Bagden Hall - Denby Dale

Bagden Hall

Wakefield Road

Scissett

Denby Dale

Huddersfield

West Yorkshire

HD8 8FZ

Date Visited :  19 June 2011

Price:  £10

GF Price:  £10

We had booked to visit Bagden Hall, located just 10 minutes from junction 39 of the M1, as a special treat to celebrate Father’s Day.  It’s a beautiful, luxury country house set in acres of land with its own lake. The room which we dined in was lovely and old fashioned, decorated with fancy white and maroon patterned walls set in mouldings, with matching maroon furnishings.  The tables were all laid out with fresh flowers and white linen cloths with white crockery.  There was an option to eat outside in the extensive grounds but unfortunately the weather wasn’t quite warm enough for sitting out.

The tea was served on a two tier stand to share between two people, whilst the gluten free option came on its own stand.  The large selection of sandwiches consisted of egg mayonnaise, tuna, ham and cheese and pickle, all served on an array of white and brown bread. It was a nice change to have tuna sandwiches as they don’t often serve them on afternoon tea – it’s always the fancier option of smoked salmon isn’t it? The gluten free sandwiches contained the same fillings served on fresh white bread. 

The cakes were like a chocolate lovers dream – rich chocolate brownies dusted with icing sugar and an assortment of white and milk chocolate truffles decorated with sprinkles, followed by the traditional fruit scones served with fresh cream and strawberry jam.  The chocolate truffles were especially nice and made a pleasant change from the usual selection of cakes. 

Unfortunately, the gluten free cakes were a tad disappointing. They only served a couple of small chocolate brownies and there was no scone at all, although they did make extra sandwiches to compensate for this. Personally, I think the scone really makes the afternoon tea so it was a bit of a shame that my guest had to go without.

Death by Chocolate - it's the best way to go!

Despite the disappointing gluten free cakes, we did enjoy the afternoon tea and the surroundings made it a very pleasant place to dine. Plus, there was the added bonus that we could walk some of our dinner of afterwards in the gardens!

Ratings:                       Gluten Free:

Tea: 7/10                              

Sandwiches:  7/10                7/10     

Cakes: 7/10                           6/10         

Scones: 7/10                         N/A

Service: 9/10    

Overall: 8/10

Would I return?   Yes 

Claridge's Hotel - London

Claridge’s

Brook Street

Mayfair

London

WIK  4HR

Date Visited :  22 Feb 2011

Price:  £35.00

GF Price:  £35.00

The visit to the famous five star Claridge’s Hotel in London’s Mayfair for afternoon tea was an amazing birthday surprise trip.  We had travelled down to London in first class luxury on the train (after some silly woman stole our reserved seats and flat out refused to budge, leading to us getting bumped to first class – I should be thanking her really) and after touring the sights we found our way to the hotel for a much needed rest and something to eat.   I had to make a quick stop around the corner before we went in to change from my trainers to shoes – it’s a fancy place and I’m not sure that my muddy, scuffed up trainers would have gone very well in their pristine dining room and I could hardly walk round London all day in high heels!  Plus I had to look the part as you never know who you might bump into – Johnny Depp or Elton John might have been there!  That would have been the icing on the cake but sadly we never saw anyone famous!

The hotel dining area had beautiful classy decor with high ceilings and chandeliers and pastel green and white furnishings which matched the striped green and white crockery. Our table was located next to a huge pot of fresh smelling pink roses, and just to the right of us were live musicians playing the piano and violin for our enjoyment.

When the waitress came she brought us a tea menu which spanned five pages. The choices of teas ranged from the traditional English, to India, Ceylon, China and Japan. There were fruit teas, organic teas, decaffeinated, herbal infusions and even a section on rare teas of the world!  After studying the menu we opted for the really boring, traditional Claridge’s Royal Blend tea – not very adventurous are we?!  But it made a change from having tea at home – there wasn’t a tea bag in sight! Only proper tea leaves in here, if you please. Despite playing it safe with the tea, I have to say it was absolutely delicious – and as an added bonus, you weren’t allowed to pour it yourself as every time you went for the teapot someone just miraculously appeared and graciously poured it for you.  Now I know what it’s like to dine like royalty!

We had a choice of sandwiches which were served on white platters. We chose egg mayonnaise, chicken, ham and cream cheese and cucumber.  The ham was especially nice as it was lovely thick ham off the bone, as opposed to that wafer thin stuff you can get from the supermarket.   The gluten free sandwiches had the same fillings and were served on nice soft bread.   When we had finished them they quickly refilled the platter and would have kept filling it all day if we had wanted, but we needed to save some room for the cakes! 

