Our Pick of the Best Cream Teas in Cornwall 

We take Cream Tea very seriously in Cornwall: moist, crumbly scones straight from the oven, jam that’s packed with Cornish-grown strawberries, and clotted cream made from cows grazing in ocean-side pastures. Always jam before cream, if you please. Then there’s the matter of where to tuck into this afternoon delight that perfectly fills the gap between lunch and dinner.

So, with much research under our bulging belts, here are our tried-and-tested top spots for Cream Tea in Cornwall – from clifftop cafés to woodland tea rooms. 

Prideaux Place, Padstow 

Where better to start your Cornish cream tea tour than in a grand Elizabethan manor in Padstow, right on the doorstep of Harbour Holidays HQ? Just a short stroll from your Padstow holiday cottage, this local attraction is well worth a visit. Take a seat in the Old School Room, or in the summer months choose the marquee on the terrace, where you can tuck into a delectable cream tea overlooking the Deer Park that rolls to the edge of the twinkling estuary.

Sipping tea from bone china, accompanied by just-baked scones topped with lashings of clotted cream, you’ll feel as if you’re having afternoon tea with the local gentry who’ve lived at Prideaux Place for fourteen generations. 

Berryfields Tearoom, Porthcothan

The scone maker at Berryfields, tucked away on a holiday park just up the hill from Porthcothan Bay, has become somewhat of a local celeb for the quality of the crumbly, oven-fresh delights that lure cream tea lovers from far and wide. Whether you’ve come straight from the beach, your holiday home in Porthcothan, or are winding your way along the coast road from Padstow to Mawgan Porth, be sure to stop and sample the famous heart-shaped scones served with piles of fresh strawberries. 

Rest a While Tea Garden, Hawkers Cove, Padstow

On clement days there are few better locations for just-out-of-the-oven scones served with a view than this tiny tea garden tucked just off the South West Coast Path at Hawker’s Cove. There are traditional, savoury, gluten free and vegan cream teas available, all served from a little hatch about 45 minutes’ walk along the South West Coast Path from Padstow, making it the perfect pit stop on route to Stepper Point and Trevone. However, there’s only outdoor seating, so opening hours are entirely weather dependent!

Camel Trail Tea Garden, nr Wadebridge

If you’re undertaking the off-road Camel Trail between Padstow and Bodmin, whether you’re on a bike or on foot, no doubt you’ll have worked up an appetite along its 18 miles. So where better to feed your rumbling tum than the orchard setting of the Camel Trail Tea Garden, tucked in the woodland between Wadebridge and Bodmin? Pause in the pretty surroundings, and after oven-fresh scones topped with generous dollops of jam and Cornish clotted cream, all washed down with a pot of tea, your pedal power will be fully recharged for the return leg to Padstow. 

St Mawgan Tea Room

Tucked away in the leafy village of St Mawgan you’ll find the perfect café for afternoon tea. Dive into heavenly homemade scones smothered in jam and cream whilst relaxing in the flower-filled suntrap garden or under the cover of grape-laden vines within the conservatory. If you’re staying in holiday accommodation in Mawgan Porth, work up an appetite along an easy 30-minute walk along the winding footpath that links the beach with St Mawgan. If you’re wanting more than cream tea, the cafe also serves doorstep sandwiches packed with a variety of fillings or you can opt for the local’s favourite – a savoury cream tea consisting of a cheese scone, cream cheese, apple slices and farm made chutney. There are some vegan and gluten free cakes too.

Carnewas Tearooms, Bedruthan Steps

A personal favourite come rain or shine, this traditional family-run tearoom beckons you into the warm glow of a cosy historic mining stable when you need shelter, and out into a delightful sea-view garden when you want to bask in the sun. Its proximity to the iconic natural wonder of Bedruthan Steps is far from the only reason to come here; for the bouncy, warm and wonderful scones, piled high with homemade jam and Cornish clotted cream, are as much of an attraction as the mighty rock stacks that put this location on the map in the first place. 

