Afternoon tea at the Doubletree by Hilton, Cambridge

Ok, not strictly a cream tea but hey, it's not the summer holiday season and a girl still needs her cake fix! So off a friend and I went to the Doubletree in Cambridge to sample their afternoon tea offerings. Now I won't dwell on this, but I did actually stay at this hotel, the Garden House, many years ago for my birthday and I don't think there was a single thing we didn't justifiably complain about. So, I was a little apprehensive taking a my friend and recommending the place!

No matter though as it has had a major, swanky overhaul and looks every bit the modern hang out it seeks to be. What I must just recommend at this point, is booking through afternoontea.co.uk as, while it wasn't necessary (I'm guessing it might be peak season), it was incredibly easy to do and we had a lovely little table by the window overlooking the river waiting for us as we arrived. Give them a try!


It really is a beautiful view too. Afternoon tea should be luxurious and watching the people and the punters is a delight at any time of year.

Now onto the good stuff! I wouldn't have said that the menu for afternoon tea was the most traditional I've encountered. It's a little bit touristy and being from Cambridge myself, I guess I didn't really need that. But I hardly suffered - it was all delicious. Take a butchers here if you want to see what's on offer. There are two menus but they largely only differ on the one layer - The Byron menu offers you bear biscuits and chocolate books, the Hartnell gives you handbags and shoes!

Otherwise you get the usual range of sandwiches - smoked salmon, cheese and cucumber, egg and cress and ham and mustard. There is also a cream tea (although once again my mum would be horrified to discover you do not get the option of plain scones, only fruit). And if you're a real trouper, there's Cambridge burnt cream, Eton mess and a sherry trifle. Tea is Twinnings although there is a selection.


The price is a 'treat yourself' worthy £29.90 for two. You can also add a glass of champage each for an extra £14.00 - I don't know, maybe you can tell yourself that the bubbles aid digestion ;)

We opted for the Hartnell. Another picture for your delectation - is there anything quite as exciting as the afternoon tea stand?


The bit that I found a little like tourist fodder was the biscuit and chocolate shoes and handbags that came with this option. The biscuit was fine but the chocolate, while a nice enough quality, was really just there to give a little novelty. It was so rich I had to leave some of mine (not typical).

The sandwiches were as dainty and tasty as you'd hope. A nice selection and more than enough for two. It may look like a little selection but surprisingly filling!

I was in familiar territory with the scones of course. They were nice and fresh, the clotted cream was plentiful and the jam good too. It wasn't necessarily the best quality cream tea but I wouldn't have expected that, it not being their speciality. I was actually pleasantly surprised.

Now I have to confess to feeling like I'd over indulged on the last course. I was very relieved that although they had provided us with two large pots of tea, in order for us to have a bit of a break, they were happy to bring two fresh pots to top us up.

All of the desserts were extremely tasty. Very rich so it took a while to get through them! Personally I found the sherry trifle just right to finish on, it was fruity and sweet but perfectly manageable.

Overall, I'd recommend the Doubletree at Cambridge. It may not have the quaint surroundings that you might want from afternoon tea but it is very pleasant nevertheless. The staff were very friendly and helpful, the view, if you can get by the window, is pretty and a people watching delight. And it doesn't do you any harm to be spotted sitting in front of an enormous plate of cakes does it?

The Old Thatch Teashop, Shanklin, Isle of Wight

What about the Old Thatch Teashop in Shanklin, Isle of Wight doesn't make it the perfect cream tea experience?! The thatched building from the 1600s?

The exerior of the Old Thatch Teashop, Shanklin, Isle of Wight

The exquisite decor with a choice of a blue room, pink room, green room or gardens?

The Pink Room

The sight of the homemade cakes on display as you walk in the door? (The above picture does NOT do justice to the size of those babies, the cakes were huge!) Frankly, all of these would do.

I had long been wanting to go to this delightful tearoom as I'd walked past on many a holiday of recent years but somehow never quite got round to it. I'd stuck my nose against the windows and peered inside, sighed wistfully at the pretty location while driving past and even managed to almost kid myself that I could fit in a 'cream tea pudding' after lunch at the Crab pub a few doors down. So I was a little concerned that anticipation might have built too high and inevitable disappointment would follow. I needn't have worried. Inside was so pretty I felt instantly at home, it was just the perfect blend of chintzy but cute. Modern isn't really a word that will ever spring to mind in the Old Thatch Teashop and it's all the better for it.

