Tea Travels - Afternoon Tea at Beatons Tearoom, Crowthorne

Regular readers of my blog will be aware of my ‘Tea Travels’ series, where I talk about different afternoon teas I have tried and what I think of them. I’m a big fan of going for afternoon tea (as is my Mum, so we often go together!) and so I thought writing a series about my experiences would be a good way to share my love of afternoon tea with you. Hopefully it will also give you some ideas of places to try if you’re like me and love the afternoon tea experience. And so, today, I’m back with another post in my Tea Travels series.

A few weeks ago I went for afternoon tea at Beatons Tearooms in Crowthorne with my brother, Richard, sister-in-law, Lisa, and my nephew, Noah. It was my birthday present to Lisa back in April, but we had only just got round to actually organising it. Beatons Tearoom and Bookshops have places in Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Shropshire and Berkshire. They exist to give people a peaceful and relaxed experience in stylish yet cosy surroundings. They’re inspired by society photographer Cecil Beaton and bring gracious hospitality, home made cakes and light meals to the table seven days a week. So whether you’re looking to relax and unwind over a pot of your favourite loose leaf tea, browse their specially curated selection of books to discover something new to delight, or treat yourself or your friends to a luxurious English Afternoon High Tea, Beatons, according to them, is the perfect choice. 

I had been to Beatons for food before, but never for afternoon tea, so was interested to see what it would be like. I rang and booked our table a couple of weeks in advance, which I would definitely recommend doing because the café was really busy and they needed notice to prepare the full afternoon tea. And so, on a warm summer’s afternoon, we made our way over to Crowthorne High Street to Beatons Tearoom, where we were seated at a beautifully laid table with a reserved sign on it.

First, we were presented with the extensive tea menu and given some time to choose which teas everyone would like. There were so many different varieties to choose from, so it took us a little while to make the final decision! But in the end, I went for the Cherry Sencha – a Green Tea with delicate rose and natural cherry. We were also asked to choose which cake we would like with our afternoon tea. There was a large table overflowing with different types of handmade cake – from Carrot Cake and Brownies to Victoria Sponge or Chocolate Cake. I opted for the Coffee and Walnut Cake (as did Richard) and Lisa chose the Carrot Cake. We also ordered Noah a strawberry milkshake and a huge chocolate brownie.

Our teas arrived first – each of us was brought a different coloured teapot with a loose-leaf tea brewing inside. They had really thought of everything, as we also had a timer to let us know when our teas should be perfectly brewed, and each had a small saucer to place our used teabags on. My Cherry Sencha tea was incredibly delicate, floral and sweet – the perfect accompaniment for afternoon tea as the flavour wasn’t going to overpower the tastes of the food. 

And within a few minutes of us having our teapots, the elegant cake stands arrived, laden with delicious looking sweet and savoury treats. We started with the array of sandwiches that were beautifully displayed on the bottom of each cake stand. We were certainly spoilt for choice when it came to sandwich fillings! There was ham with tomato relish; cheese with onion marmalade; Brie and cranberry; tuna mayo; Coronation chicken and egg mayonnaise. And both plates were garnished with a generous salad. We quickly started to sample all the different sandwiches, which were all incredibly tasty. My personal favourite was probably the Brie and cranberry, but there wasn’t a sandwich that I didn’t like. 

Once we’d demolished the sandwich platters, we moved on to the scones – we had been given two large scones each! The scones were light and fluffy, tasting delicious wish lashings of jam and clotted cream. I always put jam on first and then cream (so that I can put a nice big dollop of cream on top!) – which way round do you do it?! After enjoying one scone, I decided to take the other one home with me, as I was feeling rather full already and still had my piece of cake to eat!

I’m glad I left room for my cake, as it really was tasty. The sponge was moist and full of flavour with pieces of crunchy walnut dotted through it, and the buttercream complimented it beautifully, without being overly sweet. And apparently the Carrot Cake was just as good (and Noah’s Brownie went down pretty well too!) It was a lovely way to finish off our afternoon tea experience. 

