Afternoon Tea - Bliss Tea Rooms (Walderslade)

Rejoice! I managed to complete the gargantuan task of reducing my extreme document holdings (that have been steadily rising over the years) to the minuscule allowance we were allowed to keep in order to be able to transfer to our new computer system over the weekend.

As I suggested earlier in the week, to celebrate this magnificent feat (and it truly was — you have no idea how much stuff I had to get rid of) I treated myself to a visit to the Bliss Tea Rooms in Walderslade to partake of one of their cream teas and celebrate, once again, Afternoon Tea Week.

Bliss is a tiny tea room but somehow feels perfectly sized although to be fair, when I went it wasn’t particularly busy. If it was full it might feel slightly less perfect especially for someone who gets a bit claustrophobic (there is seating for 18 people and there is also a table outside).

Bliss Tea Rooms, Walderslade

While I have never been to Bliss before, I have looked at the menu (in the window, when it was closed). Since the last time I looked they seem to have extended their menu from purely providing afternoon teas and offshoots thereof, now adding full meals and breakfasts too, thereby turning it more into a café than a tea room (presumably required to keep them in business but something of a shame for those of us searching for decent tea rooms).

Fortunately, their use of (non-matching) floral teapots and crockery hasn’t been replaced by something more mundane and they do various sizes of tea from delicate little bone china cups up to big mugs. I have to admit that the OCD side of me was a little freaked out by the fact it was non-matching but it was really quite cute if not something I'd ever be able to manage to do myself. 

The accessories are kitschy with beaded doilies covering the various sugar bowls (sugar lumps are available as well as normal sugar and sweetener) and the venue has the sort of décor I expect from a retro-style tea room. Also provided for your perusing pleasure while you’re waiting for your food are small books full of old-fashioned recipes, particularly for cake. I strongly approve of this.

So, onto the details of the cream tea itself. Bliss offers 3 types of cream tea – one which involves scones, cake and tea, one which adds ‘basic’ sandwiches (think egg mayo, ham and cheese), and the third which upgrades the sandwiches to seafood and gives you unlimited tea (you can also buy the tea and cake separately if you’re not that hungry).

Obviously, after my victory (and because I had steamed through work all day without stopping for food), I was in the mood to celebrate and I love seafood, so number three was the choice for me. I received a pot of English Breakfast tea and a cake stand containing smoked salmon and cream cheese and prawn Marie Rose sandwiches on the bottom and 2 fresh plain scones with jam and cream on the top (butter was also supplied but not required). This was followed by a slice of cake from their impressive selection.

The sauce for the prawns was a little runny but the sandwiches tasted lovely, as did the smoked salmon ones. The scones had an extremely good texture, just the right amount of lightness with a certain amount of crumbliness and the cake — coffee and walnut — was excellent. Overall, I thought the cream tea was pretty good value for money and was the nice treat I was hoping for (and deserved).

The staff were pleasant and friendly but unfortunately, I didn’t give myself enough time for the sort of leisurely afternoon tea I so enjoy. With Bliss closing at 4 p.m., and with me not getting there until almost 3 p.m. there wasn’t enough time for me to finish the meal (although I did manage 2 pots of tea), so I ended up taking the cake home with me. I have to admit to being a little disappointed that it was put in a paper bag rather than a box which would have protected it slightly better, but I assume they aren’t used to people taking their cakes away so aren’t set up to cater for it.           

The tea served is in bag form rather than being loose tea, but from what I could see they have a decent selection from some good quality suppliers including English Tea Shop, Teapigs and T2 so this doesn’t significantly impact on the flavour.

All in all, this was a nice afternoon tea experience and one I will definitely do again although next time I will give myself enough time to enjoy every course rather than have to rush it. If any of my friends want to come with me, even just for a cuppa and a catch-up let me know, I’ll be happy to arrange a date.