We sat in the corner of the pink room surrounded by china teapots and cushions and opted for two plain scone cream teas.

The Corner of the Pink Room

It came delicately arranged, two generous sized scones, a dish of fresh clotted cream and some strawberry Bonne Maman jam. Oh, and of course, a massive pot of tea that as ever I struggled to muster the strength to pour. A quick glance into the kitchen area told me that this was likely to be Twinnings tea and it was typically diffcult to get a good colour from it but it didn't matter the moment you tasted it.

The Goodies

Onto the scones, they were simply some of the nicest that I've had. They were just moist enough to be very slightly chewy and were not in the slightest bit crumbly (so no embarrasing disasters with them falling apart on me, jam, cream and all.) They were warm and soft as they were served and didn't get any less delicious as they cooled. They were pretty much perfections itself.

If I were to add petty criticisms I'd say there wasn't enough clotted cream for my tastes - I ran out and had to use it very sparingly at the end. Same went for the small pot of jam. Maybe I'm just greedy though! The service was very efficient but I felt it lacked a little warmth. But these are minor quibbles. Overall, I'd say that was the perfect cream tea experience and well worth travelling to visit if you are in the Isle of Wight. Don't just peer in the window wistfully - just do it!

Peacocks Tea Room, Ely, Cambridgeshire

Peacocks Tearoom, Ely, Cambridgeshire is very much your old fashioned type - and proudly so. The decor is slightly chintzy but sweet and welcoming, giving just the right air of civilised repose! As you can see from the picture above, there is an outside seating area and this is just by the river so you can spend the afternoon watching the boats drift through and people feeding the ducks if you so wish. It has also won awards for its teas from the Tea Guild so it HAD to be on our list.

It was a glorious, but slightly humid day and so we sat inside for our visit on account of the nice breeze from the fan. 

The menu at Peacocks is full of delights and of the savoury kind too so it's not all about the cakes. But for us, it was! We ordered the 'Pink Perfection' for two which included smoked salmon finger sandwiches, a glass each of pink bubbly and was followed by 2 scones with clotted cream and jam. This option usually comes with rose tea to complete the pink theme but we opted for the unadventurous breakfast tea. 

On ordering, we were given a choice of jams (we went for raspberry and strawberry) but I was very disappointed to find that plain scones were not available. I'm not averse to fruit scones to be honest but another of my cream tea companions would have been horrified by this! (And possibly left hungry too.) The other options were cheese scones and, if you want to really push the boat out, chocolate scones but we (keeping up our theme of being on the safe side) stuck with fruit.

I must say, the sandwiches and bubbly were delightful and really hit the spot. BUT, this is a cream teas review blog, so onto the sweet stuff. I found the scones very slightly dry, review 'L' did not, but they were certainly good, home-made and not overly crumbly. The tea was tasty but difficult to get it to the right colour. That said, it was massive pot and you could spend all afternoon chatting and slurping tea if you wanted, they don't skimp. 

As far as the service was concerned, they were all really friendly and happy to offer alternatives to the set menus. There was usually someone around to ask for anything you need; never did you feel they were intrusive or rushing you. 

All in all, I would recommend Peacocks, for cream teas or (from what I saw) a relaxing lunch or even a slice of cake. It was bright, comfy, traditional but not stuffy. And there is ample opportunity to walk it all off after with after a stroll along the river or an uphill walk up to the glorious Ely Cathedral. 

Cream Tea Review - Huffkins of Burford, Cotswolds

As recommended by the Cotswolds Teashop Walks by Jean Paterfield I took my first cream tea for the site at quaint Huffkins, situated on the High Street in Burford. On the outside it boasted the ‘Best Afternoon Tea in Britain’ by the readers of My Weekly magazine so this was an excellent start!

Inside was very modern and had a comfortable and relaxed feel to it. I’m all for the old fashioned cream/afternoon tea experience but it’s nice to be able to talk above a whisper from time to time. The service was warm, friendly and prompt without being intrusive.

So, all the peripheral matters out of the way - on to the cream tea review! It in no way disappointed. We sampled both the plain and the fruit scone and they were moist but firm enough to stay together as you munched on them. The jam and clotted cream was fresh and the cream in particular was of perfect consistency - I got the impression they were particularly selective about their choice. The tea was Twinings and there was enough for 3 cups!

So overall, a full recommendation.