We had a lovely couple of hours at Beatons enjoying their afternoon tea. It’s a comfortable and cosy setting with a relaxed atmosphere, and I love the fact they also have a bookshelf in the corner where you could buy a book to read with your cuppa. The staff were friendly and welcoming and made us feel comfy and calm as we enjoyed our food. The Windsor Afternoon Tea cost us £20 per person (not including Noah), which I thought was very reasonable for the amount of food we were given. You could also ask for as much tea as you liked, which is always important! It’s definitely somewhere I would be happy to visit again (either for afternoon tea or something like breakfast or lunch) and if it’s somewhere you haven’t been before, I would recommend giving it a try.

Are you a fan of afternoon tea? Where are your favourite places to go? Perhaps I can add them to my list!

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Tea Travels - Afternoon Tea at Oakley Hall Hotel

One of my favourite things to do, usually with my Mum, is to go for Afternoon Tea. I just love visiting numerous places and trying different versions of the traditional English pastime that is stuffing yourself with sandwiches, scones and miniature cakes! I mean, what’s not to like?! So, for my 30^th Birthday back in October last year, my Mum and Dad gave me a voucher to enjoy afternoon tea somewhere I haven’t been yet – Oakley Hall Hotel in Basingstoke. We decided to wait until the weather was a bit nicer before we made our booking, and so, a few weeks ago, on a rather drizzly day (typical!) we headed over to Basingstoke to discover what treats Oakley Hall had in store!

Oakley Hall is an AA Four Silver Star Hotel and is ranked number one out of thirteen hotels in Basingstoke, so I was excited to see what it had on offer. The hotel sits in 315 acres of grounds and woodland – you literally feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere when you arrive – it is so peaceful and relaxing from the moment you turn up the winding drive. Although it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere, the hotel is actually only six miles from Basingstoke train station and has easy access to the M3, making it easy to get to.

As we made our way up the impressive drive, the large country house came majestically into view. It was built in 1795 and was once owned by the Bramston family, who were friends of Jane Austen. But despite the 18^th Century architecture, the inside boasts a beautifully modern and contemporary design, making you feel at home and relaxed as soon as you walk through the entrance. But before I take you inside, I just wanted to comment on the parking, which is always important, especially when you’re disabled. There is a complimentary onsite car park with easy access to the hotel. However, if you have a blue badge, like I do, you can actually drive right up to the house and park just outside the main entrance. This immediately made me feel at home, as we had no worries about how I was going to get into the hotel. 

We were greeted by the friendly reception team and directed through to the Glasshouse Restaurant, where our afternoon tea would be served. The first thing I noticed was how quiet the hotel and restaurant were – we visited on a Tuesday and were advised that weekends, understandably, tend to be a lot busier. One of the waiters showed us to our table by the window, overlooking the extensive grounds. The Glasshouse Restaurant takes its name from the original glasshouse designed in c.1850 by Edward Milner, a renowned landscape architect who also designed Oakley Hall’s gardens. It was built in 2014 and provides an elegant yet relaxed environment. I do find that some restaurants you go to can feel a bit pretentious and uncomfortable, but in the Glasshouse I felt immediately at ease and we were able to relax and enjoy our afternoon.

Our experience began with being shown the wide-ranging tea menu – it took us a few minutes to decide on which tea to try (although our waiter did say we could try a few teas throughout the afternoon, which definitely helped!) In the end, I opted for the Winchester Fruit Basket, as I’m a sucker for a fruity tea. We were each brought an individual teapot with our chosen tea in it, and waited a few minutes for them to brew before we sampled them. I was so pleased with my choice – the berry flavours were sweet but subtle and the tea had a beautiful red-pink hue. I’ve actually been searching for the tea since I came home because it was so delicious!

No sooner had we started drinking our tea, a huge cake stand arrived piled high with sweet and savoury treats. Our waiter introduced us to everything on the stand (although I did struggle to remember what all the different cakes were!) and then left us to tuck in! 

After taking a few pictures and admiring everything, we started on the sandwich course. First up was a filling I don’t think I’ve seen before on an afternoon tea menu – Chicken with Basil in a seeded roll. This was absolutely delicious – I originally thought this would be my least favourite, but it was full of flavour and just melted in your mouth. Then we moved on to a classic – Egg and Cress in a white seeded roll. Again, the filling was really tasty and the bread was so light and fluffy – not at all stodgy. 

