Two friends treated me to an afternoon at this well respected local venue and I was curious to see how a country afternoon tea would stack up against London hotels.
We were greeted warmly by the host and also by the fire that greeted us in the lounge. Furnishings looked comfy and a promising afternoon of girly catch-up awaited.
A nice selection of teas were on the menu, herbal varieties as well as black and green tea. When tea arrived it was accompanied by a tea timer so that your tea was brewed to perfection. The only downside to this was that you had to remove your own insert which was hot. I would have preferred the staff to have done that.
When the food arrived I was impressed. There was all the essential ingredients of an afternoon tea: dainty sandwiches, scones, cakes and pattiseries. Sandwiches upon tasting could have been a little more inventive. I had cooked salmon, ham and cream cheese and tomato. There was also egg.
The scones were delightful and had a lovely crunch to the outside but soft the middle. For the sweet course there was: chocolate muffin, banana eclair, chicory and liquorice macaroon, lemon cake and bakewell tart. All of them were pretty good, but for me the star was the bakewell. Once again the pastry was perfect and there was a super-soft sponge in the middle with jam.
So, did it stack up to London? Do you know what I think it did. This could be a whole new direction in afternoon tea for me- English country hotels!
