After a hard day of sightseeing, there is nothing quite as relaxing as a cream tea. Okay, maybe cream tea with five children in tow was a bit of a production, but I was sure it would be a worthwhile experience. Dunbar Tea Shop is the perfect place for our experiment in exposing the Hooligans to culture. It took a few minutes to get a table ready for the nine of us--an excellent opportunity to browse the shop itself. They have a fantastic selection of teapots, cups, mugs, cozies, strainers, and of course, tea. They also have a plate of cookies for the ravenous Hooligans. Tea is sold both loose and in bags. You will have a hard time pulling yourself away to go to your table. We were on the sun porch. We were happy to note that we were not the only family out there.
If you are coming without children, the inside room is much more charming with wooden tables and flowered cloths but the plastic chairs and cloths were perfect for us. The menu is not geared for children; there is a five-dollar-per-head charge and no children’s menu. Kasey had a slightly hysterical look on her face as the boys did their usual arguing, jumping, and generally being boys. I told her to relax and let me order. No, they do not count the kids in the five-dollar-per-head count, just as I expected. I ordered five cream teas. This included a scone with jelly and cream, tea sandwiches, and sweets. Everyone ordered his or her drinks separately. I was especially proud of 16-year-old Danny when he asked about the Assam and decided to try it. Hot chocolate for the Hooligans, English Breakfast and Earl Grey for the rest of us, and the hardest part was over.
The five cream teas turned out to be just the perfect amount of food. The little boys had cream cheese and ham sandwiches, followed by, as 2-year-old Josh kept saying, "cake, cake, cake... chocolate." There were plenty of sandwiches, with the addition of the cucumber ones, for all of us to eat our fill. With five teas, we had five scones, and I knew the little ones wouldn’t want to eat a scone after they saw the cake. There were several choices among the cakes: lemon bars, a cheese and nut cake, and of course, the infamous chocolate. It was all very fresh and delicious.
We each had a pot of tea that gave us at least four cups of the steaming brew. Service was exceptional, and we had a fabulous time, thus proving that even the Hooligans can be civilized by a cuppa.