What a find and what a lovely welcome! This little cafe is situated in Manor Gardens in Exmouth a stones throw from the seafront.

We arrived at about 3pm on Sunday afternoon to a warm welcome and the best Scone and cake selection I have seen in a long, long time. Being an Afternoon Tea fan I of course was taken with the scone choice and took a little while to decide on my choice. Sarah, my friend who had joined me for afternoon tea was in the same boat. It’s difficult to choose when confronted with such a wonderful selection. There were plain, fruit and cheese scones but on top of this a few more unusual choices. Honey and lavender plus coconut and chocolate called “Bounty” after the famous chocolate bar!

Sarah and I finally decided that we would have a small fruit scone afternoon tea with clotted Cream and strawberry jam plus a honey and lavender scone with butter. We thought we would go halves on each so we could get to sample a couple of different ones. It’s always nice to share I think.

We made our order and took ourselves outside into Manor Gardens and planted ourselves on the grass. There was a brass band playing in the bandstand which added to the old school feel of the afternoon tea. The sun was beating down and it was lovely being able to enjoy our afternoon tea outside in the sunshine. Listening to the brassband made us feel like we had ventured back in time.

Our order was brought out to us on the grass and my eyes lit up. Plenty of Clotted Cream and jam were presented to us for our scones. I can’t stand it when places skimp on the cream and jam. A good cream tea needs to have a good dollop of each to really satisfy me! Bumble and Bee certainly came up trumps in this department. I split the fruit scone first and loaded up my half with a hefty amount of clotted cream and jam then took a bite. I was instantly in heaven. The scone was probably the best scone I have ever had. The right amount of crunch on the outside with the lightest middle made into a perfect Devonshire cream tea with lashings of cream and jam…. So good!

Next, I split the honey and lavender scone in two. I took my half with slightly salted butter and Sarah had her half with clotted cream and jam. Again, the scone had a good amount of crunch with a light and airy centre. A subtle lavender flavour came through without being overpowering. Perfect with a little butter in my eyes although Sarah said hers was delicious with cream and jam.

If you are looking for a great afternoon tea with the opportunity to sit outside (if the weather is good) then I highly recommend Bumble and Bee. Sarah and I were very impressed and the two members of staff that we came across were delightful. We will definitely be back. Thank you for looking after to us Bumble and Bee!

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