Oh I do love a good tearoom. Especially when its on a bright and sunny afternoon. My family and I went to Vernon Cottage located in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight. I've been to this tearoom many times and have always had a good experiences with the food.
You find your table and make a note of the table number and order at the bar area inside the cottage. I was meeting up with some friends and they had ordered already, so I went straight to the bar to order a cake and a cup of tea.
As I approached the staff member behind the counter, he was polite to begin with but that changed when I wasn't sure of the table number. He rolled his eyes and tutted at me and told me to point to the table were I was sat. I did so and was a little taken back. "Table 38 then? So what do you want?" I was a little shocked at the change in behaviour, and answered just as rudely with "lemon cake and apple crunch tea, please." We exchanged money and I sat back down with my friends and explained what had happened. They agreed with me, that he was rude.
When the cake came over by another member of staff, who was very polite. The cake was light, fluffy and really lemony and the buttercream was the just the right amount. It was a beautiful sponge with a tangy buttercream that I would definitely recommend.
When the waiter gave me my tea and cake, my friend ordered a
coffee in a cup rather then a mug. He said that its only one size as the coffee is from a machine. She said that should be fine. The rude staff member brought over the coffee with the receipt. Awkward to say the less, he mentioned the 'cup' situation and again shrugged it off and said "Its a machine, so yeah, nothing I can do." and simply walked off.
Overall, I would come in for the nicer staff members and the delicious pastries and cakes but this time, the rude member of staff really made the experience uncomfortable. There were other members of staff who were pretty nice, so it could be a one off.
After a number of years studying in Portsmouth, I've never had the chance to make the long walk to the Tenth Hole Tearoom, just Friday was the exception. Both Rob and I had the rare chance of a day off, at the same time, to go out on a date. It's so rare that we have days off that we were stuck on what to do, so a nice walk on the beach and a trip to a well known tearoom was the answer.
The tearoom that doubles as a golf course was nothing special to look at from the outside. It's really unassuming, but as we both ventured further inside, the pastel blue décor was calming dispute the busy interior. Beautifully decorated, well presented and clean. This was first impressions I gathered from the small establishment.
We were lucky enough to nab a table, it was so busy and after trying the cakes we can see why! When ordering, I thought at two cakes and drinks I thought £13 was really expensive, after I saw the portion size, I change my mind. Tenth Hole are not stingy with the sizing of their portions! I ordered a Rocky Road which was full of digestive, chocolate and marshmallows. I like cherries in my Rocky Road, but I'll overlook it because it was massive. I ordered a Toffee Apple latte, which was as expected. I enjoyed it but it could be regarded as a little over sweet, but I ordered it for something a little different.
Rob on the other hand had a mint brownie with a brownie hot chocolate. Again the portion size was very generous, the hot chocolate with super chocolaty with a hearty amount of whipped cream and brownie sprinkles. The mint brownie, was not really a brownie however more of a cake-like consistency, but still tasty and full of strong mint flavours.
I didn't get lots of interaction with the staff but they all seemed friendly and well spoken.
Overall, I would definitely recommend a visit if you want a good cakes, great atmosphere, with a lovely surrounding area and a spot of golf, as an extra bonus.
