Maison d’être

This month’s blog is a bit of a scone fest, featuring a whopping six reviews, and including scones from London, York, Oxford and Northampton. Be warned it’s a bit of a long one but hope you enjoy the photos. I’ll start with this month’s only London entry which serves an extraordinary selection of  jams.

Masion d’Etre is a very cute, independent café with a very homely and slight vintage feel about it. It’s open daily through to early evening, offering savoury and sweet treats. It’s quite small, with a couple of additional tables outside, so at busy times it might be difficult to grab a seat. I chose a scone and from their quite extensive tea menu, I ordered loose leaf Jasmin Pearls, which was served in a pretty, yellow enamel teapot.

The large plain scone arrived served warm with an individual pot of clotted.  While I was ordering they asked me what jam I’d like, after explaining I had come specifically to do my scone blog and try out their jams, they brought me their entire selection.

Maison d’être – L – R:  The larger 1/2 pieces were Amail lemon and vanilla, Sweet pickled strawberry and 4 fruits summer collection and the smaller 1/4 pieces were Greengage and spices and Gooseberry and elderflower

I hope dear reader(s) you appreciate the dilemma I was now faced with. Lined up on the table were no less than five jars of extremely fruity, home made and locally sourced, seasonal  jams and how does one chose? At this point a flash of inspiration, I would cut my scones into small pieces and try the all, for the sake of the blog!

The two jars with the labels on their lids are from The London Jam Factory by Pierre Louis Phelpot.  The 4 fruits summer collection was crammed full of red berries and amazingly fruity, while their Greengage and spices, which to be honest I was not sure if I’d like it turned out to be one of my favourites, with a mild spicy flavour creating and interesting twist and beautifully complementing the fruit.

The other three jars were from the London Borough of Jam by Lillie O’Brien. Amail lemon and vanilla was another favourite with a deliciously lemony but not too sharp taste as it was sweetened with the vanilla. Sweet pickled strawberry was one of the sweeter jam filled with large chunks of fruit. Gooseberry and elderflower was once again extremely fruity and the elderflower give it a very delicate but distinctive flavour.

All the jams were utterly amazing, bursting with fruit and each having their own unique flavour. Without doubt the best jams discovered so far for my scone blog, both for the sheer variety as well as their high quality and taste.

Maison d’être

The scone was extremely large and just as well given I had so many jams to try out! It was firm on the outside with a delicious soft interior. It was accompanied with a generous dish of clotted cream. Service was friendly and great throughout. I loved the laid back ambiance and got so relaxed I realised I had to rush to get to the cinema, and hence apologies for no  photos of the café. The scone was £3.20, and with the tea, the total was £5.40, which was great value given the fabulous quality of the food. The café is a couple of minutes from Highbury and Islington tube station so it’s a convenient place to start or end your walk down Upper Street. I also noticed when I went to the counter to pay that they also serve matcha latte, which gives me a great excuse to return again soon.

Ratings:  Scones: 2,   Accompaniments: 3, Service: 2, Ambience: 2, Overall:  9/11

Treasurers House – York

Last month I made one of my regular day trips to York, and I was keen to include a return trip to the Treasurers House, which I’ve previously included in my November 2014 scone blog. To recap Treasurers House is owned by the National Trust and in their basement is the Below Stairs Café which offers seasonal speciality scones. On this visit the choice was mature cheddar cheese or lavender, both costing £2.25 each. I chose the lavender scone and a pot of Yorkshire tea for £2.15.

Treasurers House

The scone was humongous in size  and decorated on the top with a few grains of lavender. Visually it was very appealing and as it was served warm there was also a delightful fragrance of lavender in the air. Oh that anticipation of eating it. It tasted utterly delicious with a very subtle taste of lavender. The scone was accompanied with two packets of butter. While I like my scones with clotted cream I think keeping it simple with just butter was the right choice to show off the scone’s unique flavour. The perfect texture as it was crunchy on the outside and very soft and fluffy inside. It was one of the best scones I’ve had so far I 2015 and I just loved it.

Treasurers House

The tea was served in a pot with an additional jug of water, which is always a nice touch. The service was friendly and efficient as always. The café is nicely decorated with wooden pine furniture, stone walls and vintage, railway posters advertising York. This is a lovely place to relax in York city centre and their seasonal flavours of scones are a joy to behold.

Ratings:  Scones: 3,   Accompaniments: 1, Service: 2, Ambience: 2, Overall:  8/11

Bettys – York

Anyone who has come across my blog before will know my love or maybe more correctly my obsession with Bettys, who I’ve featured four times previously in this scone blog. This time I visited their very elegant, art deco styled Belmont Room in York to partake of their recently introduced Lady Betty Afternoon Tea, which I’ve already written about in a separate blog post on my other website, Guided Walks in London, so this post is going to focus on the scones. Afternoon tea at Bettys always has a sense of occasion but their new Lady Betty option raises the bar even further, with a delicious menu full of tasty and visually stunning savoury and sweet treats and with musical accompaniment by the cafe’s pianist.

Bettys

The Lady Betty includes two scones a sultana one and a Yorkshire lavender one. The scones were beautifully presented on the three tiered cake stand. They were petit, served warm and delicious. The sultana one was filled with fruit and burst with flavour. While the Yorkshire lavender scone had a more discerning and subtle flavour. Both were excellent, they had the ideal texture of crunchy exteriors and soft, fluffy centres.  The Belmont Room, is above the main café in St Helen’s Square and pre-booking is required. The décor of the room, the consistently friendly and efficient service and the marvellous food itself makes Bettys my all time favourite tea rooms and I’m already counting down to my next visit.

