Is there any better way to spend an autumnal day than by going for a peaceful country walk, wrapped up in your favourite coat and woolly hat, and topping off the afternoon with some good food? We think not, and though most people around us were enjoying a good Sunday roast (which looked amazing, FYI) our trip to The Bridge, Prestbury was of course for our preferred Sunday afternoon treat, afternoon tea.
Recently refurbished, this Cheshire-based find, a short 10-minute drive from Macclesfield, is an idyllic place for tea. Outside, it has the charm of your go-to countryside pub with a modern splash of white and sage green, but inside, the styling in earthy tones, pinks and greys with floral decoration cascading from the walls and upholstery, gives it a feel of a contemporary restaurant akin to the The Botanist (another of our faves). Similar to its sister venue, The Vicarage in Holmes Chapel, part of the Flat Cap Hotels group which we paid a visit to earlier this year, it's light, open and brimming with both rural charisma and modern style. Can we just move in, please?
But on to the main event, the food. The Bridge offers both a standard afternoon tea priced at £17.95 or prosecco tea for £21.95 - good news for gin fans, you can also opt for G&T. With the offer of prosecco, we of course obliged. The floral theme continues on the menu as our tea arrived on a three-tier stand, packed with colour and some of the most intricately decorated cakes we have seen on our recent travels. Bright pink cake with gold flecks? Count us in.
We started with an assortment of finger sandwiches with a range of breads and fillings including egg mayonnaise, ham, tomato and mustard, and salmon. The sandwiches were all wonderfully fresh and the salmon in particular, which is always a winner, was just delicious. The only fault here was on our part in that we didn't ask for more!
Then on to the scones, a good size and top marks for the absolute holy grail of afternoon tea standards for us - a pot of jam and pot of cream, each! Not needing to worry about being sparing with the preserve, we lobbed the lot on to our fruit scones, lightly dusted with icing sugar, and they were fab.
On to the final tier and to those beautiful bold creations we mentioned earlier. The selection of homemade cakes (two of each, always a plus) were decorated to perfection and featured a range of contrasting flavours. This included a miniature lemon cake in the style of a rose, a berry mousse on a biscuit base, and a cream pastry topped with rhubarb flavours, and of course, those beautiful gold flakes. Though we adored the detail of the latter, our favourite had to be the lemon cake; bitesized, pretty, packed with flavour and it really complemented the restaurant’s interior style.
Overall, we were really impressed by The Bridge. The restaurant itself is beautiful and the food can’t be faulted. If you’re looking for somewhere to unwind this weekend or treat yourself to a winter warmer without breaking the bank, we would certainly recommend adding it to your list. With seasonal menus featuring locally sourced ingredients - we already can't wait to come back for Spring.
For more information and to book, visit: https://thebridgecheshire.com