Tea with a twist

The undercover cafe critic

Our Scone Spy tries something different.

IHAVE, in my time, been accused of being a bit of traditionalist – a stickler for both fork and knife being used, waiting your turn in a queue, the tea in before milk; you know the things.

Nothing wrong with that, you might say.

But, having been invited for a fancy afternoon tea “with a twist”, I’m a wee bit concerned any fancy bits will take away from the main event, the quality of the scones!

The location is a gem and we’re seated in a bay window with fabulous views across St Andrews’ sweeping sands.

With white linen, shiny cutlery and a smart waiter – plus a cheeky Prosecco to kick off proceedings – there’s enough heritage here to keep us happy.

It’s a sociable affair, too. Guests at our neighbouring table, clearly struggling to finish the tower of goodies on their table, ask the mini-diners at our table if they’d like “something to keep them going”.

The children, minding their ps and qs, don’t waste a second before tucking in to the donations, while we sit back and enjoy the chit-chat and the people-watching.

A wedding congregation marches down the street outside and we all crane our necks to see what they’re wearing and where they’re heading, swapping opinions with our new pals.

Now I’m usually a “normal tea only, please” person but the tea menu sounds so tempting – with words such as “blossom” and “camomile”