Tutti Pole Tea Shoppe – Hungerford

Today, we ventured along the M4 as far as Hungerford in search of cups and saucers! Sounds strange, but I’ve decided that I would like some vintage/antique tea cups and saucers to use when photographing my cakes. Hungerford is full of antique centres and shops so it seemed like a great place to start the search.

After a bit of a late start (didn’t wake until 12.30!), we didn’t get to Hungerford until about 15.00, so we decided to head straight to get a bite to eat. I’d spotted the Tutti Pole Tea Shoppe sign as we drove through the town and I’m a bit of a sucker for old-fashioned “tea shoppes”! Unfortunately, once inside, the décor was more shabby than chic: the first page of the menu tells that the current owners took over in 1981 – it doesn’t look like they have changed at all since then.  The walls are a rather garish pink and the tables and chairs are dated pine. The cake display on the front counter was also quite unappealing – rather than having whole/partial cakes on display, there was a small, lonely looking slice of each type of cake out as display.

However, walking to our table, I was tempted by the display of huge meringues in an old-school chilled display cabinet and I remained hopeful that the food could be good. The service was a little over-keen, I had barely taken my coat off when we were asked if we were ready to order. We asked for a couple of minutes but were then asked again when we were only half-way through the menu. We had skipped lunch and so we decided to share a sandwich and then have a cake each.  The menu itself did not particularly inspire (both the dated and rather grubby leatherette folder and inserts and the choice of food), again it very much seemed that it hadn’t been updated since the 80s. At this point, I was tempted to get up and leave, but we hadn’t seen anywhere else and it always feels a bit wrong to leave, having sat down at a table and looked at the menu. We decided to stick it out and hope that the food was good.

The sandwich choice was very traditional – cheese, ham, egg, tuna etc and not much tempted. In the end, we decided to share a tuna melt toasted sandwich, EHH went for one of his favourites – bread pudding and I chose one of the huge meringues on display, accompanied, of course, by a pot of tea for two.

EHH's bread pudding

The food and drinks arrived promptly. The pot of tea (expensive at £1.95 per person) came in a 80s style tea set. It easily provided 2 cups of tea each and the extra pot of water would have done an extra cup each, except there weren’t enough tea bags in the pot and so the remaining tea was very weak. We were amused that our toasted sandwich had clearly been done in a 90s toasty-maker, not that we have any objection to this, but it just isn’t something you see very often these days, and very much fitted with our overall impression of the place. The tuna melt toasty itself (pricey for what it was at £4.75) was fine and came accompanied with a little side salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber and cress – we liked the fact that we had told the waiter that we were sharing and so they had given us half each on our own plate.  

My meringue

EHH’s bread pudding (cheap at about £1.75) was ok but nothing special – it had a good stodgy texture but could have done with more fruit and a bit of spice. My meringue (cheap at £2.75) looked amazing but was really quite disappointing - it was over-sweet and very crisp all the way through, missing the lovely chewy centre that I always look for in a good home-made meringue. It came with a huge amount of cream but only half of a strawberry – would have been nice to have more fruit to balance the extreme sweetness of the meringue. There was no way I could have eaten the whole meringue and so EHH ended up eating half to help me out!

Overall, I was disappointed with Tutti Pole Tea Shoppe – it has so much potential but missed on nearly all aspects.  The pricing of the food and drinks seemed odd – some things quite cheap (particularly the cake) and some really quite expensive. It has a really interesting history, is in a great location and appears to be very much part of the local community (we were touched by a number of pictures on the wall that were given to the place in memory of others) but we spent much of our time in there discussing how it could be updated and improved. We enjoyed our next couple of hours in Hungerford, pottering around the antique centres and will definitely return to the town, but not to the Tutti Pole.

Whitehall Garden Centre restaurant, Lacock

Ok, I admit it, I secretly quite enjoy a Sunday afternoon at a garden centre. Not that I’m particularly interested in gardening, plants etc, but these days, garden centres tend to have a great selection of housey/gift bits and bobs, decent farm shops and a good range of cake in the café! 

