Cost – £29.95 for two people (Oct 2021)
Parking and Access – There is no parking at the venue as it is on the pier in Bournemouth. However, there are several carparks that are not far away, though all involve a walk and a slope to reach them.
If you have made a booking at the venue, entrance on to the pier is free. However, if you have no booking, there is a fee to pay to access the pier.
There are no steps to reach the pier, or to get into the Bar and Grill. There are toilets in the venue that are accessible on the flat. The room where Afternoon Tea is served is next to the entrance and is accessible on the flat.
Background – We were returning to Bournemouth for a short break. This was obviously an excellent opportunity to sample some more of the many Afternoon Teas available in the area. I had to get booking!!
We had spotted signs near the pier, during previous visits to the town, advertising an Afternoon Tea in the Bar and Grill at the end of the pier. This sounded perfect for us! A real Tea with a view!
I was able to book using an online booking form, and we were ready to go!
Contents per person – Four rectangular open sandwiches (tuna crunch mayonnaise, ham and tomato, cheese and tomato, prawn and cucumber). One medium fruit scone, a mini Tiptree pot of strawberry jam, a small tub of Rodda’s clotted cream. A triangle of chocolate brownie, a triangle of millionaire’s shortbread and some strawberries. Plus, a slice of carrot cake and a slice of red velvet cake between the two of us. Pot of tea or cup of coffee.
Options Available – There are no options available for this Tea.
Comments – We arrived in Bournemouth on a beautiful, sunny Autumnal day. The surfers were out in the sea, with their surfboards, and the beach looked inviting.
We parked in one of the carparks nearby, and made our way down to the beach and the pier. As we had booked our Afternoon Tea in advance, we were able to show our booking confirmation at the entrance to the pier, and were given free entrance on to the pier.
It was a lovely stroll along the pier, in the warm sunshine, watching the surfboarders catching the waves.
The Key West Bar and Grill is situated at the far end of the pier. The building is an interesting dome shape and has a large sun terrace behind it.
On arrival at the building, we went inside and spoke to a waiter, who showed us to our table.
The table was right by the window, with lovely views over the sea.
When we made our booking, we had mentioned that we would prefer not to have the prawn sandwich. After we sat down, we were approached by a waiter who asked what we would like to swap the prawn sandwich for. We both decided that we would prefer a second tuna sandwich. It was good to be given a choice. We were also asked for our choice of hot drink. We both chose tea.
The Afternoon Tea arrived after a few minutes. It was presented on a plain metal three-tier cake stand with chunky plain white plates. We were also given a plate each, with a paper napkin on top, plus a large knife and fork wrapped in a second napkin, each.
The tea arrived shortly after. It was served in a stainless-steel teapot, accompanied by a chunky white milk jug. We were also given a chunky while teacup and saucer each.
The tea was a bit strong for us, so we poured a teacup full each, then asked for the teapot to be topped up with just hot water.
Our sandwiches were a bit different from the usual offering, as they were open sandwiches. There were also some pea shoots in the centre of the plate.
The sandwiches were all well heaped, apart from the cheese one, which was a little sparse. Unfortunately, the tuna sandwiches were so heaped that they were actually quite hard to eat, as they tended to collapse!
The fruit scone was of a medium size and had been warmed. However, neither of us felt they were freshly made that day. They still tasted fine though.
As there was only one scone each, there was enough of both jam and clotted cream. Both of which were pre-packaged.
The sweet part of the Tea consisted of a triangle of chocolate brownie and of millionaire’s shortbread each, plus two slices of cake between us. We always like to share everything, if we can, so we carefully cut each of the two slices of cake into two halves, so that we both had a bit of everything. Both cakes were good, with our favourite being the carrot cake. There were also some slices of delicious strawberries on the plate. Both the brownie and the millionaire’s shortbread were delicious.
Service was friendly throughout. The bar had a system where you place a card either red or green side up depending on whether you required service or not. However, we didn’t need to use this as the staff were easily available without. We had no problems with any requests and found the staff to be very helpful.
This Afternoon Tea was not one of the fanciest or best we have ever had. On the other hand, it was nowhere near the worst! However, the setting, on the end of a pier with the sea below you, and the sun shining brightly, was just lovely and definitely made this a Tea worth trying.
| Sandwiches | 1.5 |
| Scone | 1.0 |
| Jam | 1.0 |
| Cream | 1.0 |
| Cake (variety) | 1.5 |
| Cake (quality) | 1.5 |
| Tea | 1.5 |
| Presentation | 1.5 |
| Service | 1.5 |
| Value | 1.5 |
| Total | 13.5 |
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 