Cream Teas on the Isle of Wight

Scones, jam and clotted cream by the sea

The cream tea is a quintessential part of the Isle of Wight visitor experience, and the island has no shortage of tea rooms, cafes and gardens where scones, clotted cream and jam are served with a pot of tea and, ideally, a view of the sea or the countryside. The tradition is deeply embedded in the island's tourism culture and dates back to the Victorian era when the resort towns first began catering to holidaymakers.

Shanklin Old Village is the spiritual home of the island cream tea. The thatched cottages, narrow lanes and cottage gardens create a setting that could have been designed specifically for the purpose, and several tea rooms here serve cream teas to a standard that takes the tradition seriously. Freshly baked scones, generous portions of clotted cream and good-quality jam are the essentials, and the best establishments get all three right.

The Chine at Shanklin and the gardens at Ventnor Botanic Garden both have cafes serving cream teas in remarkable settings. The Botanic Garden cafe, surrounded by sub-tropical plants in the sheltered Undercliff, is a particularly pleasant spot on a warm afternoon. Dimbola Lodge at Freshwater Bay, the former home of the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, serves cream teas in a setting steeped in Victorian cultural history.

Ryde, Newport, Cowes and the other main towns all have cafes offering cream teas, though the quality ranges from the sublime to the utilitarian. The tourist-facing establishments in the resort towns tend to charge more but often provide a more complete experience, with proper china, tiered cake stands and attentive service.

The debate over whether to put the cream or the jam first is largely settled on the island in favour of the Devon method: cream first, then jam. But opinions vary, and the topic can provoke surprisingly strong views in certain tea rooms.

Farm cafes around the island also serve cream teas, often using ingredients from the farm itself. The Garlic Farm cafe near Newchurch and the cafes at Arreton Barns both offer cream teas alongside their other offerings.

A cream tea on the Isle of Wight, taken on a sunny afternoon with a view of the sea or the downs, is one of the simple pleasures that the island does well. It is not haute cuisine, but it is a tradition that connects the visitor to the island's history as a place of rest, beauty and gentle indulgence.

The economics of the cream tea are straightforward but important for the island's cafe economy. A cream tea for two, typically priced between ten and fifteen pounds, represents good value for the customer and a healthy margin for the cafe, particularly when the scones are baked on the premises. The cost of the ingredients is modest, and the labour is skilled but not complex. For the many small cafes and tea rooms on the island that depend on seasonal trade, the cream tea is a reliable seller that keeps the kitchen busy and the tables occupied during the peak months. The tradition also connects the island to the wider culture of English tea rooms, a tradition that has survived the rise of coffee culture and continues to draw customers who value the ritual, the comfort and the gentle pace of afternoon tea.