We were invited for a family afternoon tea at Voco St David’s as a bon voyage party for my cousin and her husband. St David’s hotel is a five star hotel with lovely views over Cardiff Bay and Penarth. The restaurant is called the Admiral St David.
We were a group of 13 adults and we had a mix of traditional afternoon tea and the gentleman’s tea. I opted for the traditional tea.
We were given a nice long table with good views of Cardiff Bay. The table was laid with vintage mix and match teacups and plates. I like the vintage look but my Grandparents kept commenting that it looked like they had been to a charity shop. I pointed out, yes they probably had been and that was ‘the look’ these days.
We were offered a variety of tea but we all ordered English Breakfast, this must be where I get my tea taste from. The gentleman’s tea people were offered a choice of beer. My sister who is pregnant asked if her drink could be given to my dad who was the other end of the table. The waitress was very polite and friendly, she bought two half pints over for my dad, he was pleased.
The food was presented nicely and I got stuck in. When I tasted the tea I thought it was bit flowery and questioned if it was English breakfast. I asked my dad if his tea tasted normal and he said it did taste different. The waitress overheard me and said that it is all English breakfast as everyone had the same, but she mentioned it might be stronger than I would be used to as its made with tea leaves. She offered to make me a new pot which would be weaker but I didn’t bother. I didn’t realised until after that my sister the other end of the table had also commented to the waitress about the tea. She had a new pot delivered but she said it tasted the same.
The sandwiches were presented perfectly. Poached chicken and baby gem lettuce, Free-range egg mayonnaise and watercress, Smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich and
Cucumber and sea salt.
There were two scones each with clotted cream and a mix of strawberry and raspberry Tiptree jam were placed on the table.
There was a variety of patisserie cakes on the top tier. A dark chocolate, Merlin whiskey cream and tonka macaron, Praline, milk chocolate and banana delice, Tropical fruit tart
Strawberry and clotted cream choux bun. Unfortunately I can’t eat anything with banana as I really don’t like the taste, so I missed out on the praline delice. Bit gutted as it looks amazing too. The tropical fruit tart was really refreshing and so cleverly put together. The cakes were like a work of art and you can tell there is a lot of effort goes into the construction of each cake!
The gentleman’s tea looked good, but I can’t comment on the food myself. The menu consisted of:
Chicken satay skewers, satay dip
Toasted Welsh rarebit, wasabi
Pork pie, onion chutney
Mini beef sliders, loa tomato salsa
Char-siu pork belly bao bun, chilli sauce
Parmesan and tarragon scone, tomato chutney
The same cakes as the traditional.
Half pint of beer and your choice of tea
My uncle had asked for a bon voyage cake for cousin and this was presented as a surprise. It was a large sponge in the shape of a suitcase.
The traditional tea is £22.95 and with prosecco its £26.95.
Gentleman’s tea is £24.00 but this includes half a pint. They also have a menu for children’s, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free afternoon tea on their main menu.
You can book afternoon tea online or by calling 02920 454045.
It’s not the first time I have had afternoon tea or eaten a meal in the hotel. I would visit again and maybe try the gentleman’s tea next time. The venue is smart and the view of Cardiff Bay on a sunny day was stunning. We visited on a very hot sunny day and it was nice and cool in the restaurant. The staff were attentive and they did manage to cope well with a large group of people. The food was lovely, the only complaint was that I was not a fan of the English breakfast tea.
Afternoon Tea Cardiff 
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