Scones in London

Personally I think scones are much of a muchness, and mostly exist as a vehicle for loads of butter, jam and clotted cream.

Heretically, some of the nicest I’ve had have been packs from M&S as sometimes in cafes I find they’ve gone a bit dry.

Although that said, I do enjoy a cream tea in a museum cafe.

A scone is a scone is a scone. Personal favourite is cheese, and as close to home made as possible

Marks and Spencer.

Jam first, then cream.

I agree, Kernow, but that’s because I also put butter on first, and the jam is then a kind of dairy dam.

If you think they’re all the same then you’ve never had a good one! I find almost all bought scones have far too much raising agent in them which gives them a strange taste. They need very light handling to get a decent rise without resorting to a ton of baking powder.

M&S bakery ones (not the ones sold as a packet of 4) are decent.

Scones, like French baguettes and Italian bread, are only at their tender best the day they are baked. The fresher the better. Others are right-buy them at a bakery. Sadly most of the USA have no real bakeries. Grocery stores don’t count, including Wegmans and Publics. Wonderful bakeries might be another reason to travel to Europe. Can you smell the goodness?

Wonderful bakeries is just one more reason why I travel. I especially love fresh scones just out of the oven at any tea shop in England.

Sadly most of the USA have no real bakeries.

A sad truth and if you do find one, prices are extremely high and seem to be visited for special occasions. I certainly don't blame the owners. Rents are so high, they have to charge enormous prices to make any kind of profit.

Not really a scone fan. Probably because I have never had very good ones.

Love scones! Although I found what the US calls a scone and what you find at cafes in the UK are quite different. Can't wait to get back to England and Scotland. I love both variations.

A scone is a scone is a scone

NOTHING could be further from the truth.

Sadly most of the USA have no real bakeries.

Not the case in Atwater Village in Los Angeles. I live just a few blocks away from two notable bakeries - one also serves great breakfasts and sandwiches. In the Bay Area, Acme Bread and Tartine come immediately to mind - and we now have Tartine here in LA as well. Just the tip of the iceberg.

American scones are very different than British scones (and not just the shape). British scones are not as sweet or dense and don't have the plethora of ingredients (chocolate chips, blueberries, apricots, frosting, etc.) that the American scones have. And American scones aren't usually served with cream and jam that accompany British scones because they already have so much stuff in/on them, including about 3 times the butter.

The scones I ever tasted were served at the Fortnum & Mason afternoon tea I went to. After that, nothing else was as good.

markcw, I agree with you that Tartine is a great bakery (I went to the one in SF). No scones there but incredible baked goods.

There are many other really good bakeries in the US, including Sullivan St. Bakery in NYC, Flour Bakery in Boston, Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC, Tartine in SF, Brown Bear Bakery in Cincinnati, and Butter Bakery in Minneapolis. I could go on and on. I love them so much that I have cookbooks from all of them except the last two (and 2 of Flour's cookbooks by Joann Chang).

Thanks everyone!

I would add that a franchised bakery outlet is a franchised bakery outlet. They are all too prominent on London streets.

While their eponymous pastry is not a scone, if you are going to Kew Gardens, I can recommend the Maids of Honour Teashop. They also have wonderful scones, although I can't rank them in a list with others for you. I think they come in multiple scone ingredients, as in currant, raisin, and so on. That pastry is quite wonderful.

Rather enjoyed my scones at Orange Pekoe in Barnes.

And be sure to pronounce it: “sconn”, not “scowne”!

The best ones I’ve ever had in the UK are usually in Scotland, in little tea shops and cafes with home baked goods.

So, this made me look for a bakery in Tucson that might have scones. And it turned out that the one we most often go to has them.

Beyond Bread: https://www.beyondbread.com/. Go to Bakery...Pastry...Breakfast Pastries.

There are many other bakeries in town, but most are very small. Here are 3 that are older, larger or noteworthy.

My husband brought me 3 empanadas home tonight from LeCaves which has been here since 1935: http://www.lecaves.com/.
They don't have the greatest website, but the donuts and pastries are great.

La Estrella is a typical Mexican bakery: https://www.laestrellabakeryincaz.com/.
They have a variety of specialties that you might not expect in a bakery.

And of course there's Barrio Bread: https://www.barriobread.com/bread/bread.html.
Don Guerra won a 2022 James Beard Outstanding Baker award.

I'm not so convinced that there's a dearth of good bakeries in the US. Or maybe we're just lucky in Tucson. In 2015 Tucson was named the first UNESCO City of Gastronomy in the US, but the certification is not about things like fancy restaurants. This Smithsonian article tells what it is about.

We recently went to Fortnum and Mason at 10:00 when they opened and got two of the large fruit scones (and two of the tiny pumpkin pies) from their basement bakery. Delicious! We asked and were allowed to eat them one floor up just out side their cafe, where they have 3 bar tables.

my family for generations have always pronounced it correctly, rhymes with bone, not the upstart way that is all the fashion, rhymes with con - which it is. No prejudice here by the way. Just telling it like it is.

jam first on butter then cream

Nigel:
In Scotland, where I lived for many years, it is “sconnnnn”.
Upstarts and rebels, all of us north of the border!🤣

Visitors should be aware that cream or jam first is a hotly contested issue and it’s actually impossible to eat a cream tea without having the discussion/argument.

FYI: Cream tea is the name of an afternoon treat of scones with clotted cream and jam, served with a pot of tea. You tend to only eat a cream tea when on holiday somewhere rural.

Best scone I had on my last trip was at Tisane's Tearoom in Broadway. Looking forward to discovering a new favorite in September.

A scone is a scone is a scone

There is a cafe in my home town in the UK which does a different flavour of scone each day, all made on the premises. Yesterday it was Rhubarb and Custard, but they have had all sorts of flavours in the past.