Afternoon Tea at the Great John Street Hotel
I had the pleasure of enjoying Afternoon Tea at the Great John Street Hotel in Manchester recently – one of my favourite hotels!
Me and the girlies enjoyed the Ladies Afternoon Tea but also got stuck into the Gent’s version too (yes, they have a different, more masculine offering for the lads). The girls enjoyed theirs with a glass of bubbles, but I had mine with sparkling elderflower, which made me feel like I was drinking 🙂
To start with, I have to say that if you haven’t been to the Great John Street Hotel, it is really well worth a visit (and an overnight stay if you can). It’s a stunning boutique hotel, just a stones-throw from Spinningfields and right by the Old Granada Studios. The interior is unique and plush without being over the top and the high-end finishes give it that real boutique feel. You walk in to a split level bar and dining space, which is where we enjoyed our afternoon tea. There are a number of rooms off this to lounge in, or for meetings etc.
The wow factor in the hotel is the roof top terrace, complete with its own hot-tub and the bedrooms are stunning, comfortable and luxurious – many being split-level and all having their own roll-top bath. Needless to say, this is the ideal wedding and events venue too!
Anyway, time for tea…
Although we are ladies (said in style of David Walliams a la Little Britain), we were also intrigued by the Gent’s offering, which consisted of hot manly food like fish & chips, chicken pot pie and scotch egg. So we ordered a couple of these to share, along with the traditional offering of finger sandwiches.
So the afternoon tea comes in two waves – the savoury, followed by the sweet. All washed down with bubbles or Jack Daniels (if you so choose) and plenty of tea.
Ladies’ offering – a selection of finger sandwiches, including smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber, egg and chicken.
Gent’s offering – wooden boards full of fish & chips, homemade scotch egg & piccalilli, chicken pot pie, prawn dumpling, skinny fries and a mini burger.
All tasted soooooo good! But I have to say, we really enjoyed tucking into the gent’s grub…maybe we’re not “ladies” after all.
The second waive of food was just stunning and we couldn’t believe we were greeted with so much.
Ladies’ offering – a selection of cakes, pastries and of courses the obligatory fresh scones with clotted cream and jam.
Gent’s offering – wooden boards with a warm chocolate brownie and Bailey’s ice-cream, along with cheese, crackers & chutney.
The homemade cakes across the board were simply stunning! Sweet, rich but not too rich, unctuous and moreish. The Bailey’s ice cream was superb and I enjoyed the savoury cheese and crackers too. But I have to say, the piece de resistance for me, were the still-hot-from-the-oven baked scones with clotted cream and jam. You can’t get much better then what we were served up and of course that’s what Afternoon Tea is all about…lady or no lady.
The prices for the amount and quality of food you get are very reasonable I feel and can all be found on their website. You can upgrade to include a glass of champagne or Jack Daniels for the gents.
Have you had a great Afternoon Tea anywhere that you’d recommend?
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