As flag flyers for the grand old tradition of Afternoon Tea, we were horrified to discover our good friend Phillipa had never experienced it before! Yet fear not dear tea friends, we were quick to accomodate her long awaited scone fix and went straight to Rosylee Tea Rooms. It's what any good friend would have done.
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| Cake Stand |
Situated in Manchester's Northern Quarter, Rosylee Tearooms is relatively hidden yet not such a secret - if the full tables inside were anything to go by. The moment we stepped in through it's statement entrance with gold letting hovering above the door, we were transported to absolute tea bliss. It does not feel as though you are in Manchester, seconds away from kooky boutiques and comic book shops. Decorated with florals trailing from the ceiling and an unusual yet beautiful array of lighting, it has modern restaurant chic and traditional London style down to a T (Pun very much intended.)
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| Sandwiches |
There are two Afternoon Tea options and as this was Phillipa's very first outing we opted to go all the way and treat ourselves to the Champagne tea. It would have been rude not to. Plus it comes with a plate of chocolate covered strawberries - and who are we to turn down such a treat?
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| Cake! |
The food is presented on a traditional delicate looking tea stand which fits beautifully with the floral table arrangements. Rosylee's tea has a real classic style to it and the miniatures on offer are very much inkeeping with this theme. The delicate sandwich selection had all the usual suspects including salmon and beef but it was the slightly more interesting inclusions that took our fancy, poached chicken with mustard mayo and goats cheese with Rosylee's own red onion marmalade and beetroot.
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| Pretty Floral Decoration |
The scones were equally delicious and little touches like having individual jam jars and vanilla pods topping the clotted cream really made the difference.
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| Scones |
Rosylee offers a really good dessert selection with a good mix of fruity bits, cakey bits and pastry bits. The worst part was having to decide who got what! (Note to future tea rooms: 3 of everything would be amazing and solve our cakey dilemma.) Again, everything was very true to the traditional idea of Afternoon Tea with carrot cake, victoria sponge and chocolate eclair being the main sweets on offer. This was great for a first timer but I think some more seasoned tea goers might expect something a little more unique.
Topped off with a glass of champagne and a pot of Earl Grey tea (Excuse our lack of adventure - the tea selection had some lovely flavours on offer but sometimes you can't beat a regular cuppa) the afternoon was a thoroughly pleasant experience.
Topped off with a glass of champagne and a pot of Earl Grey tea (Excuse our lack of adventure - the tea selection had some lovely flavours on offer but sometimes you can't beat a regular cuppa) the afternoon was a thoroughly pleasant experience.
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| Edgy Lights |
Roselee tea rooms is just beautiful and a complete surprise find in the otherwise reletively bohemian Northern Quarter. We're actually quite looking forward to trying their main menu as some of the options sounded absolutely gorgeous. If you're looking for somewhere classy, cool but with its own stamp on tradition, then Rosylee Tearooms is the place to go.
Afternoon Tea at Roselee Tearooms starts at £18.25 per person. For more information visit their website here.
