Eleven A, Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Cost – £14.95 (April 2019)

Parking and Access – There is no parking in the immediate vicinity. However, there are public car parks with free parking reasonably nearby. There is a small step to enter the building, which is on a hill. There are toilets in the restaurant with level access.

Background – We spotted this venue offered Afternoon Tea on a previous visit to Ely, so we added it to our huge list of places to try. It can be found just down the hill from the small market square in the centre of Ely.

Contents – four rectangular sandwiches (smoked salmon, ham, egg mayonnaise and cucumber with cream cheese). Two medium/large fruit scones, a dish of raspberry jam and a dish of clotted cream. A vanilla cupcake with a jam centre, a piece of carrot cake and a piece of chocolate cake. A pot of tea.

Options available – As well as the traditional Tea, there are also savoury, chocolate and cheese Afternoon Teas available. There are alcoholic additions available for each of these options and for the Traditional Tea.

Comments – We booked our Afternoon Tea the day before. However, when we arrived at Eleven A there had been a mix up with times and they had been expecting us earlier. This was quickly sorted out though and we were shown to our table.

There were several other tables of people eating Afternoon Tea in the restaurant. We were seated at the back of the room in comfortable chairs, however the area was a little dark.

The table was laid with white chunky china, a red paper napkin, a knife and fork and a wine glass. There was also a daffodil in a vase on the table.

We were asked for our drink order as soon as we were seated. We chose our usual tea.

The tea arrived quickly in two individual glass teapots along with a white jug of milk. The tea was of a good strength and was made with loose leaves. We didn’t ask for a top up of the tea.

We were also given a carafe of iced water.

The Afternoon Tea itself was served on a three-tier spindle cake stand with round white plates.

The sandwiches were well filled and fresh and tasty. There was a mix of brown and white breads. The sandwiches were topped with some lettuce leaves.

The scones were fresh and tasty and were of a good size. They had been warmed up.

It was really nice to have raspberry jam instead of the usual strawberry and it was really tasty. However, there was not enough for four scones and we had to ask for a second portion. There was also nowhere near enough clotted cream, but we didn’t ask for any more.

The cakes were all of a really good size. Much nicer than the tiny bites we often find. They were all fresh, moist and very tasty.

The chocolate cake was topped with grains, which gave the topping an interesting texture.

The carrot cake was particularly tasty with a lovely hint of cinnamon. However, the topping was a little too sweet for us.

The cupcake was topped with cream and white chocolate curls and had a blob of jam inside. The topping was not too much, unlike a lot of cupcakes!

Service was good, we were asked if we were alright on several occasions.

 

 

Savoury	1.5
Scone	2.0
Jam	1.5
Cream	1.0
Cake (variety)	1.5
Cake (quality)	2.0
Tea	2.0
Presentation	1.5
Service	2.0
Value	2.0
Total	17.0