Tea On the Green

Tea on the Green was a recommendation from a local of Exeter, and I have to say I was very pleased with the suggestion.
We visited with a large group, so I was able to see (and sample) a number of dishes. I ordered the Cream Tea, one of the go-​to treats when you’re in Devon. As an American, I assumed «cream tea» meant a specific cream drink. It is not. Basically, you get regular tea (I had Earl Grey), and it comes with scones, jam and clotted cream. It is amazing. The ingredients were top notch and the loose leaf tea makes it feel very authentic.
The scones were fantastic. Cakes are very large, so I would make sure to share, unless you have a very large appetite for desserts,
I thought the location was fantastic. The interior is very sweet and cozy. The staff was very welcoming, even when we waltzed in with a part of 7.

This is a great place! The location is perfect and the Sunday roasts are absolutely delicious. From a décor perspective it’s a little tired in places but it’s a busy restaurant in an historic building. Forget that and enjoy the food, tea and view of the Cathedral

The draw of this place is the location, of course. You’re practically on the lawn of Exeter Cathedral.
As far as food, I can only speak to breakfast but I will anyway — the food is solid, not exceptional, but its a good selection of heartiness. Nice fry-​ups served full English style with local black pudding and/​or sausage, beans, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, toast. The Ulster Fry is a yummy mush-​up of all of the above plus sweetcorn. It’s humongous so unless you haven’t eaten for days you should go with the small portion, which on its own was too much for me to eat. This isn’t obvious right away (printed in small print, appropriately, just beneath the description). For the less ambitious, there are benedicts and scrambles too, oatmeal, homemade baked goods, scones, etc.

I think the strongest thing the owners have going for them here is their ‘window’ closely followed by the location. Lovely views of the Green and Cathedral abound but I don’t imagine the Bishop drops in very often.
Inside I waited from 3.20 until 3.30 for any staff member to notice me or ask if I was being served, ‘not yet’ I said a little grumpily. However a two cup pot of ‘loose leaf house’ duly arrived within three minutes, price £2.20. Actually to find an English tea shop in which the staff don’t start mopping the floor at 3.30 for a 4 pm close is rare. This place is open from 8 am to 6 pm and meals, drinks and snacks (£5.55) are available all day. My overall impression was that it probably has a smallish, regular clientele but first time visitors will not be rushing back.
The place is a bit grubby and the staff seem to be a bunch of ‘young things’ and their mates without much sort of ‘adult’ supervision but some of them were cheerful but certainly not the one who was taking her personal discontent with the World in general out on the poor cutlery which she was punishing with a sort of ‘Chinese rattling torture’ for the twenty five minutes I was in the place.
The Chef was dressed in a grey tea shirt which was only a little cleaner than himself. Perhaps his mum was out of Persil or whatever it is they don’t use any more.
To ascend the stairs you will need pitons and grappling gear but there is a comfortable quiet area up at base camp and once there you will be favoured with a good view from the window.
Some capital investment in decoration, furniture and staff training would be money well spent. I’d have the girls dressed in little pinnies and mop caps we can dream !
All parking nearby is pay.

The Good: Ideal positioning for idly watching the world pass by, the café sits in Cathedral Square with plenty of space outside to enjoy the great British summer weather (sarcasm) whilst supping down a local ale or excellent tea (from self-​pouring teapots, magic!). Paninis all round for lunch, and lovely sandwiches they were too — sausage, cheese and chutney for moi, cheesy veggie thing for Her. Great looking menus all round which are split by time, between brekkie, lunch and afternoon tea, oh and Sunday roasts (on Sundays, durrrr).
The Bad and the Ugly: Everything was just a little bit grubby, from the high-​chair brought to us for no. 1 son (cursory wipe-​down given by grubby waitress with a grubby dish cloth); inside (as reported upon by Her) was grubby too, so given that the public facing areas were non too
hygienic (I’ve only just realised that I’ve always spelled ‘hygienic’ incorrectly prior to this post!), one begins to wonder what the kitchen area is like, doesn’t one?
Unfortunately, the lingering impression of grubbiness is enough for me to suggest choosing another eatery from the plethora of cafes, bars and restaurants in the vicinity, unless you don’t go inside or need a high-​chair, in which case it’s all Good!

I agree. Much as the reviewer above says. We chose Tea on the Green over places like Starbucks and Boston Tea Party in an effort to try something a bit more authentic. How disappointing. It was overpriced and substandard.
My posh pot of tea for two was so full of tea leaves there was barely room for water. I struggled to drink the tea because it was so strong. What self-​respecting tea room fails to produce a pot of hot water to extend the use of the tea leaves? As a result my husband and I only managed a cup and a quarter each for over £6.00 for the pot!
The cakes were grim. My Victoria sponge had a sickly mascarpone and jam filling and was leaden. It felt like it contained suet. How difficult is it to make a light and fluffy sponge? Even I can do it! My daughter’s cream tea was a huge disappointment too. The scones were dry and possibly a bit stale, and the cream was supposed to be clotted but seemed a very strange texture for clotted cream.
The whole thing came to nearly £22.00 for a few cakes and a pot of tea. I’m still shocked that I was idiot enough to pay.
The only positive was the fruit smoothie. It was refreshing and delicious.
If you want a superb tea room experience in the South West, there is a wonderful tea room in Taunton

Clearly the reviewer above and I went to different cafes…
Today Tea on the Green was grubby, the service was appalling, and prices not great either — is £2.50 for a cup of tea really unbeatable value?
At 3.30pm the café was fairly full but not terribly busy, there were quite a few staff around (all looked like students) but none made eye contact, we sat at one of several tables that had dirty dishes on it, and watched a waiter clear the other tables until I finally managed to catch his eye.
Once the table was cleared (leaving the crumbs from the previous occupants still scattered across the table) we were served fairly quickly. Another waitress brought our tea and cake, plonking the tea down without bothering to tell us which herbal tea was which — I had to ask (in fact, mine was not the tea that I had ordered, but it was similar enough for me to let this pass) and also had to ask for cake forks, which arrived grubby. Cake and tea was fine — certainly not remarkable. I think ‘PatisserieValerie’ would be justified in taking legal action regarding the comparison made above!
Still, we fared oh so much better than the couple at the next table, who had arrived before us and were making their third enquiry as to whether their tea cakes had been forgotten as we were leaving. «I’ll check» said the waiter unapologetically, as he wandered off.

Best coffee in town, Egon Ronay quality! Excellent food, fab front of house, superb roast potatoes.
Seriously you must go.
Good veggie menu too!
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