with friendly owners checking we were ok regularly. This is a Tea Shop I definitely hope to return to.
| Savoury | 2.0 |
| Scone | 2.0 |
| Jam | 1.5 |
| Cream | 1.5 |
| Cake (variety) | 1.5 |
| Cake (quality) | 2.0 |
| Drink | 2.0 |
| Presentation | 2.0 |
| Service | 2.0 |
| Value | 2.0 |
| Total | 18.5 |
Sarnies Scones and Cakes 