Impressed

The new afternoon tea is available at the waterfront hotel every afternoon between 2.30pm and 5pm and can be enjoyed either inside the restaurant or outside on the terrace. Luckily for us, the weather brightened just as we arrived in St Mawes so we could make the most of the stunning sea view on the terrace.

The table was set with crisp white linen napkins and nautical details, which added a lovely touch of luxury. As we were admiring the view and watching the boats in the harbour, two very welcome glasses of champagne were placed on our table – this was set to be the most lavish afternoon tea I’d enjoyed.

Next to arrive at the table was a vintage pot of Tregothnan tea, accompanied by bone china crockery. With enough for several cups each and staying lovely and hot, it kept us nice and warm whilst sitting outside.

The first savoury treats to arrive were finger sandwiches, filled with cream cheese and cucumber, ham and mustard and smoked salmon and crème fraiche. These were followed by tomato and basil vol-au-vents and vintage cheddar cheese scones with cream cheese and onion chutney.

We really liked that the different elements of the afternoon tea came out separately. It was a nice surprise when each plate was brought to the table and meant you weren’t over-faced with a traditional 3-tiered stand.

A rustic wooden board filled with sweet treats followed. These included scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream – served in miniature Kilner jars, carrot cake, macaroons, Battenberg and a Cornish Fairing sandwich – filled with Chantilly cream and berries.

Once we were full to the brim, we spent a while watching the world go by from our table in the last of the afternoon sun, before heading to the ferry for home.