Tea for you and me

Join me on my epic quest to find the best tea ever

Tag Archives: beach


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Chineside

Photo of the seaside in Bournemouth. White clouds in the sky, blue calm sea, yellow sandy beach with two small figures sat on chairs.

This cafe has one of the best views of any sit-in cafe I’ve ever been to. Chineside is a two-storey cafe on the beachfront in Bournemouth. You can go for a paddle, walk up the beach, cross the couple of metres of tarmac promenade and you’re there. They have two takeaway kiosks facing the promenade so you don’t even need to put your shoes on if you want a cup of tea. I chose to put my flip-flops back on and go for a nice sit down and a cup of tea on the upstairs terrace area.

The seating area upstairs is open air, which was just what I wanted on a slightly overcast morning that had the promise of sunshine later. I chose a table in the corner that gave me views of the promenade in front of me and the sea to the side. The upstairs terrace was half full of people – various conversations and the noise of cutlery on plates. Under it all was the sound of the waves, over and over and over. The best soundtrack to any cup of tea.

Photo of a cup of rooibos tea next to a teapot and milk jug on an open air table in the Chineside cafe in Bournemouth. Behind the table are glass panels through which the sea and beach can be seen.
Photo of American-style pancakes with egg and bacon and maple syrup on the side on a white china plate. The plate is on a wooden table and above the plate is a cup of rooibos tea, a teapot and a milk jug. Chineside cafe in Bournemouth.
Photo of the beach, sea and promenade as seen through waist-height glass panels from Chineside cafe in Bournemouth. A cafe table with a jug of at milk is in the foreground.

I had a pot of rooibos tea with oat milk and the American pancakes with a fried egg and streaky bacon and maple syrup (which I asked for on the side). All of it was good and the pancakes weren’t too heavy. The menu was all breakfast items but that’s to be expected as I was there mid-morning. I’m assuming the menu changes later in the day.

If you’re going to be in Bournemouth then I’d recommend coming here for a great sea view and some good tea and food. If you’re not going to be in Bournemouth then you should go visit, nothing like the seaside and a paddle for making you feel properly on holiday.

  • Teapot? Yes, a metal one that poured well.
  • Leaf tea? Reader, I’m ashamed to say I forgot to check. There was a teabag corner sticking out of the pot but it might have been one of the open ones that you fill with loose leaf. Forgive me, I’m a bit out of practice.
  • Milk jug? Yes.
  • Price? £2.55 for a pot of rooibos tea, 30p for oat milk, £9.95 for the pancakes.
  • Cake? Yes, a glass cabinet downstairs with different cakes in.
  • Toilet? Yes, unisex toilets upstairs (no lift that I saw but I didn’t check). Separate male and female public toilets and a disabled public toilet (RADAR key operated) outside next to the cafe.
  • Go again? Yes.

Chineside, off West Overcliff Drive, Westbourne, Bournemouth, BH2 5JF.

Visited on: Friday 15 September 2023


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Newsurf Sands Cafe

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?

 


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The Clock Restaurant

3, 4 & 5 Sandbeck Arcade, Skegness, Lincolnshire, PE25 3DY.

Tea at the Clock Restaurant

Tea at the Clock Restaurant

I love the seaside. Ice cream and tea and fish and chips and sand and sea and fresh air: what’s not to love? I hadn’t been to the seaside for a while and BF very kindly let me drag him to Skeggy on New Year’s eve. After a walk on the beach and a nostalgic visit to Woolworths we tracked down the most promising fish and chip restaurant.

The Clock Restaurant is a traditional fish and chip restaurant with proper tables and a view of the sea (sort of, if you look round the roundabout). They also had the fantastic invention of a winter menu, so we got fish, chips, peas, bread and butter and a huge pot of tea for £6 instead of £9 something. Yummy.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £6 each for big meal and tea included.
Cake? No, but pudding and ice cream instead.
Go again? Yes.