A few of our houseplants were looking decidedly worse for wear and we had nothing much planned for a wet Sunday afternoon, so we decided to pop along to Whitehall Garden Centre for a potter. Having skipped lunch, we decided to head straight to the restaurant to find something to eat.  The restaurant is fairly standard for a garden centre – fairly large, with lots of fairly cheap, modern wooden tables and chairs. There are large conservatory-type windows overlooking the outside plant section of the centre, so the restaurant is light and airy. As you would expect on a rainy Sunday afternoon, it was busy and most of the tables were filled.

Although we were thinking about lunch, the range of paninis was fairly limited and didn’t really tempt me, the only sandwiches available were packaged and, as we had a big roast planned for the evening, I didn’t want something more substantial, so after much deliberation, we decided just to have a slice of cake. There was a good range of cakes available, including about 4 different gluten-free options. I immediately spotted the one for EHH – an enormous hunk of caramel-covered flapjack. After deliberating between carrot cake, Victoria sponge and apple cake, I decided to go for the apple and cinnamon cake. We also opted for the standard pot of tea for two. In all, the bill came to just under £10, which was fairly respectable.

The tea was standard tea bags in a fairly decent-sized pot. It didn’t come with any additional hot water and the milk jug was fairly small, but the staff were very happy to top up the hot water and provide more milk, when asked. EHH really enjoyed his huge piece of caramel-covered flapjack – it was way too sweet for my tastes but he loved it. My apple and cinnamon cake was rather disappointing: I expect apple cake to be very moist and fruity, this was really quite dry and lacked flavour. The cinnamon icing was too sweet and rather overpowered the rest of the cake.

In all, the restaurant is acceptable but not exceptional. We’d probably pop in again if we were back shopping at the garden centre, but wouldn’t visit specifically for the restaurant.

Cordial and Grace tea-rooms, Clifton Village

Last weekend, the pretty Georgian shopping quarter of Clifton Village was bathed in frosty sunlight and looking at its best – definitely a good choice for a stroll and morning coffee with my visiting family.  After a potter over the Clifton Bridge and a bit of window shopping around a few of the fantastic independent boutiques, it was time for a cup of tea and a bite to eat. Unsurprisingly, many of Clifton’s coffee shops were busy and, as there were five of us (Mum, my aunt (R), my brother (D) and his girlfriend (J)), it was a little difficult to find somewhere to seat us all. 

Although a little understated from the outside – possibly accounting for why they were not quite as busy as other places – once inside, Cordial and Grace tea-rooms are bright and modern with a fashionably kitsch feel.  They are a sewing café - apparently following a trend in Paris and Berlin and catering for the increasing market of crafters – and hire sewing machines by the hour as well as holding a wide variety of sewing workshops. 

There was a good variety of cakes available, including three types of mince pies, three different cream teas (including a savoury option), a chocolate and clementine marble cake, apricot and yoghurt cake, peanut butter brownies and home-made cookies. We loved that they had little tasters of a couple of the cakes and a taste of the apricot and yoghurt cake tempted me, J and R. The cake was a decent sized slice and lovely: moist, full of flavour and not-too-sweet – great for a mid-morning snack. D went for a peanut butter brownie – he was slightly disappointed by the size (definitely a girl-sized portion!) but not by the taste – he allowed me a crumb and it was rich, peanutty and delicious. 

I loved that the tea came served in mis-matched teacups and saucers – very fitting with the overall atmosphere of the tea-rooms. The tea itself was proper leaf tea and came with a very cute little egg timer – to let you know when the tea had brewed correctly! D had a big mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows, Mum had a latte and J had a Jasmine tea, which were all good. R ordered a white Americano but it came as a black Americano, but she decided to just use some of the milk provided with my tea, rather than asking for it to be changed.

Overall, I was impressed with this cute little café. Not sure if I’d return with EHH, but I’d definitely bring a couple of my girl friends – who would love it! I’ll definitely be back to Clifton in the near future though – I hadn’t been for a while and I’d love to have a bit more time (without a shopping-averse brother) to potter around all of the brilliant independent shops up there.

