Cost – £32.00 (June 2021)
Parking and Access – There is a fairly large car park at the hotel. The upper section is near the main entrance and is on the flat to the hotel. The lower part is accessed by a fairly steep slope, but is still not very far from the entrance.
The part of the restaurant where we were seated was down a few wide steps. However, other areas of the restaurant, plus the terrace and the lounge were all on accessed on the flat.
There is a disabled toilet opposite the entrance to the lounge area, which is next to the restaurant. The main toilets were near to the restaurant and were on the flat from the upper parts of the restaurant, but was up steps from where we were sat.
Background – My usual companion spent some of his childhood family holidays in a cottage in Morthoe, overlooking the lovely beach, and the Watersmeet Hotel. He had always wanted to visit the hotel to see what it was like. When we decided to have a holiday in Cornwall (see The Headland Hotel), we thought we could stop off on the return journey and visit the hotel for an Afternoon Tea.
We booked our Tea, in advance, by phone, adding our usual request for no mustard in the sandwiches.
Contents per person – six rectangular sandwiches (two each of egg mayonnaise, ham and smoked salmon with cream cheese). One medium/large fruit scone and one medium/large plain scone, a pot of strawberry jam and a pot of clotted cream. A profiterole, a blueberry moussecake type square, a cube of chocolate brownie, a finger of lemon sponge and a brandy snap filled with lemon cream. A pot of tea from a large choice in the menu.
Options available – This Afternoon Tea is also available with Champagne.
Comments – We managed to park in the upper part of the car park, with ease. We checked in at reception, and were shown the way to the restaurant. The restaurant is situated in an octagonal building attached to the end of the hotel.
On arrival at the restaurant, we were shown to a table that had been reserved for us by the window, overlooking the beach below. What a stunning view! I had been thinking of asking to sit on the terrace, but the view was best from here, so we didn’t bother. We were the only table in use in the restaurant.
The table was laid with round white plates topped with a knife, white cups and saucers, a linen napkin and a vase containing a tulip.
There was also a menu on the table, from which we were asked to choose our tea. We chose a pot of English Breakfast tea and a pot of strawberry and raspberry tea. We were also provided with a jug of iced water and a blue glass each, which was very welcome as it was a beautiful sunny day.
The hot drinks arrived in two teapots with tea cages in them to hold the loose-leaf tea. There was also a white jug of milk and a pot of hot water to top the teapots up with.
The English Breakfast tea was rather too strong for us so we removed the tea cage from the pot and topped it up with the hot water. The fruit tea was very refreshing and was a good strength. We were offered a refill of tea, but not until an hour after we had arrived.
The Afternoon Tea arrived on two three-tier cake stands with plain round white plates.
There were two of each of three different sandwich fillings. These were topped with a scattering of micro herbs. They were made with a mix of brown and white bread. The sandwiches were all well filled, and were all freshly made and tasty. However, yet again, they were the standard fillings that every one has. This is an expensive and rather nice hotel, serving an Afternoon Tea that is fairly expensive. It is a shame they could not be a little more inventive.
The medium/large sized scones had been nicely warmed up. They were both very good, with the fruit scone containing a good amount of fruit. We certainly enjoyed them, and they were very fresh.
There was plenty of both jam and clotted cream for two scones each. However, when the stands first arrived, my companion had been given two pots of jam and no clotted cream. This was obviously just a slip and was quickly rectified.
In honour of the fact that we were in Devon, and because the cream was quite stiff on this occasion, I broke the habit of a lifetime and spread my scone with the cream first, then the jam. Rest assured, I will revert to the Cornwall way of jam first with my next Tea!!
The cakes looked really good! None were particularly big, but as there were two scones each, they were plenty big enough! We have certainly had plenty that were much smaller!! They were all freshly made and delicious. The stand out cakes were the brownie, which was light, moist and rich, and the brandy snap, which was just really yummy and different. The ends of the brandy snap and the cream inside were dipped in dried raspberry pieces. The whole thing collapsed when you bit into it, but it was really, really good!
We also had a minor problem with being able to pick up the moussecake type square. This resulted in a near catastrophe for my companion!!
Service was reasonable to start with. However, it was rather patchy from then on. It took an hour for us to be offered a refill of the tea, and we were on our own in the room for large periods of time.
However, the view from the window was just stunning. I could have sat there all day watching the beach and the sea far below us. This has to be about the best view we have ever had from an Afternoon Tea. It was beautiful.
Following our Tea, we asked if we could leave our car in the car park for a while. We then climbed down the hotel’s own steps to the beach below.
It was lovely to be able to paddle in the sea, looking up at the hotel where we had just had a lovely Afternoon Tea.
| Savoury | 1.5 |
| Scone | 2.0 |
| Jam | 2.0 |
| Cream | 2.0 |
| Cake (variety) | 2.0 |
| Cake (quality) | 2.0 |
| Tea | 1.5 |
| Presentation | 1.5 |
| Service | 1.0 |
| Value | 1.5 |
| Total | 17.0 |
All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The photographs are all my own.
I remain completely anonymous and always pay for my Afternoon Teas. They are never gifted to me by the businesses reviewed.
I am the legal copyright holder of the content and images on this blog.
Sarnies Scones and Cakes 