We’ve been eyeing up Grandpa Greene’s sweet treats ever since we saw its heavenly-looking Easter hot chocolates earlier this year - yes, that is a full chocolate egg inside that cup. So when we saw the Oldham-based cafe had launched its festive afternoon tea, we quickly booked ourselves a spot for a wintry Monday afternoon.
Grandpa Greene's has two locations in close proximity but its afternoon tea is reserved for its Ice Cream Parlour and Café Bar hidden in the hills of Diggle, Saddleworth. While the cafe has become known for its canalside Igloo Village, we chose to eat in the Indoor Garden Room which gives you cosy countryside views in a toasty setting that’s akin to your traditional farm shop or garden centre cafe. However, the dining pods appeared incredibly popular during our visit, and it’s worth bearing in mind that if you do decide to opt for tea in a pod, you will likely be sharing with other guests unless reserving space for a large group.
Afternoon tea is served with a choice of tea or coffee, plus a cup of hot chocolate complete with cream and marshmallows. We went for a cappuccino and a latte, both served in large, signature GG’s green cups and saucers.
Food arrives on a mini picnic bench style tea stand, and it is probably the most festive-looking picnic you’ll ever see. No item has been spared a sprinkling of festive sugar or indulgent chocolate coating.
To start, there are five sandwiches each, presented in an open style with fillings including turkey and cranberry, egg mayonnaise, cucumber and cream cheese, tuna, and cheese and pickle. We could have happily eaten ten of the turkey and cranberry alone.
Traditional fruit scones come paired with individual pots of jam and cream for each person, which is always a win in our books. The scones were a little difficult to slice into, however, they were a good generous size, particularly given the smorgasbord of sweets that comes next.
Grandpa Greene’s festive afternoon tea is exactly what you’d get if you asked the prop designer on a Hallmark Christmas movie to dream up the cake display for a small town shop window - it has everything, and everything is covered in chocolate and sprinkles. Our eyes were immediately drawn to the mini gingerbread people peeping out of a pair of glass bottles filled with chocolate cream milkshake infused with ginger. Elsewhere you’ll find a stack of blondie bites and brownies topped with chocolate orange slices, and Oreo cookies dipped in more chocolate and rainbow sprinkles. You’ll also find mini mince pies, chocolate coins, wafer biscuits, and strawberries dipped in, you guessed it, more chocolate and sprinkles.
We like to think of ourselves as strong contenders when it comes to tackling a generously portioned afternoon tea - in fact, we’ve been known to indulge in TWO in one afternoon - but Grandpa Greene’s festive selection was too much for even our well-trained metabolisms to handle. Luckily, this was anticipated, and the staff were more than happy to provide takeaway trays for us to load up our cakes for later.
If you’re looking for something a little different to the annual hustle and bustle of a busy Christmas afternoon in Manchester, Grandpa Greene’s provides a pleasant setting for an afternoon tea that we think would appeal to all ages, and make for a good festive family afternoon out. It’s not the sophisticated fare more seasoned tea goers might expect (and Manchester has plenty of options this time of year, like Hotel Gotham and The Midland, if that’s more your style), but it is cute, fun, and pure chocolate and candy-coated indulgence - exactly what Christmas requires.
Grandpa Greene's festive afternoon tea is priced at £26pp. For more information and to book visit: https://www.grandpagreenes.co.uk/
