The Principal hotel has a long history and is a striking building with which to be confronted as you exit York Train Station and, after a refurbishment completed a few years back, has just as memorable an interior. Afternoon Tea in The Garden Room is served in a calm space overlooking (predictably enough) the hotel gardens. It’s worth mentioning too that right now that garden is home to Thor’s Tipi and Frango Eduardo who serve up top notch Peri-Peri chicken. Our rather more dainty meal arrived impressively quickly and we were furnished with glasses of champagne to enjoy with the Afternoon Tea, which was just as visually striking as the hotel when it arrived at the table and presented a rather intimidating quantity.

We started with a dainty Wensleydale and caramelised onion tart before dipping into the other savoury elements, well aware that a good number of the cakes may well be making the journey home with us. Ham and mustard, egg mayo, cucumber and cream cheese, and smoked salmon with chive creme fraiche formed a quad of tasty finger sandwiches before we really started to turn over the beautifully presented sweet elements of the tea. A large purple crusted choux bun dominated the top tier of the presentation and was flanked by a brace of mint-chocolate brownies as well as a pair of caramel glazed white chocolate choux buns. Descending a level took you to more of those mint-brownies as well as chocolate sponge topped with orange and some pretty macarons. We made a good dent in these, particularly enjoying the light choux pastries and well balanced mint notes in the brownie. The large purple choux was as indulgent as it looked and added a touch of event to the afternoon.

By this point there was little prospect of getting through scones too so they, along with a few cakes, came home with us to become the evening’s snacks. White chocolate and cranberry added a handy point of difference to the scones, putting the chef’s stamp on these without needing to shout too loud. Afternoon Tea in The Garden Room really felt like an event, with an unhurried atmosphere and great views in a beautiful building contributing to the enjoyment of the food. All of the sweet and savoury elements were well executed and unique enough to give the whole thing a good dose of personality without any unnecessary contrivance. With champagne and Yorkshire Tea thrown into the mix it made for a very enjoyable Friday afternoon!

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I’ve come across a few different spins on afternoon tea over the years such as “Gentlemens Afternoon Tea” comprised of pork pies, meats, beer and so on but the idea of an entirely seafood focussed is a new one on me that sounded infinitely more appealing than a few finger sandwiches and cakes. The business behind this ingenious idea is Guesthouse Hotels who last year launched Guesthouse York on Bootham, beautifully restoring the building which had become a little tired under its previous occupant. While they have a full food and drink offering as you would expect of a hotel they’re also periodically running events such as this Bottomless Afternoon Sea which sounded like a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon for just £35 – though that seems overly generous to me, so I would expect it to creep up for future iterations.

We were quickly stationed at a table with views into the street and our preference for white or rosé as swiftly delivered as it was established before the showstopping Afternoon Sea arrived. Consisting of three tiers of quality seafood and a side plate of scones, this looked every bit the indulgent treat I hoped it would be. We descended the tiers from the top, starting with the oysters that we dressed with shallot and vinegar before finishing off a few mussels, after which moving onto tempura and regular prawns that appreciated being dipped in a roasted red pepper sauce with a decent bite of spice. Anchovy with a sliver of cheese and a crouton for texture was wrapped in lettuce to serve as a salad before we hit the bottom, so to speak. Baked scallops with cheese is seldom a disappointment and a brace of bread fingers topped with mackerel and clam were well rounded and satisfying. The scone element showcased smoked salmon and featured a really good punch of the salty fish, which in a more penny pinching environment would have tasted of austerity rather than indulgence.

Having established my lack of sweet tooth, affection for seafood and curiosity for something new, this was always going to be something of an own goal for Guesthouse York. While plans for later in the day meant we weren’t taking full advantage of the 90 minutes of bottomless wine, that really does make this something of a bargain when considered in tandem with the original and luxurious food offering. Judging by the reaction on social media, I’m not the only one that thinks this way too. Make sure you get booked onto the next one asap if you want a place!

