Cafe Versailles, Lisbon, Portugal

The Location: Cafe Versailles, Lisbon, Portugal
The Visit: Saturday 4th March, breakfast
Cake: Pastel de nata, traditional Portuguese custard tart
Tea: A first for this blog, not tea but hot chocolate.
The Cake: Delicious. Creamy filling, flaky pastry, plenty of flavour.
The Tea: Or hot chocolate in this case. Very thick drink, full of flavour, tasted like a bar of chocolate had simply been melted. Again delicious. 
The Café: A traditional style cafe, attentive staff and elegant surroundings, and huge selection of sweet and savoury delights, Top marks.
Verdict: 9/10

Club Aspire, Heathrow Terminal 3

The Location: Club Aspire lounge, Heathrow Airport Terminal 3
The Visit: Friday 3rd March, late evening
Cake: Pre-packaged blueberry muffin
Tea: Twinings English Breakfast, milk from a jug. 
The Cake: Pre-packaged, so I knew beforehand that it would be quite dry. The blueberries gave it a little moisture, and some flavour, but not much.
The Tea: Normally a good tea, but this was self-serve with hot water from a coffee machine, so not quite hot enough, but adequate.
The Café: Actually the lounge, as all food and drink was included in the entry price. Smaller than most lounges, but comfortable, with some seats with a view over the apron.
Verdict: 6.5/10

Cafe Bar Marzano, Norwich

 

The Location: Cafe Bar Marzano, Norwich, in the Forum in the city centre
The Visit: Saturday 14th January, early afternoon
Cake: I literally cannot remember. From the photo it looks like a carrot cake.
Tea: Teapigs Everyday Brew, milk from the urn.
The Cake: It was tasty, I do know that (I've never had a bad cake from the Forum cafe) but it was entirely forgettable. A decent amount of cream filling, but still an average cake.
The Tea: Not a particularly common brand, but certainly not a bad one. Above average.
The Café: The Forum Cafe is a particular family favourite, with a good selection of gluten free cakes as well as glutenous (my wife is allergic). Good seating areas, but the problem is the popularity - there are never any sofas free when I go! This time was no different. Still, a nice spot to sit back with a snack whilst the children read their new library books.
Verdict: 7/10

Easyjet Flight, Faro-Southend

The Location: On board an Easyjet flight from Faro to Southend
The Visit: Saturday 18th February 2017, around lunchtime
Cake: Blueberry Muffin
Tea: Twinings English Breakfast, milk in fresh sachets
The Cake: I've had some nice muffins on board flights before, but this one was not one of them. Dry and flavourless, the blueberries gave some slight damp texture but still didn't taste of much. Disappointing.
The Tea: Twinings English Breakfast is usually a good cup, and this was no different. Flavourful, it certainly hit the spot, helping to make up for the poor cake.
The Café: I didn't really get much choice in this matter! At seat service on board the flight. I was in the middle seat between my 5 year old daughter to the window, and another passenger on the aisle.
Verdict: 5/10 (1/5 for the cake because I was hungry, 4/5 for the tea)

Marks and Spencer Cafe, Norwich

The Location: Marks and Spencer cafe, Norwich (upstairs)
The Visit: Saturday 17th December, late afternoon
Cake: White chocolate and red velvet layer cake
Tea: Unbranded
The Cake: This was a good cake. Delicious chocolate flavour, with a white chocolate candycane on top. Enough, but not too much, cream and frosting, and a moist cake made for good eating,
The Tea: About average. Not bad but not excellent. 
The Café: I managed to scrape together an hour in the run up to Christmas to get away from the family to buy them Christmas presents, and snuck into a cafe for some tea and cake before meeting up again. It wasn't long before closing time, and the choice of cakes reflected that - I had the last piece of what was apparently a very popular choice. It hadn't dried out, which was good. Not many people left in the cafe by this time, I found a place hidden away in a corner. I wasn't disappointed, though the excellent cake was let down slightly by the poor tea.
Verdict: 7/10

Costa, Hall Rd, Norwich

The Location: Costa, Hall Rd, Norwich (opposite the new Asda)
The Visit: Monday 17th October 2016, early afternoon
Cake: Sicilian Lemon Muffin
Tea: Twinings Everyday, milk added by server, double cupped
The Cake: I have to say I'm a fan of lemon cakes, and this was no different. Just the right amount of moisture, sugar frosting on top and a dollop of sharp lemon curd baked into the middle. Very nice.
The Tea: Twinings' Everyday is probably one of my least favourite mainstream teas, and whilst drinkable, not my favourite. It has a bitter taste that doesn't sit well with me, certainly not as good as their English Breakfast blend.
The Café: I was here with my children after school (as the usual swimming lesson was cancelled), so I asked for my tea in a takeaway cup in case they finished their smoothies sooner. Despite being in a busy location, the cafe itself was almost empty, for most of our visit we were the only patrons. This did lead to a calmer atmosphere, at least when the children were drinking, eating, or colouring in the supplied activity sheets. I'll be back! The score would be better if it were not for the Everyday tea.
Verdict: 8/10

Ikea café, Tottenham, London

The Location: Ikea café, Tottenham, London 
The Visit: Wednesday 12th October, evening
Cake: Red Velvet
Tea: London Tea Company, milk from machine dispenser
The Cake: Three layers, so good ratio of cake to cream filling, which went some way to make up for the dry cake. Nice sprinkling of chocolate on top.
The Tea: Tea was quite good.
The Café: This was an accompaniment to a dinner of meatballs, which were as always good. Ikea cafe is always erring on the Good side of Average, but the low prices more than make up for it, especially the free tea with their loyalty card. The tea quality definitely improves the score of this tea and cake (cake alone would probably score 5.5) 
Verdict: 6.5/10