Afternoon Tea at The Vicarage, Holmes Chapel

Back in January we took a trip to Knutsford to sample the afternoon tea menu at The Courthouse pub and hotel, part of the Flat Cap Hotels group. It was the perfect kickstart our 2018 afternoon tea calendar, so last week when we were invited to try its sister venue, The Vicarage in Holmes Chapel, naturally we hopped on another train with high cake-expectations. Here’s what we thought … 

First things first, our only pop culture reference to this small Cheshire village is that it is the home of a certain former One Directioner, Harry Styles, so we may or may not have stopped off at his former place of work for a small slab of rocky road to take home. But famous musicians aside, this is a beautiful area and The Vicarage is in a prime spot, just moments away from the village centre and gazing out into the picturesque winter countryside.

The Vicarage is a 17th Century Grade II listed country pub which has been restored to deliver just the right balance of contemporary and country chic. Afternoon tea is served in the attached conservatory which is oozing in natural light - a food bloggers best friend, we can assure you. Similar to The Courthouse, the style is very relaxed but The Vicarage really embraces its rustic surroundings with wooden furnishings restored with a neutral white colour palette, homely bookshelves and mismatched crockery including a commemorative Royal cup and saucer, which we were huge fans of. 

We were greeted straight away and offered a choice of tea or coffee, of which we choose one of each. Hot beverages arrived at the table promptly but our afternoon tea did take a rather long time to follow. Perhaps this isn’t usually the case and whilst it would have been preferable to have been informed of the wait time beforehand, we were sat comfortably enjoying our surroundings so this wasn’t a massive issue.

When the food did arrive however, it was presented beautifully on a floral three-tier stand, garnished with fresh strawberries. To begin, the savoury selection included egg and mayonnaise and ham finger sandwiches along with two open variations featuring pepperade and salmon bruschetta. To find a good dash of colour amongst a savoury selection is a rare and welcome touch and the flavours were well balanced, particularly the pepperade which we thought was delicious and could have happily eaten an entire plate of each!

Next, the scones were huge, adding to that home-cooked feel where portion sizes are always a little more generous than a traditional tearoom. We were pleasantly surprised to find these were cherry scones, which is one of our all-time favourite flavours and accompanied with jam and clotted cream. Sadly, one of the scones was a little undercooked so we stuck to just the one between us - fortunately there was enough to go around, and it was tasty.

Finally, the patisserie selection was good, even just to look at, with lots of textures and accents going on to keep things interesting, if a little citrus-heavy but that's completely dependent on personal taste. We each had a miniature chocolate orange slice, frangipane and lemon tart. Our favourite was a toss up between the frangipane and the chocolate orange. One, because the first was different and two because, well ... chocolate. You can't really go wrong.

Overall our afternoon tea at The Vicarage was good. Service was great, the environment was beautiful and though there were a couple of things that could be improved upon for next time, this is a really lovely spot for an afternoon in the country side, and at £15pp it is a steal. 

Plus, the restaurant will be serving up a special savoury afternoon tea just in time for Mother’s Day -  March 11th, FYI. We’re big fans of a savoury tea option and would recommend giving it a try if mini pies and toad in the holes are more your thing than delicate finger fare.  

For more information and to book, visit: http://www.thevicaragecheshire.com/ 

Afternoon Tea at The Chester Grosvenor

London tends to steal the limelight in a conversation about the best places for a classic afternoon tea experience. But we would argue, we’re quite lucky here in the North West to have some distinguished venues that offer a traditional tea experience, such as Crewe Hall or The Midland in Manchester, that don’t require a two-hour Pendolino trip down south. One that seemed to fit the bill and had been on our list for a while upon recommendation from friends (aren’t we supposed to be the tea experts around here?), was The Chester Grosvenor, so we decided to check it out last month. 

You can’t get much more central Chester than this hotel, situated right in the middle of town amongst the flurry of shoppers on Eastgate Street and practically on my doorstep, it wins at the location game. Afternoon tea is served in the The Arkle Bar, a sophisticated lounge seeped in deep greens and mahogany, offering a similar atmosphere to that of our favourite London tea venue, The Milestone. Good start. 

