The Artcafé

With birthday shopping to purchase and errands to run, I met my coffee loving Grandmother in the town centre. As the shopping became heavier and our stomachs began rumbling we headed to one of her favourite coffee shops, The Artcafé which is located in the heart of Colchester Town Centre (there is also a second site in Mersea Island).

With a gorgeous interior and a delightful winter menu to match, The Artcafé is a very popular choice amongst the coffee shop lovers within the town. Combining both good food and the ability to purchase art work, jewellery, teas and coffee's as well as beautiful greetings cards; The Artcafé is guaranteed not to disappoint.

I ordered a cloudy lemonade and a tuna mayonnaise sandwich on white bread which was accompanied by creamy coleslaw, salad and chilli corn crisps. Absolutely delicious. My Grandmother treated herself to a warm cheese scone and an Earl Grey tea. My Grandmother's choice has inspired me to make my own cheese scones and I shall be posting my recipe for this very soon.

The Artcafé has a beautiful selection of fresh cakes and pastries, as well as a daily interchanging specials board for main meals and soups. Today's extra was pan fried gnocchi with pesto and parmesan shavings with salad and the soups of the day was curried root vegetable or pea, potato and rocket. I snapped a few photographs of their specials, menus, cream teas and cakes for you all to admire. The price is extremely reasonable, as you can see from the photographs of the menu's below.

To keep up to date with all The Artcafé's latest news and events take a look at their website http://www.islandartcafe.co.uk/

Or if you are a fan of social media you can find them on both Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter: @artcafe1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artcafe.westmersea

If you've eaten at The Artcafé why not share your experiences and photographs with me in the comments section below.

Guest Post

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to write a guest post on the fabulous blog Tea With Me and Friends, written by the dynamic sister duo Rachel and Lorna. Go visit their blog and take a read of my guest post on The Stockwell Arms in Colchester, Essex and let me know what you think!

http://teawithmeandfriends.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/time-for-tea-mothers-day-specialthe.html?m=1

Mothers Day Madness

In my household we celebrated Mothers Day early this year, as my Mother has a hectic social life and couldn't fit us in on Sunday 30th March 2014. We visited The Stockwell Arms in Colchester, Essex.

With so much food (that much that we took a goody bag home!) and unlimited tea, The Stockwell Arms really impressed.

Let's talk food! Finger sandwiches were offered on a choice of white and rye bread. You could choose from a selection of beef with horseradish, salmon, egg with onion and ham with whole grain mustard. The medley of cakes included a passionfruit cheesecake, an orange cake, an apple and cream horn and a choice of chocolate cake, Victoria sponge and a coffee and walnut cake. The Afternoon Tea was finished off with a choice of a plain or a fruit scone offered with an assortment of jams and clotted cream.

The choice of tea was incredible. They had everything from a traditional English tea to Chinese flowering teas! I tried the Jasmine fairies tea, which was delicious and the peppermint tea. If tea isn't for you there is also the choice of speciality coffees.

Its alright, I can discuss the price as my Mum is nosey and looked at the receipt. We spent a little over £60.00. It worked out as £14.00 each for the Afternoon Tea itself and just over £5.00 for a glass of Prosecco each. Great value for money in my opinion.

Why not look at The Stockwell Arm's website for menus, events and prices http://www.thestockwellcolchester.com/

It's safe to say it looked like my Mum enjoyed her afternoon with her girls!

You could also treat your Mum to Afternoon Tea, if The Stockwell Arms doesn't float your boat, why not look at:

- Down Hall, Bishops Stortford.

   http://www.downhall.co.uk

   Priced at £21.50 for a traditional Afternoon Tea or £28.50 for a Champagne Afternoon Tea

- Clarice House, Colchester or Bury St Edmunds.

   http://www.claricehouse.co.uk

   Priced at £13.00 for a standard cream tea or £17.00 for a deluxe cream tea (includes a glass of sparkling wine)

- The Ritz, London.

   http://www.theritzlondon.com

   Priced at £45.00 (£47.00 from 1st April 2014) for a traditional Afternoon Tea or £57.00 (£59.00 from 1st April 2014) for a Champagne Afternoon Tea

- Claridges, London.

   http://www.claridges.co.uk

   Priced at £50.00 for a traditional Afternoon Tea or £61.00 for a Champagne Afternoon Tea

- The Cannaught, London.

   http://www.the-connaught.co.uk

   Priced at £41.00 for a traditional Afternoon Tea or £50.00 for a Champagne Afternoon Tea

(All prices above are per person)

I am also heading to Down Hall in Bishops Stortford soon so will update you with photos for inspiration! Let me know if you decide, like me, to spoil your Mum with an Afternoon Tea and we can compare photographs!