Afternoon Tea Review: The Angel Abergavenny's Festive Tea

I couldn't resist another trip to The Angel in Abergavenny this December, for another one of their exceptionally good afternoon teas.  The last time I visited was in November 2012, and you can read about it in my review here.  This time, I wanted to review their Christmas afternoon tea, which promised festive delicacies and a setting as warming as mulled wine.  The price for their festive afternoon tea is currently £19.80 per person.

Ambience 5/5
We managed to get seated in the lovely little sitting room just off reception again.  It's quieter than being in the main dining room or the ballroom that they use at particularly busy times, and you get to lounge on sofas and have a bit more of a relaxed time.  The festive decorations were fairly subtle, but charming, and they even had some kind of vessel filled with water and spices, with a flame burning underneath, sending the most wonderful smell of cloves and such into the air.

Crockery 4/5
An assortment of vintage crockery is used, but your party will always have a matching set of cup, saucer, and plate - they don't do the shabby-chic mismatched look.  It's all very smart.  The cakestands also have vintage china plates on them, but the teapots are mysteriously chinese themed ones, the heavy metal ones that I could barely lift, let alone any of the elderly ladies that come for tea.

Cake 5/5
Yes, there is cake.  But there is also a fabulous selection of patisserie, and mini dessert delights.  On this visit, we had mini raspberry trifles, freshly baked warm scones, profiteroles, rum babas, fruit tartlets, and of course, no festive afternoon tea would be complete without mini mince pies, stollen, yule log and fruit cake.  Part of the joy of not being able to finish all the cake is taking it home in the lovely white gift boxes marked proudly with 'The Angel' on a sticker.

Sandwiches 5/5
I swear that these get nicer each time I visit.  On this occasion, we had egg mayonnaise, salmon, cheese and a particularly delicious festive turkey sandwich complete with cranberry sauce and stuffing.  They do the sandwiches properly - fresh bread, crusts removed, just the right amount of filling.  I could have eaten a whole cakestand's worth of these, never mind the cake!

The Tea 5/5
My sister and I tried the Christmas Blend, the description of which is pictured below.  It did indeed go well with the selection of cakes, but I do love spiced black teas generally.  If that doesn't sound like your thing, The Angel has an extensive tea menu, including green, herbal and rooibos teas.  My mother went for a coffee as she doesn't drink tea, and said it was really good.

Service 4/5
Service was attentive, efficient, and polite.  Mysteriously, as the clock struck 5, the visits stopped, and that's when we actually needed somebody to box up our uneaten treats and gives us the bill.  So I am sorry to dock a point on this one!

Overall 5/5
It's worth the money, you won't be disappointed.  Now that the festivies are over and we face the long stretch of dark winter through January and February, The Angel is a good cosy spot to hole up on a rainy and dull afternoon over the winter, even in you don't go for afternoon tea, pop in for a coffee or a cocktail.  You can't help but feel cheery in the lovely interior, especially if you can grab a spot in the bar when they have the real fire lit.  Abergavenny is lovely for a potter around as well.  It's gone a bit posh recently with the addition of some nice looking home and gift shops, and there's always something going on in the market hall.  Don't worry though, there's still a good selection of charity shops if that's more your thing!

Have you ever been to The Angel?  Or do you have somewhere that you keep going back to, time after time, for a good afternoon tea?