There are three types of tea to choose from: Traditional, Gentleman’s and Indulgent. We went for the Indulgent (because why not?), which comes with a glass of champagne and strawberries with clotted cream. As regular afternoon tea-goers, those kinds of touches always stand out for us and the fresh strawberries were delicious. 

Soon after, tea arrived on a three-tier silver stand, a pretty selection of sandwiches, scones and cakes but nothing too thrilling. We tucked into the sandwiches, flavours included, beef and horseradish, ham and tomato, salmon, and cheese and onion. A good choice of flavours and once finished, we were offered a refill so eagerly topped up on the salmon.

Then on to the scones of which there were two each; one fruit, one plain. The scones were quite small but in my opinion - and as someone who's eyes are usually bigger than their stomach - this is a good thing because you never want to overload on scones and leave no room for cake. 

Finally the cake selection, which while absolutely beautiful, did feel a little lacking. We noticed a few tables around us seemed to have a slightly different variation of cakes to ours but that said, the ones we did have were very good and faultlessly decorated. This included a strawberry cheesecake topped with white chocolate and fruit, a raspberry pie, chocolate and lemon on a biscuit base, and polenta cake with pistachio. It’s quite common with afternoon tea to not get two of everything, and that’s fine unless you both end up fighting over the chocolate cake, but I think for an ‘indulgent’ afternoon tea, two cakes each just didn’t feel enough and perhaps a couple more would have done the job. As a side note, we did spot a table next to us were offered a refill, whether this is usual for this afternoon tea or because we were the last sitting of the day, we can’t say for definite but unfortunately we were not offered a cake top up. 

To drink we went for Earl Grey and coffee which came served in one of the most beautiful tea sets we have seen. The coffee pot in particular had an almost steampunk vibe to it which gave the setting a little quirky kick.

This is undoubtedly a ‘traditional’ afternoon tea from the venue right down to the sandwich fillings and while that can be a good thing, it can also mean it misses the wow factor. This is often why ‘traditional’ or ‘classic’ is a tricky game to play. Not everyone needs punk fries or brioche with dipping chocolate to stand out from the crowd but there still needs to be something that makes it special. At £45pp the Indulgent Champagne Afternoon Tea is not the cheapest and therefore I would have expected a little more, particularly when you compare to some London venues which are on parr with the price and offer a lot more for your money. But if classic is your style and you’re looking for a luxury tea setting up North, then this could be right up your street.

Words - Laura
Photography - Caroline

The London Carriage Works, Liverpool

As avid afternoon tea goers and notebook hoarders, we’ve compiled a pretty long wish list of teas we plan to visit. Of that list, there are a growing number of local offerings around the North West that we keep adding to in the event of those random, free Sunday afternoons where you just want to do nothing but eat cake and be happy. We did just that and ticked one of those places off the list recently when we visited The London Carriage Works in Liverpool.

Situated on Hope Street, The London Carriage Works is a little off the beaten track from the city centre buzz but with neighbours such as the Liverpool Philharmonic and Everyman Playhouse, it’s in good company in the city’s beautiful Georgian Quarter.

Huge windows joined together by masts of exposed brick mean the restaurant is flooded with natural light (a bonus right there for bloggers like us wanting to take lots of photos!). The environment is laid back with dark wood and red tones throughout, broken up by gorgeous glass fixtures cascading head to toe.

Its afternoon tea offering leans heavily on the classics with all of the traditional fillings and flavours you would imagine but that worked really well here and benefited from some notable updates. Starting with a glass of champagne, we opted to wash our tea down with pots of earl grey and coffee. 

Heading straight to the finger sandwiches, fillings included egg and watercress, cheese and onion, salmon and cucumber, and lightly curried chicken. A good balance of flavours, opting to do away with the standard cucumber, by instead incorporating with fresh salmon - an ATC fave, making this one a clear winner.

Then the scones arrived warm served with clotted cream, fresh strawberries and jam. These were delicious and a good size too with plenty of cream to go around - there is nothing worse than having to be frugal with a cream tea!

