Before catching the train home I went into Peckham's for tea and a little something. Peckham's does table service so I found a space at the end of a table already occupied by a couple and their daughter, ordered an earl grey tea with lemon, and asked what kind of cakey things they had. The waitress showed me to the counter in the shop and I quickly scanned for something suitable. It was all a bit more decadent than I wanted (alas, no scones here!) so I ordered a slice of an innocuous looking lemon and yoghurt sponge. And what a slice it was! One of the biggest pieces of cake I've ever been served (outside the privacy of my own home, obviously), it was also one of the densest - indeed my fork and spoon were barely up to the job. It was served on a plate "garnished" with two blackberries, a cherry, and a drizzle of maple syrup (which doesn't go at all well with lemon, in my opinion). I should have known what lay in store from the fact that the family group beside me had one plate and three forks between them.... Still, I was up for the challenge and gamely did my best, but my fork was no match for the outside edge of the "sponge" and I was defeated. My sense of defeat was deepened when I took my bill to the main till in the shop (not a good arrangement as you have to queue behind people actually shopping, making a quick getaway to the railway station difficult) and was charged £5.25: £1.50 for the tea (which was, by the way, an unlabelled tea bag served alongside a pot of hot water - my pet hate as you have to add the teabag to the water when it should most assuredly be the other way around) and a mighty £3.75 for the cake! Good grief. So, while the cake was pleasant enough and certainly generously proportioned, it was very pricey, "garnished" with a completely non-complementary syrup, and accompanied by a pot of tea served in completely the wrong way. I won't be hurrying back.
http://www.peckhams.co.uk/USQ1.htm
Visited 4.30pm Saturday 14 May