The cakes came on a two tiered silver stand.  They looked delicious and it was going to be difficult to eat them all – but I gave it a good go! There was a raspberry panna cotta topped with fresh fruit, a fresh fruit filled pastry tart, a small chocolate fudge cake and fruit cake topped with walnuts.  We had two scones each, one fruit and one apple served with Marco Polo jelly and clotted cream.  The gluten free option was the same minus the pastry tart and sponge cake, but it did include the scones which my guest said were the best gluten free scones he had ever tasted.  The apple one was particularly nice and a made refreshing change from the usual fruit scone – great job Mr Gordon Ramsay!

This has to be the best afternoon tea I have ever had.  The price is much dearer than I would usually be willing to pay, but it was in London and a special occasion. It is quite good value for money though, as the servings were much larger than you usually get with afternoon tea as they are happy to keep bringing you sandwiches until you’re fit to burst – whereas normally, the tiny sandwiches often leave you wanting more. We also all received a small tin of our chosen tea to take home along with the cakes we couldn’t manage to eat – bit of a bonus! My only disappointment was that Johnny Depp hadn’t dropped in for tea…maybe next time...

Ratings:                            Gluten Free:

Tea: 9/10                                   

Sandwiches:  10/10                   10/10      

Cakes: 9/10                               10/10         

Scones: 10/10                            10/10

Service: 10/10    

Overall: 10/10

Would I return?  Try and stop me!

Queens Hotel - Leeds

Queens Hotel

City Square

Leeds

LS1 1PJ

Date Visited : 09 July 2013

Price: £14.95

GF Price: £14.95

It was a special occasion we were celebrating and what better place to go to than the Queens Hotel Leeds for a traditional afternoon tea, and we weren’t disappointed!   The tea was served in the Queens Bar, a large room with big chandeliers and fancy art deco. When we visited, this room had just recently been refurbished so everything was very clean and well presented. The tables were nicely laid out with white linen tablecloths and white crockery and a vase of freshly cut flowers in the middle.  It was a lovely room to dine in and fairly quiet.

Queen's Afternoon Tea

There were three variations of Afternoon Tea available to choose from. These comprised of the ‘Queen’s Afternoon Tea’, ‘Queen’s Sparkling Rose’, and ‘Queen’s Champagne Afternoon Tea’. The only variations between these options were the beverages, allowing you a choice of tea, wine or champagne. Of course if you opted for the Rose or Champagne this obviously came at a slightly higher price, although still under £20.  My guests and I went for the more traditional option of tea.

There was no tea menu, rather just a choice of a pot of tea or cafetiere of coffee, which they happily kept filling up on request.

The afternoon tea was presented on our own individual three tiered white and silver chromed stand.  We each had four finger sandwiches on a selection of brown and white bread, whilst the gluten free option was served on white breadcakes.  The sandwiches consisted of egg mayonnaise with cress, cucumber and crème fraiche, smoked salmon and cream cheese, and honey roast ham with mustard.   My guests and I aren’t particularly fond of smoked salmon so we were provided with a substitute of cheese and tomato.  All the sandwiches were really tasty my favourite being the egg mayonnaise with cress.

The cakes, comprising of a rich chocolate tart which looked a bit like a cheesecake, a baked almond square and a pastry filled custard fruit tart, which was delicious.   The gluten free option consisted of a chocolate brownie and two pieces of millionaire’s shortbread topped with strawberries, which my guest assured me were freshly baked and tasted very good.  All of the teas, including the gluten free option, were served with a fresh fruit scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream.  The gluten free scone was especially nice my guest informed me and a rare treat when eating out.

Gluten Free Afternoon Tea

Overall we all enjoyed the tea and managed to eat almost everything. Anything that was left over they gladly boxed up for us to take home.  The service was excellent and very efficient so we didn’t have to wait long for our food.  The only drawback was the service charge which was added to the bill. 

Ratings:                      Gluten Free:

Tea: 8/10                                 

Sandwiches:  7/10                   8/10

Cakes: 8/10                             8/10

Scones: 7/10                            8/10

Service: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

Would I return?   Yes

Ashmount Country House - Haworth

Ashmount Country House

Mytholmes Lane

Haworth

West Yorkshire

BD22 8EZ

Date Visited : 19 May 2013

Price: £12.50

GF Price: £12.50

Ashmount Country House is situated in the lovely little village of Haworth.  By chance the day we visited was the annual 1940’s weekend, during which the whole town is decorated to look like it’s jumped back in time to the world war. A lot of the villagers and visitors dress up in 1940’s style clothing, there are a lot of men dressed up in their army gear and many of the houses are decorated with sandbags and such to create the look of Haworth in the 1940’s. The local park is full of world war dancing, singing and memorabilia from the war, and they also had military cars and war planes on show to have a look at. It was an extremely busy weekend but it is well worth a visit.

