We were initially provided with a pot of tea each, alongside an ice cold jar of water which is always appreciated.
The afternoon tea arrived, which was presented on a small picnic bench. The tea was categorised into 3 sections; savoury, sandwiches and sweets. These were chosen by us a few days before (booking and a small deposit is required when having afternoon tea here). Although this may be a hassle to some, it guarantees that you aren't being presented with sandwich fillings that you don't like and end up leaving (salmon, I'm looking at you!), or desserts that you aren't keen on (Tiramisu I'm also looking at you!).
Because the savouries consisted of warm foods that had been freshly cooked, I dug into those first. I opted for Mozzarella sticks, which I imagined to be something different to what they came out like, but nevertheless, these were gorgeous. The pastry was so flaky and the cheese oozed out. The sausage roll was pretty much the same, no shop-bought ones here, and they were really decent-sized portions.
Next up was a small bucket of homemade chips, and although nice, I found them to be a little dry, which was a shame.
Once the warm foods were out of the way we moved onto the sandwiches. We opted for 3 fillings; Roast Pepper and Goats Cheese with Balsamic Butter. This was nice however the goats cheese was a little too much for me, but this is personal preference. Next up was Parma ham and tomato with baby gem. I've never experienced parma ham in a sandwich before, and because of the sometimes 'stringy' texture of parma ham, I found this to be a little annoying when trying to eat, but again, personal preference. The last filling was chicken & bacon with red onion. This was by far my favorite and I would have been happy if all 3 of my sandwiches were this.
After the sandwiches the fullness began to set in, but I wanted to give the desserts a shot, so we went straight in for the shortbread biscuit. This was small, but it was just a 'filler' dessert amongst the main 3 that we had previously selected. I'm not sure if this was home-baked or not but it was absolutely gorgeous. The texture was lovely and it really did melt in the mouth. We then moved onto the white chocolate chip brownie which although nice, was a little too rich for me. I forget that most brownies are 'too much' for me, but proceed to order them anyway! The lemon posset was presented in a cute copper jar, and it was lovely, although it definitely woke those taste buds up even more through its tangy-ness! The last 'main' pudding was the cheesecake, which happened to be cherry for that day. I'll be honest - I wasn't overly keen on this. The texture for me didn't match up to what a cheesecake should taste like. It was very tough, like it had been stored in a fridge for numerous days. This definitely didn't win me over. The other 'fillers' on the bench were a small slab of honeycomb, fresh strawberries, and a small spoonful of chocolate mousse, which was lovely.
The amount of food that is provided for £15pp is definitely worth it. Would I go again? Yes, I would. Although there were some cons, the pros definitely outweigh them. I'm all about giving places a second chance so next time I'd switch up my sandwich filling, and maybe try a different flavor cheesecake!