Trevathan Farm, St Endellion, nr Port Isaac

As a pick-your-own strawberry farm that makes its own jam to dollop onto home-baked scones, there are few better spots for cream tea in North Cornwall. Trevathan is a family favourite after a day on any of the beaches around Port Isaac and Rock, there’s a huge lawn with tractors, petting animals and a play park for the kids, as well as a large indoor restaurant and farm shop; so you can stock up on all the ingredients you need to make delicious cream tea back at home. 

Gwenna Tea House, Porth 

Slip away from the shore at Newquay’s Porth Beach into a historic tea house in a stone cottage that dates back to the 1600s. Duck inside, or bask in the sub-tropical water’s edge garden, to sip English Breakfast Tea from bone china cups and devour warm, fluffy scones topped with homemade jam and clotted cream. Hop here on the Atlantic Coaster bus from Padstow, and you might well be tempted to add a mini bottle of Prosecco to your tea tray. And, if you’ve got any dietary requirements, there’s vegan cream tea with whipped oat cream. 

Woods Café, Cardinham Woods, nr Bodmin

Trailing dogs and kids on most of our adventures, Cardinham Woods has become a family favourite for hiking, cycling and scone-scoffing days out. We’ve lured little legs and muddy paws along miles of footpaths and bike trails, with the promise of tea and cake at the end of the track. And while the children change their mind about the best cake on the Woods Café counter, I’d wager that you can’t beat the classic scones served with jam, cream and a pot of Tregothnan’s tea; or would it be the savoury option with cheese scones, cream cheese, chutney and Davidstow cheddar? 

The Headland, Newquay

In a county that’s famous for surfing and scones, it’s fitting that you can pair the two with a decadent afternoon tea overlooking Cornwall’s most famous surfing beach – Fistral. Whether you linger inside or out at Newquay’s landmark hotel, the world-class surf will vie for your attention as you indulge in homemade scones with lashings of jam and cream. And being in a location where lavish tea parties have been thrown for almost a century, you might even want to glam up the experience with a flute of Champagne, or even opt for the Headland’s full Afternoon Tea spread with finger sandwiches and sweet pastries. There’s even a ‘Free From’ alternative to cater for plant-based diets. 

The Cabin Café, Crackington Haven

Hemmed by jagged sea cliffs that collapse onto a rocky shoreline, Crackington Haven is a remote and rugged beach worth driving an hour from Padstow to find. Whether you adventure at sea level or climb to mighty heights to take in the view from the highest cliffs in Cornwall, you’ll have surely earned a traditional Cornish cream tea back at The Cabin Café. Here sandy paws, salty locks and sandy beach kids are welcomed in to fill up on scones topped with Rodda’s Clotted Cream and Boddingtons Strawberry Jam, served with a pot of Tregothnan Tea.

The Jam Pot Cafe, Gwithian 

Whether you’re fresh out of the surf or have been padding along St Ives Bay’s three miles of pearly sands, seek out this local’s gem hidden in a historic coastguard lookout. Tucked in the marram-knitted dunes behind Gwithian Beach, you can peek out to the waves and the lighthouse from this unique little ‘pot’ shaped building. The Jam Pot is the place to hunker inside from the weather, or bask on the picnic benches for a quintessential Cornish cream tea.

Wavecrest Café, Lizard Point

Head for a day trip to the south-westerly tip of Britain for lashings of dramatic coastal scenery served alongside your Cornish cream tea. Wavecrest’s pretty wooden chalet with indoor and outdoor seating isn’t just famous for its views, or sightings of seals, cormorants and choughs. Here they have been serving traditional cream teas since the 1930s, so they’ve had plenty of time to perfect the warm, crumbly texture of the scones. And the result is definitely worth toasting with that extra glass of Prosecco.

Order a Cornish Cream Tea to Your Holiday Cottage

When you’re tucked up in your seaside Cornish holiday cottage, you might choose to take it easy and order a traditional Cornish cream tea to be delivered to your door. Whatever you decide, don’t miss out on this local food experience on your next holiday in Cornwall.