Guest Reviewer: Jim Petts

Not exactly a cream tea, but highly relevant. We attended upon the Town Mill Bakery at Lyme Regis for the elevenses. This is something of a local institution: as well has purveying a splendid selection of bread-based product, they also provide an amazing eating experience based on long trestle tables, large mugs of beverages and a variety of comestibles to suit the hour of the day. Being eleven-ish, toast, muffins etc were on offer, and also the amazing gigantic Jurassic Scone. This came in two types, the plain and fruit, and both were huge. In fact a couple of these kept the writer in calories until 7:00 in the evening without fretting. The scones are available on a help-yourself basis and you position same on a small rectangular plank (a veritable square meal). The trestle tables were supplied with large dishes of butter and apricot jam. Pots are for wimps. The scones were excellent in texture in taste, coming fresh from the oven. The size was slightly intimidating, and this would not be the way forward for purveyors of cream teas for sound economic reasons. The apricot jam is not quite in accordance with Small Pleasures Guidelines, but for the elevenses experience worked remarkably well.

For this excellent interesting gastro-experience, the scones were £1 each take-away, £2 eat-in, but with access to unlimited butter and jam.

Guest Reviewer: Richy

After waiting for some considerable time to be served (sitting outside on a grey but warm day) a charming tall, lean, toned and very pretty dark haired, olive skinned chap finally came to take out order. We had one cream tea and tea for two shared between 3 of us so ended up with a scone and a third each which turned out to be more than adequate.

The scones were white fruit and very slightly dry/over cooked. The cream was very thick and divine. The jam was a slight let down, rather solid and lacking in the feel that it had seen real fruit. The tea supply was very generous although we were not given a choice - I rather like an Assam with a scone, but each to their own.

That makes it all sound much worse than it was, nice setting, large scones, goodly supply
of both cream and jam, very hot tea, sparkling cutlery and crockery and a dishy waiter - all told about 7 out of 10.

£5.90 - for cream tea, plus additional tea for two