This week we revisited one of our favourite Northern afternoon tea spots for a new Manchester-inspired menu in aid of the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund in partnership with the British Red Cross and the Manchester Pride Charity.
Served in the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel's contemporary Opus One bar which looks out onto Peter Street from the city's Free Trade Hall, the high ceilings adorned with bespoke crimson fixtures and ebony furnishing mean you will feel just at home sipping a cocktail as you will sampling its latest tea.
The theme is #BeeProud. Think Manchester, the symbolic bee, local favourites and you might have a good idea of what this tea consists of. But think again. The Radisson Blu has truly gone all out with this one, swapping out its traditional offering for a selection of thoughtful, artisan bites that will leave you needing around 30 minutes just to take enough Instagram-worthy photos - or maybe that’s just us.
To start, the sandwich selection is very good; honey roast ham with mustard on brioche, smoked salmon with lemon butter on rye, roast beef with horseradish on sourdough, and cheese and red onion on soda. A mix of breads always wins points with us and extra thumbs up for the delicious salmon filling (the cheese and red onion was a close second!).
Then to the scones, a plain and fruit scone each, served warm with strawberry jam and cream. As always, they were delicious and when we opted to leave a scone each to ensure we had enough room for cake, we were given an extra pot of jam to take home with our leftovers - a very nice touch.
Finally, the dessert selection is where the Manchester theme shines through. This included a classic Manchester tart, Eccles cake, honeycomb shortbread with cream (black and white of course), and cheesecake with caramel spiral art and pop corn on top. An impressive arrangement of sweets and a really sophisticated way of incorporating the #BeeProud theme without going over the top. Our favourites were the Manchester tart and the cheesecake which was as tasty as it was pretty.
To accompany, we each opted for pots of tea, earl grey and English breakfast, which were generously refreshed throughout, and also a glass of champagne - we are celebrating Afternoon Tea Week after all!
Special mention must go to the great staff at the Opus One who made sure we had everything we needed for a lovely afternoon and kindly boxed up the few cakes we couldn’t manage, to go (it’s very unlike us to be defeated by cake!).
Overall this is a fabulous tea and the fact that proceeds are going to a great local charity makes it all the more worthwhile. If you’re looking for somewhere to indulge in tea and cake this Afternoon Tea Week or perhaps during the Manchester Pride big weekend, we can't recommend this tea enough.
The #BeeProud Manchester afternoon tea at the Radisson Blu Edwardian, Manchester is available from now until 31st August priced at £22.50pp or £29.50pp with Prosecco.
The #BeeProud Manchester afternoon tea at the Radisson Blu Edwardian, Manchester is available from now until 31st August priced at £22.50pp or £29.50pp with Prosecco.
For more info and to book visit https://www.radissonblu-edwardian.com/
We were kindly provided with a complimentary tea for review, but as usual, all thoughts and opinions are very much our own!
It sounds lovely, it looks beige. I think it's missing a chocolate something. I may have to re-visit too.
ReplyDeleteYou should - it's definitely worth the trip!
Delete-C x
I'm free Thursday. They do walk ins.
ReplyDeleteThe sandwiches were great. Some of the pastries were good. One scone was inedible. Disappointing.
ReplyDeleteOh no, really? Did you have the #BEEProud afternoon tea? That's such a shame :(
DeleteIt was the BEEproud. I was put off Afternoon Tea. Another day I went to Brasserie Abode in Piccadilly for AT and my love for it was renewed.
ReplyDelete