Tea at Trelawny

Drinking a mug of what proprietor, Vicky, calls "builder's tea" while standing chatting at the counter hardly entitles me to review the Trelawny Tearoom but I'm happy to give some first impressions for those who haven't been to the Widemouth Bay haven.

The owners, Vicky and Steve, live on the premises (previously their holiday let) which are airy, spacious and very clean, with fabulous views, both inside and out, of Widemouth Bay. The business is in its infancy, having been around a mere 11 weeks, but, its solid reputation seems to be spreading.

Steve tells me it was always Vicky's dream to have a tea room so, when he retired from the police force, too young to give up working completely, they decided to live the dream. Except it is actually very hard work. 

Steve's role is primarily front of house/making coffees. He likes to chat to customers and seemed to know most of them by name. Vicky makes as many cakes as she can, including a gluten free one available daily (yesterday's was a delicious looking passion cake which a young lifeguard devoured with relish). Her Mum makes the scones, and Vicky seems to be involved in various community projects. For example, she'd been making some gluten free cakes for a netball group event at Budehaven School. They also offer private parties for community based groups of elderly people and those with disabilities, and have supported groups like Bude Community Cinema and Surfers Against Sewage/beach clean up events. Endearingly, Vicky seems keen for feedback on the cakes (invariably good, it seems, from what I observed!)

Vicky's cakes do look scrumptious, so, of course, I ask the secret and the answer is practice. Yesterday's offerings were a coffee, maple and walnut concoction, a fruit loaf and a Victoria sponge. The passion cake gluten-free option had a topping made from Philadelphia cheese, lemon juice and orange zest, and looked amazingly tasty.

With such an idyllic location, Steve and Vicky also hire out surf boards and wetsuits. 

In the tea room, they offer light lunches, teas, cakes, and breakfasts but tend to avoid fried food. There is a vegetarian pasty on the menu but it seems no one tends to buy them, so that is coming off! Their main focus seems to be traditional, home-made cakes/cream teas, for which they have hit a niche. Recently, a South African visitor enjoyed a cream tea for breakfast, her first ever, and a pensioner had a giggle over her first ever Knickerbocker Glory (yes, they offer ice creams, too). Not a bad price, either, at £2.95 if you wish to relive the joys of your youth with a Knickerbocker or a Banana Split! 

The premises are lovely and people keep returning, so there is a good, regular local trade building up. Tourists also tend to return once they have found the tea room. It somehow has an old fashioned genteel feel but without pretension and in clean, modern, nautically themed premises. So, if you are out at Widemouth Bay and fancy a light lunch (ploughmans, soup, panini, jacket potatoes, platter) or just coffee and cake, you know where to go to support this friendly new local business. Thanks for the tea guys. I'll be back to try the cake.......