We then progressed to sampling the two sandwiches – Ham and Mustard, followed by my absolute favourite afternoon tea sandwich – Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese. As far as I’m concerned, you can’t have afternoon tea without it, so I was really glad to see it on the menu. And it didn’t disappoint – the salmon was tender and the cream cheese had a slightly lemony hint, which complimented the salmon perfectly.

As we were finishing our sandwiches, another waiter arrived at our table and told us he had heard we were there for someone’s birthday. He presented me with a piece of slate, decorated with ‘Happy Birthday,’ some strawberries and the most incredible white chocolate truffles. It was such a lovely touch and really made me smile.

I was impressed to see that we had two scones each – one plain and one fruit scone, which always makes me happy as this is definitely my favourite part of afternoon tea! We piled them high with jam and cream (which do you put on first? I always go jam first, and then a big dollop of cream!) and began devouring them. Both scones were light and fluffy, and the strawberry jam had a lovely fruity flavour. There was plenty of jam and cream to go around (I always worry about running out!) but I’m sure they would have brought more out if it were needed.

By this point, we were all feeling rather full, and we hadn’t even started on the cakes yet! We didn’t want to make ourselves feel ill, so decided to try a couple of the cakes there and then take the rest home to enjoy later. Thankfully the hotel staff were absolutely fine with this (I have been to places where they won’t let you take leftovers home with you!) and brought out some boxes to put our cakes in. There was such an amazing selection of cakes to try, and I really enjoyed tasting them all over the next day or so. The little coffee and walnut cupcakes were divine – so light and melt in the mouth, with just the right amount of icing. The profiteroles were also really interesting – I just assumed there would be cream inside them, but they actually had a sort of citrusy mousse instead, which went really well with the white chocolate.

The chocolate layer cake was incredibly rich and decadent, but perfect to share between the three of us. There were also two beautiful fruit tarts (I loved the pink pastry!) as well as a salted caramel and chocolate tart, which tasted very naughty! But I think my favourite sweet treat had to be the orange macaron – I like to think of myself as a bit of a macaron expert these days (OK, so I’ve eaten a lot of macarons from different places – that makes me an expert right?!) But this one definitely lived up to expectations, with a slightly crispy outer shell and a delicious cream in the middle.

I really didn’t want to leave the tranquillity of the hotel, and can imagine it must be a lovely place to relax and recuperate for a few days, away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life. But it was soon time for us to leave, and after a little wander around the spectacular grounds; we were heaving our full tummies back into the car and heading back to reality!

Whilst it would have been nice to have a few more people and a bit more atmosphere in the restaurant, it definitely didn’t spoil our experience and the service was second-to-none. We all really enjoyed our afternoon tea at Oakley Hall Hotel, and for a very reasonable £28 per adult, I would definitely recommend checking it out if you live nearby. 

If you’d like to hear about some of the other Tea Travels I’ve been on, you can find my posts here:

·     Pennyhill Park Hotel

·     Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Afternoon Tea

·     Peggy Porschen

·     The Ritz

·     Afternoon Tea Bus Tour

Are you a fan of afternoon tea? Where are your favourite places to go? Perhaps I can add them to my list!

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The Crown and Cushion at Minley Review

I don’t get to go out for dinner a huge amount, but when we have a birthday in our family (which is a fair bit with so many of us!) we like to celebrate by all going out for a meal together. We’ve been to various places over the years, but for some reason had never visited The Crown and Cushion pub in Minley, despite living nearby. So, back in March, we decided to book a table to celebrate my brother and sister’s birthdays (they’re within two weeks of each other) with an evening meal there. We have actually since been back again more recently as we liked it so much, so I thought I would tell you a bit about it in case you’re nearby and fancy checking it out!

The pub dates back to around 1512 and was converted into an Ale House in 1596. Alongside the pub lies Meade Hall, which was built from the remains of two old barns from the Salisbury area. Some of the timbers in the barn’s structure are said to have come from ships defeated in the Spanish Armada, so there’s plenty of history to take in! Some believe that both Meade Hall and the pub are now haunted, and many local people have seen spirits over the years (although apparently they are friendly!) 

