The Waterside Coffee Shop - Le Friquet

The Waterside Coffee Shop - Le Friquet
Morning coffee at the Waterside Coffee Shop is a stop well worth making. Le Friquet is a garden centre which is situated close to the St Pierre Park Hotel. The coffee shop is light and airy, and the rather nice Arne Jacebson chairs (though the tables don’t match)give it a pseudo Scandinavian style. Counter service makes it rather tedious to wait for your tea, though the servers are very pleasant and had a level of English which enabled them to smile and joke, which is good. We were surprised by the freshness, quality and niceness of the scones. With a reasonable amount of B, J and Cream. A latte coffee looked really appetizing and other drinks were OK. Overall a really good tea and coffee break.
Cream Tea: Monster, really good 10
Cream: Good, but seldom 6
Jam: Good, with whole straws. 5
Butter: Sufficient, pot rather than packets 8
Goodies: Looked very tempting 7
Environment: So so, in a garden centre 5
Comfort: Scando style 7
Service: Good, reasonable english spoken, 8
Speed of getting tea: Good 8
Price: Very good 8
Confusion: None, (even warmed the scones) 5
Total 77
Special Feature: Best Cream Tea
Voted the best Cream Tea overall.

The Hollows, Le Gouffre - Under New Management

An eagerly anticipated jaunt this afternoon took us to Le Gouffre, a lonely Tea shop that overlooks a wild bay. Eagerly anticipated because it is now under new ownership. The same people who own L’Escalier inSt Peter Port.
It was very windy, so we elected to sit indoors. .The first piece of impressiveness was that the waiter was foreign, not unusual you say in the Tea Shops of Guernsey. However this waiter was French Style Foreign, which meant a) he could speak English b) he knew how to wait at table. We chose the Afternoon Tea, which at £5.25 was the most expensive we had bought. The scones were small but excellent, good jam and Guernsey butter. The only let down was the quantity of cream, which was miserly. The waiter explained that we had used the last of his current supply (we arrived at 4.40), this I felt was poor. It also meant that there was no cream available for my coffee

The whole event was pleasant and relaxed, though they have got rid of the nice big sofas which one could relax in.

Cream Tea: Slim, but very good 9
Cream: Good, but seldom 6
Jam: Good, with whole straws 5
Butter: Sufficient, pot 8
Goodies: Not obviously attractive 5
Environment: Ruggedly beautiful 8
Comfort: SS/aluminium café style 7
Service: French, efficient, quality 8
Timing: Good 8
Price: Top price for quality 5
Confusion: Ran out of cream!! 5
Total 74
Special Feature: The views
Overall good performance apart from the lack of cream, which nearly lost it its credibilty

The Road To Cobo

Cobo Tea Rooms are quite modest. A double fronted house which looks out over Cobo Bay. It has an outside area with plastic picnic table and chairs, however it is quite exposed and we have never found it warm enough to sit outside in comfort.
Inside décor is 80’s breakfast style, with a variety of tables in the 2 front rooms. Favourite tables are in the two bay windows (though this can be hot in the summer). Ordering at the counter gives the opportunity to look at the range of Goodies for sale. Most eye catching are the large cream filled meringues. However, the scones are overlooked at your peril. They are large fruit scones which are served with a variety of jams and thick whipped cream.
The counter service is cheerful, though not speedy. As there is no table service you must wait at the counter for all your purchases, which can be a bit tedious, interrupting the flow of conversation.
Cream Tea: Ample 9
Cream: Whipped, but solid enough 7
Jam: Unknown 5
Butter: Sufficient (wrapped) 5
Goodies: Very tempting 8
Environment: Pretty 7
Comfort: Plastic chairs outside 5
Service Counter, but pleasant 5
Timing: Reasonable 7
Price: 4.20 6
Confusion: Very little hassle 6
Total 70
Special Feature: Goodies
A well balanced afternoon tea with great scones and a fun atmosphere.

Chouet Tea Rooms

Chouet Tea Rooms sit in a small hollow behind the rocky sea defences on the delightful northwest bay of Chouet. Surrounded by high hedges the Tea Rooms gardens are well protected from the sea breezes, unless you choose the garden annex which allows you to embrace the wonderful scenery and also the breeze.
Décor is average 70’s café, with picnic benches outside and beech furniture inside.
Special on offer is of course the cream tea. This consists of Tea/coffee, and 2 small scones, one plain, one fruit (substitutes available by request, though one must be careful as the almost-non-english-speaking staff are easily confused), squirty (whipped) cream, butter and the highlight which is a pot of Bon Mamon jam (!). All of which comes in at a fairly hefty £4.25.
Service was polite but limited, again by the almost-non-english-speaking waitress, which meant that conversation was almost totally one-sided, s s l l o o w w w and with frequent repeats, with frequent repeats.
One must order at the counter, where on an order of 2 cream teas (one decaf)and a coffee they managed to overcharge by one tea.
A reasonable wait for the tea to arrive, although it was more of a parade than a tea, as the scones and coffee arrived and the poor waitress seemed quite surprised when we asked for the two teas as well. One tea arrived as we finished the scones and the other tea arrived as the first tea was finished.
The scones were small with a slightly crispy texture and fruit was rather well spaced.
The coffee was good filter coffee
Tea was fine.
Overall impression, if you happen to be passing within 100 yards its worth making the detour, as long as you are in either a patronising or patient frame of mind.
Other goodies, plentiful but pricy.
High point was a Kestrel which was cruising the waterfront nearby.
Chouet Tea Rooms were chosen as an entré to provide a base line by which all other tea shops on Guernsey could be compared.
Cream Tea: slim 5
Cream: Whipped 5
Jam: Bon Mamon 5
Butter: Sufficient 5
Goodies: Not tempting enough 5
Environment: Pretty 5
Comfort: Picnic tables 5
Service One way, but pleasant 5
Timng: Reasonable
Price: over 5
Confusion lots 5
Total 55
Special Feature: Living on past glory
Overall We are ready to move on to bigger and better tea rooms

Why?

Sir Edmund Hilary, when asked why he climbed Everest he said "Because it is there".
So it is when I was asked "Why the Tea Shops of Guernsey". It is because they are indeed there!
I am writing this with a number of purposes in mind:
To explore this underlying metaphore for a deeper understanding of the inner drive which provides a broad context for the meaning of life, with particular reference to the quality and variety of scones.
To make sure that my journalistic mind stays alert during my visit to Guernsey.
To provide a rally useful guide for people who are actually wanting to tour Guernsey and discover places which can provide a brief haven on trips out.