Roscoff Deli and Café, Bath

Picture taken from Roscoff website: http://www.roscoff.co.uk/

Hidden away down a little side street in Bath, just up from the Guildhall market, Roscoff Café is a gem worth seeking out. Don’t be swayed by the familiarity of Café Nero or the tempting displays of Patisserie Valerie close by – Roscoff’s food, service and atmosphere beats these places, and pretty much every other café (of which there are many!) in Bath, hands down.

As a tea and cake lover who has lived in Bath for over 8 years, I’ve tried many of the cafes around the town centre, but Roscoff is one of the few I come back to time and again. It is an owner-run establishment and Rosario, the Sicilian owner, is a host in the true sense of the word. From the moment you enter, you are welcomed like an old friend and Rosario is very happy to chat and make recommendations, without ever imposing.

The building is fairly small – there are a few tables outside (lovely in the summer), the counter and a few tables downstairs and more tables upstairs (up a winding, narrow set of wooden steps).  This isn’t a posh Bath tearoom – the décor and crockery is a little rustic, and the tables fairly cramped – but this just fits with the atmosphere and adds to the charm.

This time, we visited on a busy Saturday afternoon in Bath. We were lucky to find a table as it was incredibly busy. We were a little squashed in on a downstairs table, but it was fun to sit and watch people wandering by, the staff bustling about and Rosario greeting and chatting away to customers.  We were only popping in for a drink and bit of cake, but deciding on what to have still took a while as the menu has lots of choice.  There are a wide variety of black and green teas and carefully selected coffees and a good selection of cakes, including 5 different baked cheesecakes (which look fantastic – except I don’t like cheesecake!), gluten-free chocolate brownies and gluten-free Sicilian lemon cake, coffee and walnut cake, carrot cake, traditional Sicilian cannolo (pastry shells filled with a ricotta cream) and many more.  The café also does breakfasts (which, according to TA reviews) are fantastic) and a good variety of lunch options.

In the end, I opted for the House Blend tea and a slice of the GF Sicilian Lemon cake. When ordering the cake, Rosario was quite surprised that I guessed his “secret ingredient” immediately! He says that I’m the only one to have ever guessed – but I’ve made a similar cake myself before! I won’t give away the secret though – you’ll have to go and see if you can work it out yourself. My tea was delicious: fragrant and flavoursome. It came in a small tea pot, with a tea strainer, and gave me two and a half cups of tea.  My lemon cake was moist and zingy with a lovely lemon buttercream-type topping.

EHH chose a latte and the Sicilian Afternoon Tea – a choice of 3 Sicilian mini pastries: he chose a lemon cannolo, a vanilla cannolo and a pistachio aragostina.  His latte was lovely – the coffee is really good here – my only negative is that it came in a large mug rather than a glass (I have a thing that lattes should always come in a glass!). He really enjoyed his pastries, in particular the pistachio aragostina. The flavours were great, although if being ultra picky, the pastry was a little thick – however, this could just be how these are meant to be!

Overall, if you couldn’t tell already, we love this place. It’s the antithesis to the bland, faceless corporate chains that are taking over towns and cities across the country and the food is great. We’ll be back. 

Prior Park Garden Centre: Secret Garden Cafe

We decided to make the most of the beautiful autumn weather  on Saturday and walk around part of the Bath Skyline Walk. Needing a bit of sustenance first, we headed to the Secret Garden Cafe at Prior Park Garden Centre for a bite of lunch.

We’ve been here several times before and have always enjoyed the food and cake. It’s just out of the city centre and has free parking outside (although this is very carefully monitored and they will fine you if you are found to have left your car here and gone off site). It is also one of my favourite places to buy Christmas decorations as they always have a lovely selection of really tasteful decorations – I’d definitely recommend a look. The gift shop also has some lovely bits and pieces and the farm shop has a fantastic selection of foods.

We arrived just after 14.00 and it was fairly quiet in the cafe, which was surprising as it has always been busy when we have visited before – although this has generally been in the week. It may well have been because we arrived just after lunch but before the afternoon tea crowds.The cafe itself is fairly simple, with metal table and chairs and a few comfy sofas. There's a nice little outside patio, fab on a warm, sunny day. The cafe provides a good selection of magazines and offers free wi-fi, making it a nice place to sit, drink tea, eat cake and chill.