Ratings:  Scones: 3,   Accompaniments: 2, Service: 3, Ambience: 3, Overall:  11/12

Vaults and Garden – Oxford

While on holiday in Oxford I took out the opportunity to check out a couple of scone places. The first was the Vaults and Garden, a café, in the unique setting of the vaults of University Church on the High Street. The café is self service and the scones and other sweet treats were temptingly displayed. There was a choice of plain or fruit scones, all of which were enormous and slightly misshapen but in the most delightful home made way.

Vaults and Garden

Next to the scones were five large cups each containing a different flavour of home made jam. I can’t remember all the flavours but I will give you the verdict on my choice soon.

Vaults and Garden

Although the cafe was very busy when I arrived service was excellent. I was then left with the next dilemma whether to sit inside or out. The café is housed in a very unique and historic building, which during the medieval period when Oxford University began to develop, the church became a meeting place for academic lectures as well as worship. It has  the most extraordinary vaulted ceiling.

Vaults and Garden

Equally charming , on fine days, is the cafe’s gardens with lawns, flowers and herbs with views of the impossing Radcliffe Camera, designed by James Gibbs and part of the Bodleian Library. I must return in winter as the provide blankets and hot water bottles for those seated outside.

Vaults and Garden

In the end I chose both a plain and a fruit scone. Both served warm with lovely crunchy exteriors and fluffy inside. The scones were made with organic Shipton Mill flour, who are by royal appointment flour millers to the Prince Charles. Both scones were accompanied with individual pots of locally sourced clotted cream, which was particularly good. From the selection of home made jams I chose plum jam and the lemon one. Each scone with accompanying jam and cream was £2.45 each, however I had two (honest I had skipped lunch that day so I could enjoy this) and from the tea menu I had a pot of Assam, with a total cost of £8.10. As you can see from my 11/11 score I loved the Vaults. If you’re in Oxford go you won’t be disappointed.

Ratings:  Scones: 3,   Accompaniments: 3, Service: 2, Ambience: 3, Overall:  11/11

Grand Cafe – Oxford

As a City of London Guide who often includes the site of London’s oldest coffee house on her tours, I was really excited about visiting Grand Café, which is reputedly on the site of the first coffee house in England (and written on the inside rim of the restaurant’s cups). I ordered a cream tea, costing £9.50 which included a pot of tea of one’s choice. I was extremely impressed with their range of tea, one of the best tea lists I’ve seen. I ordered a pot of lavender loose leaf tea, which had a wonderful aroma but did not taste too scented.

Grand Café

The cream tea which was served on a silver cake stand included two very large scones which were served warm. One was fruit and the other was plain and both sprinkled with flour on the top. While the scones looked appetising, they were both too soft, so that lovely scone texture of firm exterior/ soft interior was sadly missing. The scones were accompanied with generous portions of clotted cream and jam in  individual pots.

Grand Café

The cafe was very busy when I visited but I was quickly seated and service was extremely prompt. The surroundings with its Iconic pillars and ornate decoration are very attractive. While there were many good points, the scones were extremely mediocre and sadly next time I’d try something else.

Ratings:  Scones: 1,   Accompaniments: 2, Service: 2, Ambience: 2, Overall:  7/11

 78 Derngate – Northampton

My final review this month is something rather special, afternoon tea at the Dining Room at 78 Derngate and for this adventure I was joined by Carolyn and Rhona, friends, guides and fellow lovers of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s architecture and design. 78 Derngate is unique as it is the only Mackintosh house in England and I’m planning to write a blog about our visit to the house and our sumptuous afternoon tea soon, so today I’m going to focus on the scones.

We pre-booked our afternoon tea and to be honest it started out as just being a nice additional extra to visiting the house, however it’s one 0f the best afternoon teas I’ve had. To start we were presented with a three tier cake stand containing all the savoury food including sandwiches, mini quiches and filo cups.  There was also savoury cheese and seed scones served with chunks of cheddar cheese and tangy tomato chutney. The savoury scones were an unexpected surprise, the different textures and flavours complemented each other so well,  with the tangy chutney bringing out the flavour of the cheese in the scones themselves and the cheese topping.

 78 Derngate

We were then presented with a second three tier cake stand and this one groaned with sweet treats miniature individual cakes, slices of cake and macarons.   In the middle tier were three plump, plain  scones and they were accompanied with a dish containing separate portions of strawberry jam and clotted cream.

 78 Derngate

The plain scones were huge and served warm. They were delicious, being firm on the outside with a soft interior. There was more than plenty jam and cream for us to share. The afternoon tea was accompanied with a tea of your choice from about a selection of 10 different teas. I chose Assam and was given my own huge pot which was later replenished. Please note the Dining Room is nicely furnished with views out of the large windows to the garden and nearby park but it is located in the adjoining property and  is not part of the original Mackintosh house. When we booked we got a special rate for two people which included a tour of the house and afternoon tea for £42. Alternatively afternoon tea is £16.95 per person and you could do afternoon tea without having to visit the house, however in my opinion they are both equally amazing and highly recommendable.

Ratings:  Scones: 3,   Accompaniments: 3, Service: 3, Ambience: 2, Overall:  11/12

Until next time…

If you enjoyed this blog post you might like to read about my other blogs about Bettys.

The author of this blog is a qualified City of London and City of Westminster Tour Guide who leads guided walks combining world famous landmarks with hidden treasures often missed by the crowds.   

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