Villagers in 1940's Dress

Ashmount Country House is situated just around the corner from the main shopping street so it is ideal for parking and walking to the town.  It is a lovely old house set in beautiful gardens.  Ideally we would have liked to have eaten in the garden but unfortunately the weather wasn’t quite warm enough .  Instead we were shown into a beautiful room with traditional furniture and a long table set with a white table cloth and crockery.

The afternoon tea was presented on three tiered white plates and silver chromed stand to share between two people.  We each had four finger sandwiches on a selection of brown and white bread, garnished with salad. We were also served a piece of warm cheese and onion quiche before the sandwiches arrived which was to die for!  The gluten free option was the same unfortunately minus the quiche.   The sandwiches comprised of cream cheese and cucumber, egg mayonnaise, ham and tomato, turkey breast with cranberry jam, and smoked salmon.  We chose to substitute the smoked salmon again as none of our guests like it – why do they never serve tinned salmon?!  I actually prefer it.

Haworth Main Street

The cakes consisted of mini profiteroles with chocolate truffle sauce, lemon sponge cake, a chocolate cupcake filled with fresh cream, a chunk of fruit cake and a fruit scone topped with jam, fresh cream and a strawberry.  They were all delicious but we couldn’t manage to eat them all so they boxed them up for us to take home.  The profiteroles went down particularly well, I must say! The gluten free option consisted of a chocolate brownie fruit loaf and scone with jam and cream.   My guest loved the fruit scone – lovely and fresh and a rare treat when eating out.

Bombs Away!

This afternoon tea was excellent and a particular favourite of mine was the chocolate cup cake with fresh cream.  The cakes and sandwiches were all lovely and fresh and I especially liked that there was quite a variety of cakes to choose from – I can’t say I’ve ever had profiteroles with truffle sauce at any other afternoon tea I’ve been to. The dining area was very pleasant and the staff were very friendly and efficient bringing our order quickly to our table. The amount of food that you are given, coupled with the endless pots of tea also makes this place very good value for money.  If you are planning to visit booking beforehand is required and this would be advisable if you want a gluten free option.  There is also an option to have a champagne afternoon tea if you fancy. Bon appetite!

Ratings:                        Gluten Free:

Tea: 8/10                                

Sandwiches:  8/10                 8/10

Cakes: 9/10                            9/10

Scones: 8/10                          9/10

Service: 9/10

Overall: 9½/10

Would I return?   Yes definitely

Crag House Farm - Leeds

The Granary Restaurant

Crag House Farm

Otley Old Road

Cookridge

Leeds

LS16 7NH

Date Visited : 31 July 2013

Price: £9.95

I heard about this place from a friend.  It’s not an easy place to find if you don’t know the area but here is a link to help with directions. The restaurant used to be an old barn which they have rebuilt and extended.  It has its own small farm shop selling local produce and all of the profits go towards the Caring For Life Charity who run the shop and restaurant.  Most of the food is also grown at the farm.

The tearoom is situated in the old barn with a high ceiling and an extended conservatory on the back looking out onto the gardens. Most of the tearooms I’ve visited are usually quite small and cramped inside, but this one is very spacious. Inside it is airy and bright, whilst the decor looks very modern and polished. 

The tea menu was very impressive, with a large selection of teas to choose from.  I went for the really boring option of the traditional Yorkshire Tea – best to stick to what you know right?! But one of my guests was a bit more adventurous than me and opted for the rather more exotic Green Tea, which came in a fancy looking glass teapot.

The afternoon tea was very well presented, being served on a three tiered stand. We were given a wide variety of four finger sandwiches to share amongst us which included roast beef and onion, Cheshire cheese and chutney, egg mayonnaise, smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber, and salad and mayonnaise on brown and white bread. I wasn’t too keen on the salad and mayonnaise or the smoked salmon, but the rest went down very well – the beef and the egg being the favourites between us.

 

The cakes comprised of a scone each served with strawberry jam and clotted cream, a small meringue filled with cream and a strawberry on top, a small shortbread biscuit and a rocky road brownie. The cakes were rather on the small side, which probably reflected on the price, but nevertheless they were all delicious! The scones were lovely and fresh and the rocky road brownie was certainly a favourite amongst our table. As you can imagine nothing was left over.

 

Overall the tea was very enjoyable and good value for money – most of the other tearooms I have visited charge at least £20 for practically the same selection.  The tearoom had a pleasant atmosphere, the staff were very friendly and helpful and the service we received was excellent.  I would definitely recommend it. 

N.B. My gluten free guest didn’t attend but I did enquire if a gluten free option was available, to which I was informed that this could be provided upon request but it would be best to ring beforehand so that freshly baked gluten free cakes and bread could be prepared in advance – thereby giving you a bit more choice! I will have to pay another visit to see what it’s like.

Ratings:

Tea: 8/10

Sandwiches:  7/10

Cakes: 7/10

Scones: 8/10

Service: 9/10

Overall: 8/10

Would I return?   Yes