The menu includes home-made soup (the day’s version was Roasted Vegetable – which sounded tempting); salads; jacket potatoes, wraps and toasties – with a range of fillings. There were 3 specials: a chilli, a burger and a delicious sounding tart – but I can’t now remember what it was! We weren’t incredibly hungry and I was going out for dinner that night, so I convinced the EHH to go halves with me on a brie and bacon toasty (£6.50), which came with a choice of fries or side salad. The toasty was delicious and the portion of fries was generous and lovely and crispy.

I had a pot of tea and EHH had a latte. The tea came in a little metal tea pot and did about 2.5 small cups of tea. EHH’s latte was in a medium-sized coffee cup (which I’m always disappointed to see – I strongly believe that lattes should always come in a glass!), which was, in EHH’s own words “Alright – not the best I’ve ever had, but certainly not the worst!”. Both drinks did, however, come with a delicious little amaretti biscuit – which reminded me how much I love these! Must make some soon!  

My half-portion of toasty and chips was plenty for me, but unsurprisingly, the EHH was still hungry and so decided to peruse the cake offerings. There was a choice of two large cakes – looked like carrot and lemon – which looked delicious with generous servings (I think these were about £2.60 a slice – which I think is very reasonable). There were also scones, muffins, doughnuts, and a number of traybakes, including a couple of different flapjacks, an almond slice, Millionaire’s shortbread and others, as well as a couple of gluten–free choices. EHH opted for an almond slice, which was a bit like a Bakewell slice, but without the raspberry/cherry layer. The pastry layer was a little thick on this and it was a little dry, but it was tasty overall – a little sweet for me – I felt it missed the jam layer!

Overall, a good lunch – service was friendly and efficient and the food was good. We’ll definitely visit again – fairly soon I imagine – so that I can buy the Christmas decorations that EHH dragged me away from this time! 

Views on the Bath Skyline Walk

White Row Cafe at White Row Farm

Heading home from Heathrow after a fab week in Morocco (including eating lots of cake – reviews to follow!), we decided to pop into White Row Cafe for a bite of lunch.

Having driven past many, many times, we discovered this cafe a few months ago and popped in for a slice of cake and cup of tea, which were fantastic. The cafe is in a really convenient location on the A36 and is part of a small farm complex with a large farm shop (including fresh fish counter and butcher), florist and gift shop, and fish and chip shop. The farm shop won Best Farm Shop in Bath in September this year. It’s got a great outdoor space, including picnic tables, play stuff for kids and farm animals to take a look at.

Visiting on a Wednesday lunchtime, we were surprised how busy the place was – it’s a fairly large cafe and we were lucky to get the last free table. It was filled with a wide variety of people – families, couples, friends of all ages. Despite this, the service was quick and friendly.

The lunch menu had fairly standard cafe options – soups, sandwiches, baguettes, paninis, jacket potatoes, omelettes and a daily specials board. They take pride in using their own produce or that from local named suppliers wherever possible. Feeling cold and hungry after a fairly long car journey, I opted for a jacket potato with prawns (about £6), which came served with a side salad and coleslaw. The jacket potato was huge, with a nice crispy skin, and there was a decent serving of prawns in Marie Rose sauce – which I couldn’t actually finish (so handed on over to the EHH). EHH had a Coronation Chicken baguette (again about £6), which he declared tasty and the bread good. We shared a pot of tea for two, which came in a nice large china tea pot, with a generous jug of milk, providing about two and a half cups of tea each.        

Having stuffed ourselves with our main courses, we didn’t have room for cake, even though there was a very tempting display of delicious looking home-made cakes. An impressive array of 13 cakes included marmalade cake, lemon drizzle, fruitcake, chocolate hedgehog cake (which looked suspiciously like tiffin to me!), and carrot cake. They also stock a range of packaged gluten-free treats, which was good to see. On our last visit, I tried their lemon drizzle cake and it was incredibly good – moist and really lemony!

Overall, I’d highly recommend this cafe – food, service and atmosphere all great. It’s clearly popular and deserves to be so. We’ll definitely be back – with more time so that I can have a potter around the farm shop and gift shop. Would be tempted to visit for breakfast, which is very reasonably priced and I imagine would be fantastic, or for fish and chips!