Finally the patisserie selection presented a colourful collection of old favourites including Battenberg, lemon cake, chocolate and coconut macaroon, and a chocolate and orange layer cake. A perfectly balanced selection (if that can ever be true of cake) which left us feeling full but not so full that we had to roll ourselves down Mount Pleasant on the way back to the train station!

We really enjoyed this tea. Great setting, tasty food and special mention must go to the great service too, as the staff were really friendly and kept our teapots topped. At £17pp (£26 with champagne) it’s also reasonably priced for a quick stop tea and definitely worth adding to your own tea wish-list for the next time you’re in the city. 

For more information and to book visit: http://www.thelondoncarriageworks.co.uk/ 

The Afternoon Tea Club Reviews: Proper Tea, Manchester

In spite of its traditional customaries, sometimes Afternoon Tea should be less about the formalities and more about friends getting together for a chat over some good cake and tea. That’s exactly the order of the day at Proper Tea in Manchester as we discovered on a recent sunny Sunday afternoon.

Nestled amongst the city’s Cathedral, Proper Tea is a rustic haven of mismatched teapots, homemade pastries and stripped back furniture on checkerboard tiles.

If you fancy treating yourself to more than a coffee and quick slice of one of the many cakes on the counter (all of which looked AMAZING), Proper Tea's Afternoon Tea offering is a reasonably priced option, presented in your standard three tiers but with an interesting arrangement.

To start, the top layer comes two stodgy toasted sandwiches, each filled with pastrami, gherkins and cheese. A really good alternative to the finger sandwich assorted we’ve come to expect from but considering it’s such a huge part of the meal, it would have been nice to have had a choice of sandwich filling (Caroline’s not a fan of red meat and I’m not on great terms with cheese - nothing to declare any dietary requirements over - however a quick switcheroo and we were sorted) so we would recommend asking if there's a choice when you arrive. 

In addition to this, the savoury palette continues on the next tier with spinach and cheese and tomato pastries, mini toad in the hole and veggie pies. We’re big fans of a gentleman’s afternoon tea so we liked these a lot and the range of flavours was really good.

Finally the bottom tier features a pretty array of mini cakes and giant scone to share - a heart shaped scone none the less! There are 6 miniature sweets, all completely different so you’ll have to fight over who gets the chocolate and hazelnut, but the eclectic selection means Proper Tea has covered all basis from pistachio to raspberry and lemon and everything else in between.




Overall this is a really nice Afternoon Tea, it's quite different than a lot of other similarly contemporary teas we've tried and the tea shop itself is a gorgeous environment. It's definitely the kind of Afternoon Tea you would want to spontaneously pop in on one weekend. Plus it hosts a fantastic range of loose leaf teas for you to try so if you're a tea obsessive or a just a fan of a good old breakfast tea, you will be spoilt by this extensive menu.

Sparkling Afternoon Tea is priced at £20pp.

For more info and to book visit: http://properteadeveloper.com/

The Afternoon Tea Club Reviews: Edgar House, Chester

Easter is upon us which means chocolate upon chocolate, easter egg hunts and cute baby chicks and bunnies. For those who like their weekends filled with cake and tea, that also means welcoming in those Easter themed Afternoon Tea menus. We spent the afternoon in Chester to try out Edgar House’s new Limited Edition Spring Afternoon tea.

Situated inside the City Walls overlooking the River Dee, this beautiful Georgian building is the ideal setting for a spot of Afternoon Tea and cake on a sunny spring afternoon.

Tea is served in the Twenty2 restaurant, a boutique lounge-style dining room kitted out with plump, studded seating, colourful artwork, a stunning fireplace and bookshelves which make you feel as though you’re sat in someone’s front room, albeit a luxurious one.

Food comes served on your standard three tier setting. The first layer includes a good selection of sandwiches on an interesting range of breads with fillings including, thick cut ham and tomato, cheese and onion, egg and mayo and pastrami. 

To follow, scones are served warm (though by the time we had spent our obligatory 20 minutes taking photos, they had started to cool!) with jam and cream. These could probably have benefited from a little more jam between two guests, but the scones themselves were really tasty and fresh.

