Waterloo Tea (Penarth) — Restaurant in Penarth

I will happily admit I am a big fan of the Waterloo Gardens Teahouse in Penylan. The only thing I don’t like about it is that it’s just (sorry to sound hipster) too popular and the cosy cafe just doesn’t have enough room to cater. That’s why I was so happy to hear about their new venture Washington Tea in Penarth. The new teahouse is thankfully much bigger, and the space certainly came in useful when I attended their fortnightly Food and Tea night, which was sold out. The night consists of a five-course meal with a complimentary tea in between each dish. We were treated to an organic beetroot and ginger soup to start, a beautiful bright red way to begin the meal with a sharp taste and comforting ginger undertones. A dish of smoked trout and mackerel terrine followed, matched perfectly with a salty and fresh caper salsa. Teas varied from a sweet fresh mint Moroccan blend to a tangy and fragrant sparkling hibiscus. Though there were many more highlights, it was the dessert of Braeburn and almond tart that stole the show: soft, sweet and perfectly balanced. After his first bite my partner looked up to me and said, “I am never eating anything else ever again.” Perhaps one of the best parts of the meal was the group effort that went into it. Not only had the people at Washington Tea picked our great food, but they had vegetables sourced from those at Cardiff’s Riverside Market, fish from Snowden & Co and alcohol picked out by The Bottle Shop in Roath. All local, all fresh and all chosen with great thought. This collaborative effort is far more than a gimmick and it really pays off when you sit down for meal at Washington Tea.

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An excellent selection of teas here. I had the tangerine oolong, which was lovely. I like that the tea’s served in a teapot with a sand egg-timer so you know how long your tea should brew for. As well as tea, they serve coffee.

The food here’s lovely too. I enjoyed my cinnamon bread toast and I tried some of the banana bread which was gorgeous too (even though I don’t like bananas!). One of us had the poached egg on sourdough which they also enjoyed.

The cafe is light and airy. There’s nice artwork for sale on the wall too. You can buy bags of the loose leaf tea to take home with you, which I have done in the past.

Staff are friendly and the service is at table and pay at the counter after. Although we could see that it was busy it wasn’t a long wait for our drinks and food. A nice cafe and we’ll definitely pop in again when we’re...

Went here almost on a weekly basis when it first opened, I think the staff almost new us by name! I've never experienced such good customer service as them, literally faultless and they would go above and beyond.

They have an amazing selection of tea (although I think recently they don't stock all the teas they sell in every branch). Beautifully tasting cakes, my favourite is the spinach and pistachio. You have never tasted anything like it in your life. Lovely and moist. They also give you a very generous slice. It's a special treat for myself and my partner and our favourite tea room. I love their expertise about tea - you get a little egg timer for each tea so that it is brewed the right amount.

Have had lunch here a few times too, the soup is always lovely and I really like the avocado and feta with chilli oil, yum! Just very...