(Disclaimer – PR meal)

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On 27th May, Castle Howard will host a special Afternoon Tea in The Long Gallery, which received Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on the occasion of their visit in summer 1850. This event will also feature a talk from curator Chris Ridgeway who’ll take the lucky attendees through the stately home’s royal connections. After that one off event, a Castle Howard Jubilee Afternoon tea experience will be available to enjoy from May 27th to June 12th in The Grecian Hall. Both of these offerings are certain to offer appropriately refined and regal food with a selection of sweet and savoury featuring lobster, caviar and edible gold along with a selection of traditional sandwiches, cakes and scones that showcase the best of the region.

There will certainly be many ways to celebrate the Jubilee over the coming months but throwing Castle Howard into the mix along with a top notch afternoon tea makes a strong case for itself!

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Afternoon Tea isn’t one of my favourite eating experiences, playing away from my preference for savoury (give me a cheese board rather than dessert every time), but The Feversham has recognised that limitation of this style of dining and now offers a savoury version that plays out over three tiers of treats along with as much tea or coffee as you can get down yourself. The Feversham is in good hands at the moment, as I found out recently when I went to try Sunday lunch after Adam Jackson took over the kitchen bringing with him a host of experience, accolades and industry respect.

Our first task on arriving to dine was to choose a tea with our household staple Yorkshire Tea available alongside a selection of 10 more unusual options explained through a bespoke menu housing samples of the loose leaves. We decided to run with a gentle Milk Oolong and a gently sweet Rooibos, both showing great complexity and making perfect partners to the coming food. A glass of champagne can be added on for an extra fee too, I suppose it’s worth mentioning that this style of dining would lend itself well to a few convivial drinks too should you be after something actually rather than euphemistically substantial as some more opportunistic venues are offering.

We decided to work our way through the three tiers housing our savoury selection from top to bottom, starting with the savouries that I found far more appealing than the usual selection of sweets. First up a delicate mouthful of chicken liver parfait that had been worked into a perfect scoop, characteristic of Adam’s presentation, and delivered on just enough toast to get it into my mouth without mess. This first snack’s success can be judged on how quickly it disappeared (very) and before long we were setting about a more substantial snack in the form of a venison sausage roll with a port and plum chutney, another well balanced and satisfying few bites that made the most of the venison filling for a refreshingly distinctive sausage roll. This theme of Afternoon Tea would be nothing without smoked salmon, here making an appearance as a roulade with cream cheese on a circle of Haxby Bakery rye bread and last up was a caramelised onion tart topped with goats cheese and two perfect rings of sharp onion. This was the most visually refined of the quartet and was a delicious note on which to descend to the next level, featuring scones.

Being a savoury afternoon tea I’m thankfully spared at this point the tiresome debate regarding the primacy of jam and cream in the application process, with the scone selection comprising pumpkin and chilli and mustard, cheddar and chive scones, with tomato chutney and and herby whipped cream to be applied however desired and without fear of reprisal. It’s not really an Afternoon Tea if you don’t take some leftovers home so we quickly earmarked a couple of scones for later consumption before tucking into the remainder, which showed off all the punch of the advertised flavours and had the required lightness of texture one hopes for.

That left us on the bottom level with just sandwiches left on our, literal and figurative, plates that started with prawn with marie rose sauce on brioche showing itself to be a retro-tinged delight. Coronation Chicken was a similarly nostalgic pleasure, with plenty of sweetness and tang to make it a bold flavour. Finally we enjoyed quality ham and mustard and cheese and chutney sandwiches, which need little in the way of elaboration save to say they reflected quality ingredients.

I guess at this point we knew 2020 would end in tiers, I just feel fortunate that the less enjoyable tiers we’re under restriction of still allowed for the enjoyment of these three tiers of savouries. 2021 is looking like a significant improvement on 2020 and judging by the evidence so far, The Feversham is well placed to take advantage of better times and has exciting plans to help 2021 along.

Disclaimer: Press meal. No charge made or conditions attached.

