Newgale, Pembrokeshire, Wales, SA62 6AS. 01437 729222 (View on map)
This photo shows you about half of Newgale beach. It's a big beach.
I have decided to start this post with a lovely photo of the seaside, just to make those of you not near the sea jealous. Though actually, all it seems to have done is make me sad I am no longer near the sea. Newgale is a great big beach that is good for surfing (so I hear, never been surfing) and comes with the added bonus of a cafe.
The cafe was warm and light with windows on three sides to give you the best view of the sky. There are big banks of stones at the edge of the beach so we couldn’t see the sea from where we were, but the sky had that quality that sky only gets near the sea so it still felt special.
Tea and hot chocolate at Newsurf Sands Cafe.
We had gone for tea and lunch, but when we spotted the cake counter decided that we should probably test the cake as well. To begin with, we just had lunch and hot drinks. I went for the brie and bacon toasted sandwich with a pot of Teapigs ‘everday brew’. B went for the chicken red pesto sandwich and hot chocolate. EA had the scrambled egg with toast.
The sandwiches were very good, thick and full of filling and with nice leaves on the side. I am partial to a brie and bacon sandwich and this has to be one of the best. The tea was a nice blend and there was lots in the pot so I was happy. B said that her sandwich was also very good and EA ate all of the scrambled egg with toast so we can assume that was good too.
Sandwiches with leaves and tortilla chips on the side and a portion of scrambled egg with toast on the side.
There were a few good looking cakes in the chiller cabinet but we eventually decided on a chocolate brownie for me and a vanilla sponge for B. When ordering, I was asked if I wanted the brownie warmed – I did. It was hot and chocolatey and just the right size. B’s vanilla cake was light and not too sweet and EA enjoyed it as well.
EA is not quite big enough to use a fork yet so ate the cake by hand and seemed to enjoy it all the more for doing so. I wonder how much we miss about the texture of a cake by eating it with a fork? Perhaps all of my reviews of cake from now on should include me trying to pick it up with my fingers and seeing what happens? Does food taste different if you have felt it first? Does food designed to be eaten with your fingers – chips, biscuits, chocolate, pasties – taste extra good in the first place? Or taste extra good because you’ve felt it? I imagine it’s probably because there’s more fat in it in order to make it solid enough to pick up, but I’d like to do a blind taste test with forks versus fingers to be sure.
Vanilla cake and warmed chocolate brownie. I especially liked the icing sugar dusting.
Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No, but it was Teapigs tea.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £2 for a big pot of tea, £2.60 for hot chocolate, £4.75 for sandwiches, £3.90 for scrambled egg on toast, £3 for cake, £2 for brownie.
Cake? Cake, sandwiches, toasted sandwiches, brownies, burgers, milkshakes, ice cream, breakfast, salads.
Go again? Yes – there was tea in a pot, melted cheese, good cake and the sea. What’s not to love?
Tea for you and me 