A matter of taste. (The Tally Ho Tearooms, Mettingham nr Bungay)

Tally Ho Tearooms,

Mettingham,

Opening times Tue-Sat 10:00-17:00,

Sun 11:00-17:00,

 Recommended

Yesterday I broke the golden rule of cycling. Always cycle into the wind on the way there and with the wind, when you are tired, on the way back. However as I was so keen to visit a new tearoom, The Tally Ho Tearoom at Mettingham nr Bungay, I ripped up the cycle rule book and rode off, with today's guest Big George, at a lighting pace with the wind behind.

As a result, and despite a puncture stop, we arrived at the Tally Ho Tearoom in good time. 

About to lock up (with Alarmio) and enter tearoom

Big George is, Scottish, loves his rugby and nicely fits the rest of that particular stereo type. The Tally Ho Tearooms is Victorian themed (including staff dressed up in period costume), has a pink based décor and sells jam. Individually the two things work well but when brought together they cause a rift in the fabric of reality. It soon became clear that rugby loving Scotsmen and period tearooms are not good bedfellows .

Partly due to the rift in the fabric of reality and partly because we were the only people in the rather large indoor seating area, an uncomfortable atmosphere descended and we found ourselves talking in whispers. I was therefore pleased to go and examine the cake selection. There were all the cakes you would expect (carrot, coffee, chocolate, brownie etc) and even a mini triple cake selection.

In drinks terms there was a choice of white and normal hot chocolate. I went for normal hot chocolate a cheese scone and chocolate cake. Big George seemed confused and ordered a pot of tea (and cheese scone) rather than his normal cappuccino. I asked him why and he explained he didn't think they had cappuccino in the 19th century (despite it being on the menu). I had to point out that we hadn't actually gone back in time, it was just pretend. Things only got worse when his tea turned up on a full china tea service, as you can see below.

Big George struggling to come to terms with Victorian theme and china tea set

The drinks and cakes were all very good and scored well, however there was an obvious problem with the ambiance rating as it wasn't really to his taste, I think it will take Big George sometime to recover from the experience so I have promised to take him to a cafe where he can have a mug of tea and full English breakfast next time (although I never have).

On the way home Big George announced we had a deadline as he had to buy a new hoover and clean the house before guests arrived. This led to an enjoyable chat comparing notes and tips on which we thought the best cleaner was and our personal vacuuming experiences. As a result Big George decided a purple ball Dyson was his best bet. As proper men we vowed never to speak of this conversation again. 

We battled through the wind to get Big George back in time to do whatever it was he needed to do.

Despite the excellent fair at the Tally Ho Tearooms I'm not sure I will ever get Big George back there but if I bump into any Victorians I will certainly recommend they go there for tea.

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
8.5	6.0	7.5	7.5	5.0	6.90

This is the route

Click here to download 43 miles Norwich - Bungay loop  GPX file for your gps