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I seem to have been on more than my fair share of afternoon teas recently, so I was intrigued to see how this one differentiated itself by employing the use of silver service to convey treats to the lucky few. This is a bit of a departure for afternoon tea, forcing you to engage in more active participation with your server than the usual practice of tiered deliveries to the table that can be grazed over at leisure.

Hudsons at the Grand is a fine dining restaurant which lends itself well to this sort of indulgence. Your first serious decision is presented by a hinged cabinet full of tea samples that your server presents with plenty of knowledge and encouragement to take in the smells. From the broad range of teas available we chose Milk Oolong and Hudsons Breakfast Blend to check out the most obvious choice and a more adventurous one. With that challenge met, we were presented with a small mug of Chilled Tomato Tea to enjoy while our tea was prepared. This left us suitably refreshed and with palates appropriately cleansed just in time to enjoy the more traditional tea. These were served with customised egg timers to ensure the perfect infusion before sampling and starting on the food.

The sandwich offering was suitably refined with pickled cucumber and smoked sea trout featuring well, but not quite eclipsing the egg mayonnaise sandwiches. These benefited from an additional bread layer that offered an object lesson in the benefits of texture to food. The light toasting of the extra layer set these apart from other egg mayo’ sandwiches with a neat crunch to go with our teas (no milk, lest we ruin the taste). The breakfast blend was satisfying and subtle, but the milk oolong set itself apart with its understated sweetness.

Next up, we removed scones from the linen shroud in which they were served and lathered them with jam and cream in whichever order took our fancy. These were impressively light, going down well with Baby Fork. and set us up well for the final barrage of sweet treats.

The cake selection featured banana bread, pistachio cake and a choux bun. The latter of these was the real show off, being topped with edible gold leaf for real afternoon tea prestige. The banana bread and pistachio cake were topped with impressively uniform slices of banana and strawberry but neither topped the choux bun that, gold or not, caught my fancy.

The silver service element to this certainly sets it apart from other afternoon teas, turning it into a curated experience with guidance from a knowledgeable server. This was a luxurious experience at home in a location such as Hudsons at the Grand and a satisfying departure from most afternoon teas without making it feel rushed. It’s definitely one to book when you feel like treating yourself.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for this visit, opinions are impartial

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Hotel du Vin York is just a short stroll outside the city walls, through Micklegate Bar toward the Racecourse, and presents a smart frontage to welcome you away from the bustle of the traffic. The interior is as classy and understated as you’d both expect and hope, with various spaces available to relax and dine in. We passed through the bar on the way to a dining space made airy by the large glass area in the roof. We chose a table in a quiet corner and made ourselves ready for the treats to come.

Being a Champagne Afternoon Tea, champagne was a logical starting point and staff were on hand quickly to start pouring for us to relax into the food, which arrived after a polite but short interval. We worked from the bottom of the tiered cake stand upwards, tackling savoury first. These included a couple of the usual suspects such as egg mayonnaise on brioche and smoked salmon & cream cheese on rye along with more unusual offerings. It’d be hard not to enjoy a mini-croissant stuffed with ham & Gruyere but we particularly liked the goat’s cheese & spinach quiche and heritage tomato galette.

With the lower tier cleared, we started about the sweet elements while enjoying all the tea we could possibly want. The cakes were certainly pretty and the taste lived up to the presentation. The “Tutti Frutti” macaron was a delightfully speckled mouthful to start off (though don’t hold them too long, the food colouring runs and turns your thumb embarrassingly yellow) and all the more satisfying when followed with a pistachio pin wheel that brought to mind a rather more prosaic Swiss roll in its presentation. My favourite was the rhubarb and custard tart which didn’t let the acidity of the rhubarb overwhelm the sweet custard.

Afternoon Teas are often deceptively filling and this proved no exception. We took the majority of the scones home with us, but not before checking they were up to scratch and well paired with quality jam and cream.

I seem to have been invited to more than my fair share of afternoon teas over the last couple of years and this one happily holds its own in good company. It was also a pleasure to reacquaint myself with Hotel du Vin York and be reminded of what a lovely venue it is.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for my attendance. Opinions remain impartial.

