We are both sweet lovers. When we heard about this nice teahouse place in Cardiff that serves delectable cakes with a wide selection of teas, we decided to visit this place when we were free.
Waterloo Gardens Teahouse is located in the Penylan area, overlooking a small lovely park with an old shop front.
We visited this place twice and this is a combined post of our two previous visits. The café was very busy on both our visits. It was rather small but cosy and comfortable.
The teahouse offered a large variety of prized teas collected from all over the world. Packets of tealeaves, tea wares and art paintings were also sold in the café. Their products can also be purchased online.
On our first visit, we went for their afternoon tea. We made our reservation the day before we went to the teahouse. Priced at £11.50 per person, the afternoon tea comprised of a three-tier cake stand filled with finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, cakes and a pot of tea each.
On the left, we had a serving of genmaicha (玄米茶). Genmaicha is the Japanese name for green tea combined with roasted brown rice. The brown rice tea had a very smooth, roasted flavour that we enjoyed a lot. On the right, we had an organic fair trade pu-erh blood orange tea. The tea had a heavy body, sweet flavour, crisp and refreshing citrus bite due to the presence of blood orange and grapefruit. It was an interesting blend of tea and we loved it!
On the bottom tier was the assortment of finger sandwiches. They were very fresh and light and we loved them. On the middle tier we had two scones. They were freshly made and served warm. The scones were light and soft and they were very delicious when eaten with the clotted cream and jam. As for our cakes, we were given a choice to choose two types of cakes from their cake display. We had a victoria sponge and a banana white chocolate cake. The victoria sponge, as seen on the right of the middle tier, was amazing! It was very light and fluffy, the jam and cream sandwiched between the two sponge cakes gave it an extra texture. Every bite was delightful, and it was not overly sweet as well. The banana white chocolate cake was equally good too. The cake was hidden behind the victoria sponge and we so did not have a photo of it. The cake was denser compared to the victoria sponge and the white chocolate topped on the cake gave it a richer and silkier texture. Everything was superb and it was a perfect afternoon tea!
On our second visit, we ordered teas and cakes a la carte. On the left, we had a Waterloo Chai. Priced at £5 per pot, the tea was a blend of fine whole leaf Ceylon tea with cardamom pods, star anise and other spices. It took longer to serve but it was worth the wait. The chai tea had a spicy and sweet aroma coupled with a milky and smooth texture. We loved it! On the right we had their tea of the week, organic Dragon Well (龍井茶), priced at £2 per pot. Dragon Well is the most famous Chinese green tea and one of my favourite teas. Waterloo’s Dragon Well was very clean and sweet with a light finish. We would recommend this green tea to any tea lovers!
We started out with a chicken and vegetable melt panini priced at £3.50. Served with side salad, the panini was freshly toasted and served warm, definitely one of the better paninis that we have had. The roasted vegetables were exceptionally good and the melted cheese and chicken gave the sandwich extra flavours. A very good savoury snack indeed!
The chocolate and beetroot cake in the cake display caught our attention. We decided to have it and it was good. The cake was light and powdery in texture, it was naturally sweet but not overpowering. It was good until the last bite!
We also had a slice of their baked lemon cheesecake. This was certainly one of the best lemon cheesecakes we have had. The cheesecake was light and creamy, with a tinge of bitter and sour lemon taste. Definitely worth a try if you’re visiting this place!
Lastly, we had a slice of pistachio cake since we were still craving for more sweets. The pistachio cake as well, was one of the better ones we’ve sampled. The cake was soft and spongy and possessed a tinge of lemony flavour with strong aromatic pistachio taste. We would highly recommend any pistachio lovers to try this cake out!
Both visits were very enjoyable. Service was excellent and the teas and cakes were extraordinary. We loved this place and would highly recommend anyone in Cardiff to visit this lovely teahouse! Do visit their website for more information.
Restaurant Information
5 Waterloo Gardens
Penylan
CF23 5AA Cardiff
United Kingdom.
Tel: 02920 456073
