Anyone for tennis (Eaton Park Cafe, Norwich)

Eaton Park Cafe,

Norwich,

Opening times Mon-Fri 09:00-17:00,

Sat-Sun 8:30-6:00

Recommended 

You may recall that regular cycling guests Barry and Helen had recently got a new tandem (see So long old friend) so I had arranged a short ride so that I could see it in action. We had arranged to meet up at the Casitor St Edmunds crossroads with Chris (Mrs Crusader) as my other cycling guest for the day. I made sure we got there early so that I could take a picture of them arriving on their new machine.

As I saw them approaching I got my phone ready clicked away. But what was this, they had turned up on the same old tandem they had always used. I was very disappointed and nearly called the ride off there and then but I was curious to know why the new tandem wasn't making an appearance. Barry explained that his new tandem (or possible him) was a bit of a fair weather tart and didn't want to come out in the winter incase it got it's shiny new paint a bit dirty. He promised that it would make an appearance on the first nice spring day we have. I am begining to suspect they havent got a new tandem at all but time will tell.

Barry and Helen on their old tandem

Barry has always been very sniffy about reviewing cake and deliberately chooses to have a sausage roll on all of our cafe cycle rides so that he doesn't have to get involved in any of 'the cake rating nonsense'. In 2017 I was confident I had got around this issue and proudly told Barry that this year was the year of the sausage roll so he could be fully involved in finding the best one (see thing of the year). I was expecting Barry to be pleased and enthusiastic about this year's competition but I should have known better. He just said there was no point in doing the competition as he had already found the best sausage roll ever which was at a service station on the M5 in Gloucestershire. So that was that, the search for sausage roll of the year 2017 was over before it had really begun. Then I remembered that the rules state that you have to be able to cycle to the cafe to get the sausage roll and you can't cycle on a motorway. The search for sausage roll of the year 2017 was back on again.

Today's cafe came right at the end of our ride but the miles flew by as we continued to debate sausage roll rating criteria and in no time we were at the Eaton Park cafe in Eaton Park in Norwich.

Outside the Eaton Park cafe

The cafe is situated in the old victorian pavilion by the bandstand. I was worried it wouldn't be open at this time of year so was surprised that not only was it open seven days a week all year round but was also very busy today. The whole setup was very welcoming so I awarded a high atmosphere and ambiance mark.

There is also an outdoor seating area overlooking the tennis courts but we decided it was a bit cold to sit there today especially as there was no tennis action to enjoy.

Outdoor seating area overlooks the tennis courts

I checked out the cake selection but the only things on display were  scones and pastries. You had to rely on the cake selection blackboard to pick one of three cakes on offer,. This obviously impacted the effective cake selection (ECS) score.

Scones, pastries and cake selection blackboard

Much to mine and Barry's disappointment there were no sausage rolls on the menu so I went for chocolate and almond cake. Chris opted for orange and almond cake while Barry and Helen and their tandem just had coffee to avoid getting involved in any of 'the cake rating nonsense'.

Our drinks soon arrived in a nice selection of mugs and cups. For once Barry actually liked his cappuccino but Chris and Helen thought their Mocha's were not hot enough for really high marks. My hot chocolate was nice but didn't perform well on the hot part of the drink either.

Nice selection of drinks but could have been a bit hotter

I thought both our almond base cakes were excellent with the orange one being particularly good and I awarded a high cake taste quality (CTQ) rating.

Almond based cakes

Despite the lack of sausage rolls the Eaton Park cafe was a good relaxing stop and I recommend a visit especially for tennis fans.

Hopefully next time Barry and Helen join me as cycling guests they will be provide a new tandem and I'll provide the sausage rolls then we will all be happy. 

Scores based on 2 visits last on 6th April 2022

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
6.1	5.0	5.85	8.2	7.0	6.43

Route

Click here to dowload 25 mile Norwich Poringland loop GPX file for your GPS

Cake Tuesday. (Frog on the Pond Coffee Shop, Poringland)

Note Frog on the Pond Coffee Shop has closed and been replaced by the community cafe at the same location.


After Black Friday and Cyber Monday I decided to make today Cake Tuesday. Despite telling all my twitter followers and Facebook friends I was unable to get Cake Tuesday to go viral and get it recognised as a national occasion. However this was not going to stop me celebrating it and I may have more luck next year.

Even though it was drizzling and there was a poor weather forecast I still managed to persuade Chris (Wife) to join me on Cake Tuesday as today's guest. We were planning to find cake at the Frog on The Pond coffee shop in Poringland and would be going there on a nice 25 mile loop.

As part of my new blog feature 'guest cyclist top cycling tip' I asked Chris for her top tip. Which she instantly gave me.

Guest cyclist top cycling tip no 3. To look fashionable whilst staying safe in the winter make sure you wear your high viz overshoe booties. see photo

With the help of top tip no 3 we safely made it to Poringland despite getting rather wet. We found the Frog on the Pond coffee shop at the back of the Poringland community centre. As well as the Frog on The Pond coffee shop there is also the library and police station in the building so I felt our bikes would be very safe in the covered bike rack (although I still locked them up).

Outside the Frog on the Pond Coffee Shop
standing where the outdoor seating area would be on a nice day

Although there is an outside seating area available we decided that we would be better off drying off inside. There are lots of comfy sofas as well as standard tables and chairs so we used the standard chairs to dry our jackets and sat on the sofas.

It turned out that today was also Toddler Tuesday as a lot of mothers and toddlers were also enjoying the coffee shop and community centre. I'm always pleased to see a busy coffee shop and vibrant local community full of nattering mums and happy children although preferably when I'm not there as it was a bit noisy.

There was a nice selection of cakes available including a very large chocolate cake and Victoria sponge as well as cup cakes and scones. I therefore awarded a decent effective cake selection (ECS) rating.

Out of focus photo of cakes but gives the idea of what was available

As it was cake Tuesday I rather surprised myself when I chose a cheese scone to go with my Hot Chocolate. Chris had already picked the chocolate cake but as it was a very large slice I was confident I would be given some, especially if I got our conversation on to topics such as diets and healthy eating.

Drinks and very large slice of cake

My plan worked well and I was able to have plenty of cake and all of my scone. They were both of a good standard although I was slightly disappointed that my cheese scone had not been warmed.

Chris thought her Mocha was the best she had had for a long time although my Hot Chocolate was fairly ordinary.

Overall the Frog in the Pond was a good stop providing a nice standard of cakes and drinks.
The one problem was the obvious spoon vs cup mismatch issue which, as you can see, made it impossible to stir your drink without burning your fingers. 

Cup vs spoon mismatch issue

From my cafe cycle reviewing experience I have seen other establishments solve this particular issue with the introduction of longer spoons or shorter cups. I'm happy for either of these ideas to be adopted without being credited with them.

The short ride home got colder and wetter and as a result I didn't stop to tweet an Egg News flash about the eggs I found in Poringland, that will have to wait for a warmer day. 

With cake Tuesday out of the way for another year I can now turn my attention to the other big day in December. The announcement of the Cycle Cafe Tours 2014 award winners. I have not much time left to gather in the votes and make the certificates before the big day.

Scores for Frog on the Pond Coffee shop

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
6.0	8.0	6.5	7.0	5.5	6.60

Route

Click here to dowload 25 mile Norwich Poringland loop GPX file for your GPS