EDB editor Leanne Fawcett popped along to Humbles café on Seaham sea front with her mam, Margaret, to sample afternoon tea. Let’s see what they thought…
Nestled in the heart of Seaham’s thriving café and restaurant district, right on the seafront, sits Humbles café.
From the outside the café appears small and unassuming but step inside and you’re welcomed into a boho eatery that’s boldly, but tastefully, decorated with little pops of colour and artificial flowers in every corner.
The café, owned by Andrea Humble for 14 years, serves up breakfast and lunch with options including everything from a full English and omelettes with your own choice of fillings, to salads, main meals (including fish and chips, Humbles steak pie and gammon steak) and a large choice of sandwiches, paninis and wraps.
But it was afternoon tea my mam and I were there to try.
There are four options to choose from: Cream Tea, which includes freshly prepared sandwiches, a variety of cakes and a choice of speciality teas; Mini Tea, which includes scones with jam and clotted cream and a selection of cakes; High Tea, which is the same as the Cream Tea but with a glass of prosecco; or the Seaside Tea, which comes with fish goujons, hand cut chips and mushy peas with fresh bread and butter.
We opted for the Cream Tea, and selected tuna mayonnaise and ham and honey mustard sandwiches (other choices included cheese savoury, cheese and pickle, egg, lettuce, tomato and salad cream, and prawn in Marie Rose sauce).
For drinks, I ordered a standard tea (lots of other options were available, but I’m a puritan when it comes to my tea) and my mam ordered a pot of coffee.
When it came, what we were presented with was as much of a work of art than something to be consumed.
The two shelves were stacked full of tasty treats, the bottom shelf including our sandwiches with a lovely little lettuce and carrot strip salad and savoury cheese scones, while the top shelf included our cakes which consisted of a fruit scone with jam and clotted cream, a chocolate éclair, macarons, a ‘cauliflower cake’ (I’ll come onto that in a moment), a strawberry cream tart and a peach melba.
Now let me tell you about the sandwiches. Made on deliciously soft brown bread, the fillings were simply wonderful, with special mention for the ham which was so thick it could have passed for a gammon steak. Andrea told us she gets this from Angus Butchers in Seaham, which she slices each day ready for sandwiches and salads. Yummy!
After our sandwiches, we moved onto the sweet side of our afternoon tea.
Now, my mam and I have sweet teeth – we’re not ashamed to admit it – but we knew from the outset there was no chance we were going to get through everything. But, not to worry, we’d been told there were boxes so anything not eaten could be taken away with us (much to my eldest kids’ delight).
We started with the fruit scones which were just perfect. Mini in size, they were so fresh with the right crusty to soft ratio that is a must when it comes to these English showstoppers.
I polished off the macarons, one orange and one raspberry, while my mam had the ‘cauliflower cake’.
For those not familiar with them (I count myself in that category) they are a sponge cake encased in a marzipan jacket, topped with cream and a fresh strawberry. For my mam, this transported her straight back to her childhood, when apparently these were very popular and she polished the whole thing off.
We also put a dent in one of the cream cakes, but at that point we had to admit defeat and got the rest boxed up.
It certainly didn’t go to waste though, and it all got the Quin and Darcey Fawcett seal of approval, after they polished off what was left.
If you’re in the area, please do pop along to Humbles. Speaking to Andrea, she told us that although the day we visited was particularly busy, helped by Easter holidays and the sunny weather, some days can be like a ghost town, with the cost of produce having a serious impact on footfall and at times, it being harder now than during Covid.
Humbles is a real jewel in Seaham’s crown so let’s look after it. We will certainly go back and I guarantee if you pay it a visit, you will not leave disappointed.
