Cathedral 73, Pontcanna

Update April 2023- Unfortunately Cathedral 73 is no longer trading. It is now under new ownership of No 73 by Coffi Co

This review contains two visits to Cathedral 73 in Pontcanna.

Good Friday was a good excuse to squeeze in another afternoon tea, so I thought afternoon tea with my friends would be a nice treat as we were all off work. I had been wanting to try Cathedral 73 in Pontcanna for a while as I’d heard lots of good things about it.

When we arrived it was very busy and we were shown quickly to our seat. The venue is decorated tastefully and is very stylish. There are lovely chandeliers and every table has a big candelabra. There was a busy atmosphere as other other tables were eating lunch and afternoon tea.

Our waitress asked if we wanted tea or coffee and proceeded to bring us a teapot. We weren’t offered a choice of tea, but we always pick breakfast tea anyway, so this wasn’t an issue for us. One slight problem was the pot was not big enough for three of us, so the waitress had to keep going to refill it.

When our food arrived it looked it looked very presentable and the waitress explained what everything was. She also said that our scones were still in the oven and she would bring them soon.

The sandwiches were ham, cheese and pickle, salmon and cream cheese and cucumber and mint yogurt. There were mini lemon mousses, toffee eclairs and a mini Victoria sponge. The Scones were delivered after we had finished the rest of the stand.

The food was tasty, especially the eclairs and the scones were also nice and fluffy. It was busy so the service was understandable slower than I would have expected.

I decided to treat my husband to tea at 73 a few weeks later. This was on a Saturday and the venue was quieter than my last visit. I was offered a menu of different teas, my husband had an orange juice as he doesn’t like tea or coffee. I like the extra touches like the trendy teapot and the water carafe came with fruit garnishes.

The afternoon tea menu was different this weekend and I was excited to try a different menu. The waitress explained that they update the menu every few weeks.

The sandwiches were the same salmon, cucumber and ham as before, but there was egg mayo instead of the cheese. There was also a spinach, feta and olive filo pastry parcel and a chicken and pancetta sausage roll. These were both really tasty and it was nice to have extra savoury items other than just sandwiches.

This time the scones were delivered at the same time, good for me as I always eat the scones after the sandwiches! There were blackberry doughnut balls, which were really tasty, I wish there were more! A mini Victoria sponges with the cute decoration of ‘73’ in icing sugar. A perfect raspberry macaroon, a melt in the mouth Viennese whirl and a refreshing lemon slice. They were accompanied by a strawberry rose and some blueberries.

The service was excellent, the waitress was very efficient and refilled my teapot before I had even noticed it was getting empty. The afternoon tea is £17.95 and I think this was a good price as the food quality is excellent. If you have been before its also good knowing that the menu changes every few weeks. Do I need anymore excuses to go again soon?

You can book online at Cathedral 73 or by calling 02920 235005.

It would also be a nice venue for a baby shower or hen party.  Afternoon tea is held in a lovely bright room which would be nice to book for a group event.

A group of ladies also arrived for a bottomless Prosecco lunch which looks fun. Maybe I need to start a new bottomless Prosecco blog as an excuse for some afternoon drinking! !