Finally the sweet selection offers a vibrant mix of flavours which play on the seasonal theme with two easter chick chocolate truffles joined by rich chocolate tarts, lemon cake and mixed berry mousse. The mousse was delicious but as it’s Easter, we loved the chocolate trend running through the dessert palette and made sure we scoffed every last bit. 

To accompany we each went for a standard Earl Grey and coffee - does the job! 

Overall this is a lovely Afternoon Tea in a really beautiful setting. At £19.75pp it’s priced on parr with similar teas in the area and £2 of every Afternoon Tea goes to Clatterbridge cancer charity - cake with a conscious, that’s what we like to see!

If you’re in Chester this Summer, we would highly recommend stopping by for Afternoon Tea or even just to sample the al fresco dining on the terrace and watch the world go by from the Walls. 

For more info and to book, visit: http://edgarhouse.co.uk/

The Afternoon Tea Club Reviews: Tower Ballroom, Blackpool

Blackpool rock, The Illuminations, The Big One - there are many things that Blackpool is famous for but perhaps the biggest one, the one you spot first when driving up from the M55, is the iconic Blackpool Tower. Last month, we took a trip to the seaside to visit this historic landmark for a spot of Afternoon Tea. Cue ballroom dancers, finger sandwiches and something called a Wurlitzer.

Tea is taken in the Tower Ballroom where tables surround the dance floor which is in full swing with couples waltzing away to the Tower’s resident organist - a particularly exciting sight for these two Strictly Come Dancing fans! The decor here is spectacular, the details are so rich and ornate brushed with golds and deep reds, it really makes you feel as though you’ve been swept away to a completely different time. 

The tables are already set with blue traditional style wares and guests are allotted an hour and 30 minutes sitting and a choice of teas or coffee to start, we opted for pots of both. 

There’s something so northern about this experience, the finger sandwiches are simple, laid back, “everyone’s favourite” kind of flavours presented alongside a handful of salted crisps, they’re not super fancy deconstructed creations that you might find in a London hotel, but that’s perfect for this place and set amongst the backdrop of one of the most beautiful venues you could ever hope to visit, it’s already got the upper hand. Flavours include a range of ham, beef and cheese - caution, these sandwiches do go quite heavy on the cheese so if you’re not a fan, it’s probably worth mentioning so in your booking for an alternative. For us, we would have liked some salmon or chicken fillings but there was plenty to pick from regardless. 

Sandwiches are followed shortly by a large fruit scone each, accompanied by individual jams and huge dollop of clotted cream and finally a range of miniature sweets including; chocolate tiffin, strawberry and cream meringue, honeycomb and fudge bite, and a fruit tart. It’s a really pretty and balanced mix of cakes, none of which are too heavy, and our favourite had to be the sweet and light meringue.

We left feeling nicely full and ready to go score some tokens in the famous seafront arcades. Overall, this tea is pleasantly informal and there’s a unique atmosphere to be found here, something that remained throughout our visit with the hall steadily full of people. It’s quite magical to think that every weekend, there are hundreds of people spending their afternoons twirling around in a grand ballroom and stopping to partake in something as simple as finger sandwiches and tea. We’re so glad we got to experience it, and highly recommend that you do too. 

Tea for Two is priced at £50. For more information and to book visit: www.theblackpooltower.com

Whilst we were provided with a complementary afternoon tea for review, all thoughts and opinions are our own!

Hello Kitty at Cutter & Squidge

Mimmy's Pink Lemonade

If there are four words that are going to have us jump on the next train to London, they are ‘Hello Kitty Afternoon Tea’. Throw in a Secret Garden and you’ve got two very excited bloggers.

Cutter & Squidge, a Soho-based cafe has been offering its Kitty-themed Afternoon Tea since June but it has proved so popular that even ATC couldn’t bag a booking before last weekend!

For this special tea, guests are guided by a trail of pink Hello Kitty bows to the downstairs Secret Garden which is suitably kitted out with artificial leafy green vines, flowers and a plush Hello Kitty tree. The tearoom itself is rather small so it’s not the quiet tea experience that some traditionalists may be familiar with, but the lively atmosphere complements the playful theme here well.