You enter into a traditional and cosy part of the pub, with discrete corners warmed by candles and gentle lighting. As you continue through though, you move from the typical pub layout into a larger dining area, which is light, airy and modern but still full of character. This is where we were seated for our meal, and despite it not looking as cosy as the pub areas, there was still a relaxed but lively atmosphere. 

As we were served our drinks, we had a chance to browse through the extensive menu. I was really impressed with the choice on their main menu, as well as a specials board that regularly changes and a comprehensive vegan menu. If you’re into your gins, they also have a huge selection to choose from, along with a variety of different tonic waters. Our orders were soon taken, and we sat chatting while we waited for our starters. 

I don’t tend to get a proper starter most of the time, but when I saw that they had Hot Garlic & Herb Dough Balls with garlic butter dip on the menu, I knew I needed to find someone to share them with! You can either get eight or sixteen (we went for eight) and they were the perfect thing to nibble on while we waited for our main meals. I didn’t find the dough too heavy, and the garlic butter was perfect for dipping the dough balls in. I could have happily eaten more if I didn’t have a main meal coming!

A few other people had starters too, including my Dad, who went for the Fresh Prawn & Crayfish Cocktail & Marie Rose sauce. I didn’t taste it, but from the reaction of my Dad, it sounds like it was equally as good as the dough balls.

Unfortunately, the first time we visited, the service was quite slow, so we ended up waiting quite a while for our mains to arrive (thankfully the second time we went, the service was a lot better, so they must have been having a bad night). But our main course was definitely worth waiting for. I had chosen the Mushroom & Herb Risotto with rocket and Parmesan, as risotto is one of my absolute favourites. You could add chicken if you wanted to, but I kept it as it was. It was such a good risotto – probably one of the best I’ve had (so good, that I ended up ordering it again when we went back recently!) The rice and mushrooms were creamy and flavoursome and the rocket gave a nice crunch, adding a slightly different texture to the dish. I couldn’t quite manage it all, as it was so filling, but it wasn’t for want of trying – it was so tasty!

One of my siblings opted for the 8oz Sirloin Steak with slow-roast tomato, field mushroom and chunky chips. The steak was melt in the mouth and really tender, and the chunky chips were crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle – just as they should be! My brother Richard went for Cumberland Sausages, creamy mashed potato and onion gravy – as the waiter brought them to our table you could hear everyone saying ‘wow’ because of how big the sausages were! But it didn’t take long for my brother to polish them off, and he seemed to really enjoy the creamy mash (my favourite!) with the onion gravy.

No meal out is complete without a bit of pudding (who else makes sure they save a bit of room for pudding at the end?!) so after a bit of a wait, our desserts were brought to our table. I didn’t have much room left after devouring my risotto, so chose a fairly light option of Jude’s Blood Orange Sorbet. I love Jude’s Ice Creams anyway, but had never tried their sorbet, so was excited to see what it was like. It came beautifully presented and was the perfect refreshing way to end my meal.

My brother David went for something a little more indulgent (and chocolatey!) – the Chocolate Cookie Sundae with vanilla and chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, fresh baked cookie and ‘pour your own’ hot chocolate fudge sauce. It certainly looked incredible and didn’t last long once it was put in front of David!

Last but not least, my sister, Rosiie, chose the dessert off the specials menu – a Strawberry Eton mess sundae with ice cream, coulis, meringue, white chocolate chips and grilled white chocolate. It looked very pretty and summery when it arrived, and Rosiie said it was light, refreshing and very fruity – just what you want on a warm spring evening (plus you can convince yourself you’re being healthy because it has fruit in it!) 

Overall, we all had a lovely celebration meal at The Crown and Cushion, so much so that we’ve already been back and plan to go again soon! Apart from the slow service the first time we went, the staff were attentive and friendly and made us feel really welcome. The food was incredibly delicious and we were all really impressed with the amount of choice there was. As the pub is only a few miles from our house, we will definitely be paying it more regular visits in the future and look forward to trying some other dishes from the menus.

Have you had a meal at The Crown and Cushion if you live nearby? Are there any other restaurants you would like to see me review?

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