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Oxo’s at the Mount Royale has a few steps up to the front door but nothing the two of us found tricky to carry Baby Fork’s pram up. I was very taken with the building and gardens on our last visit for Sunday lunch a while back and was pleased to find us seated in a comfortable drawing room at low sofas that gave the perfect ambience for leisurely indulgence.

The Afternoon Tea offering here certainly leaves nothing on the table, so to speak. The breadth and quantity on offer put many other offerings to shame and took a little bit of ingenuity to squeeze onto the table! Our place settings were pre laid with a bag of crisps on which to munch before we started proper with a sweet passion fruit milk shake. The sandwiches included usual suspects such as egg mayonnaise and ham & tomato but the Coronation chicken was good enough to justify swiping Mrs Fork’s portion as well as my own.

Scones of course came with generous amounts of clotted cream & jam, hitting the expected high standard. These were quickly dispensed with, allowing us to get into the serious business of cakes. The cake selection was impressively broad and inventive featuring various flavours of macarons, Battenberg, brownie, cup cakes and an Eton mess. I have to admit that the selection overwhelmed us, though this was a function of their quantity rather than any lack of commitment on our half. Leftovers were happily packaged to take home and even more happily shared with a neighbour.

For £19.95 a head, this is a something of a conspicuous bargain, just as much so at £26.95 with a glass of something appropriately cold and fizzy. Not only does that get you the fabulous afternoon tea but also licence to explore the beautiful gardens attached to the establishment. Afternoon tea might not be my most favoured meal, but this was an exceptionally pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Baby Fork is still working on her walking but we’ll certainly bring her back in the summer to explore those gardens on the back of more sweet treats in the summer.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for our attendance. Opinions are impartial.

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Arriving at The Ivy is always a pleasure. It must be a significant liability on the wages bill, but it’s always nice to be welcomed by a small army of staff who direct you to your table, confirm your reservation and spirit your coats away. The Ivy has been consistently busy since it opened and I’ve been impressed with the dinner and brunch offerings when I’ve visited. The full menu is still rather busy to get to grips with but there’s relatively little decision making involved in afternoon tea so placing our orders was just a brief conversation.

The servers had our tea (the drink, not the meal) with us in short order which was served from beautiful silver teapots that were rendered a little uncomfortable by their impressive heat retention characteristics. I was a little surprised the tea wasn’t loose leaf, it still hit the spot though. A cloth wrapped around the handle stopped us burning our hands and allowed access to the hot drinks. Everything else that made up the afternoon tea was soon generously crowding its way across the table. I’d checked out the menu in advance and the selection for £19.75 looked well constructed with a nice mix of savoury and sweet. The presentation hit the standards The Ivy must hold itself to given its reputation so we got stuck in rapidly, starting with the savoury elements.

Each of the sandwiches was served on an appropriate bread: truffled chicken sitting happily in sweet brioche, cucumber and dill on delicate batons of white bread and smoked salmon served over cream cheese on a savoury rye bread. All of the sandwiches were impressively well balanced, the chicken not clubbed too heavily with truffle and the cucumber sitting lightly in its bread.

With the savouries polished off, we got stuck into the sweets that included raspberry cheesecake, chocolate and salted caramel mousse and a creme brûlée doughnut. The doughnut was a fun mouthful and led through to delicate cheesecake which made a suitable precursor to the chocolate mousse that was served in a miniature plant pot. The herbs served with this one were a little to ready to dominate but the sweet flavours were still able to stand up for themselves.

Having worked through this, all we had to get through were fruited scones with mandatory preserve and clotted cream. Each of us wrestled with the jam/cream first dilemma and arrived at our own compromise before struggling through to the end of our appetites and getting the leftovers boxed up in snazzy branded boxes to make our way home.