Kitty's Chocolate Mud Pie

To start guests are given an old school glass bottle of Mimmy’s Pink Lemonade and a choice of Loose Leaf tea including a special Hello Kitty blend. We went for our usual English Breakfast and Earl Grey.

The main event comes presented in a unique bamboo steamer style stand with a total of five layers to get through. The novel presentation did prove a little tricky on such a small table but nothing a little plate shuffling couldn’t fix. 

First we tucked into the sandwich selection which included cucumber and cream cheese, salmon and chives, cheese and red onion and the deliciously different, hummus and pepper. We just had to ask for more.

For the all-important scones, Cutter & Squidge have gone for a savoury twist offering cheese scones with red pepper relish and cream cheese. An interesting but fitting choice for such a sweets-heavy menu and there were also some delicious mini coronation crackers to go with it.

Savoury cheese scones

On to the sweets and there are whole three layers to work through but that’s never been a bad thing in our books. Particular highlights included the cake truffle, Kitty’s Chocolate Mud Pie and Mimmy’s Pink Lemonade Marshmallow which amazingly does have a real lemonade fizz to it. Many of the desserts come with a Kitty theme whether shaped like her, dyed pink or decorated with her signature bow. As pretty as some of the creations were we felt that the tea lacked the wow-factor that we had hoped for in a Kitty-themed palette and would have liked to have seen a bit more colour and fun thrown in to really make the most of the theme. That said some of the sweets tasted absolutely amazing and we would recommend even just popping into the shop for a slice of cake.

Tea with Kitty

The overall experience was pleasant and it was nice to try a tea with a fun twist. As you would expect from a Hello Kitty event, it’s very family friendly which, in such an intimate space might be a little off-putting to those used to the classic relaxed afternoon tea experience. On the other hand, it’s a good place to pass an afternoon during the school summer holidays that’s a treat for both parents and kids alike. 

Kitty cakes

At £40pp, the tea is on parr with neighbouring venues in the City and value-wise, everything is unlimited within your one hour and 20 minute time slot. Children (8 and under) can choose the Tiny Tea for £20pp. The Hello Kitty Afternoon Tea is available at Cutter & Squidge until 14th September. For more information and to book visit: http://cutterandsquidge.com/

Afternoon Tea in the Sky

Most people start their January with a good detox, cutting back on the cake and getting rid of all ‘merry’ evidence of the Christmas and New Year festivities - or at least trying to.

However, I began my year on a work trip to Las Vegas, hardly the epicentre of detox juices and salads but rather the home of excess and extravagance or in my case, a big welcome dollop of cream and ten sugars, in my morning cup of coffee.

I had no idea where our first afternoon tea adventure was going to take place this year and I certainly didn’t expect it to happen at 30,000 ft. up in the clouds but that’s exactly what happened on a tired-eyed British Airways' flight from Heathrow to Las Vegas, painfully soon after NYE.

We’d heard of BA’s afternoon tea but still we weren’t too sure what to expect from what would be ATC's highest tea experience yet.

Tasty cakes.

Served in the Business Class cabin, this tea was a welcome change to the usual cheese and crackers pack we’re used to snacking on mid-flight.

Layered tea stands don’t exactly make for the most practical form of food presentation in the air, so the tea arrived on three separate dishes, with scones served from a basket, allowing you to choose which ones you wanted.

Birds eye view from the sky.

Starting with a good, fresh selection of sandwiches including egg mayonnaise, prawn and beef and a choice of tea of coffee, there was a good mix of flavours on the menu. Followed by scones (and by the looks of it, as many as you would have liked!) accompanied by a pot of jam and clotted cream and finally a selection of cakes to finish (French fancie, tiffin slice and brandy cake), this was a dainty but delicious afternoon treat.

On the ground, this tea is probably best compared to some of the more simple afternoon tea menus we have sampled such as that at the Radisson Blu – basic but ticks most boxes of a good afternoon tea. For the added novelty of taking tea in the sky, it’s definitely up there with others around the £15/20 price point.

If you find yourself jetting off to somewhere special soon and fancy a bit of luxury, I would high-ly recommend this - Laura

Afternoon Tea is available on selected long-haul British Airways flights in Business and First Class. For more information go to: www.britishairways.com