Afternoon tea can be something of an overblown affair, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience at The Ivy. There was clearly a lot of thought that went into everything we were served and it all added up to a fulfilling and fun afternoon. These experiences can be taken as a licence to jack up the price so under twenty pounds feels like a very fair amount for the experience.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for this meal. Opinions are impartial.​

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York has so many assets, it can be hard to work through them all even as a resident with a bit of time on your hands. There are so many glorious nooks and crannies in this city to explore so perhaps it can make sense to combine a couple of activities in the interests of efficiency? One company taking this approach is City Cruises York who are offering the opportunity to double up your time investment by taking afternoon tea while enjoying the riverbank sites from a boat cruise.

The City Cruise boats are a familiar site in York around their moorings at Kings Staith. After a few exploratory efforts we located the correct boat on the sunny day we were lucky enough to be enjoying and set about loading Baby Fork onto her first boat. Thankfully that was accomplished with the help of the crew without anything child shaped falling in the river and we took up our table for the mandatory, and reassuring, safety announcements.

The afternoon tea cruise is one of the lengthier ones offered so gives the opportunity to head along the Ouse in both directions from the City Centre, first north past the Guild Hall, Museum Gardens and Railway Museum before turning near the back of St Peter’s School and heading back south. It’s been some years since I went on one of these cruises and had forgotten what a pleasure it is to see York from a different perspective. It should be no surprise that the boat’s captain had the commentary down to the smallest detail with plenty of info to please visitors to our lovely city.

We’d gone for the option that included a glass of prosecco to accompany the two tiered afternoon tea that was provided by local catering company Bradshaws. The afternoon tea included all the appropriate staples such as finger sandwiches filled with smoked salmon & cream cheese, Wensleydale & chutney and Coronation chicken. On the sweet front, we found profiteroles, carrot cake and bakewell slices all in good form. Sultana scones with raspberry conserve and clotted cream made sure that our appetites were met while we enjoyed our prosecco and headed south.

I think the views from the Ouse South of York are rather more pleasant than those to the North, taking in the Georgian New Walk, Rowntree Park and Millennium Bridge before passing views of the old Terry’s Factory on the way to checking out Bishopthorpe Palace. I’ve no idea if Archbishop Sentamu was resident at the time, but if so he didn’t pop out respond to our waves.

The river is an asset to York which, having lost some of its purpose from a more industrialised time, affords tourists and residents alike a different perspective on the city it serves. The afternoon tea cruise comes in at £25 a head (or £30 if you want Prosecco to temper a hot day, as we did) which represents fair value given the respective costs of river cruises and afternoon teas.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for our experience, opinions remain impartial

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Howsham Hall is a Grade I listed building that is part of an estate formed of 11,000 acres which has, in its recent life, been treated to a sympathetic restoration. It was originally intended to make it an opulent private residence, but has since been co-opted to function as a noteworthy events venue. The private drive approaching the building offers a great chance to take in the scale of the building that sits dramatically on the horizon, growing to increasingly impressive proportions as you get closer until it fills your vision in spectacular fashion.

I was treated to a tour and found that as you make your way around the building, the scale remains hugely impressive. The space allocated to the bridal suite in particular is extremely striking. The rooms all take their names from local areas and are, without exception, beautifully appointed. Each one had an en-suite significantly larger than bedsits I’ve been “lucky” enough to live in before! As we made our way around the building, I increasingly lost my bearings thanks to the seemingly never ending array of rooms to take in. It was very quickly apparent that this would be a stunning venue for any wedding or corporate event, if probably a touch out of my personal budget. (Thank goodness I’m not intending any further weddings!)

We ended the tour with a beautifully presented afternoon tea that afforded more time to check out the primary event spaces in the Great Hall and Drawing Room. The savoury and sweet elements of the afternoon tea were well balanced and a neat demonstration of the standard of catering one would expect to match a venue so grand. It’s worth reiterating that this isn’t a restaurant with a menu that you can pitch up at to try your luck for a table. That being the case, the main thing to note about the food we were served is that it was indicative of a wider competence to fit such a grand environment.

It’s something of a shame that there’s not the opportunity for the general public to be able to visit on a more regular basis, but those lucky enough to be attending an event here will undoubtedly be blown away by the building and its refurbishment. Regardless of if I get the opportunity to return, it’s a privilege to have made this building’s acquaintance.

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