The Cedar Court Grand Hotel - York

Cedar Court Grand Hotel

Station Rise

York

North Yorkshire

Y01 6GD

Date Visited : 21 February 2015

Price:  Grand Afternoon Tea - £22.50 per person

On a cold and blustery February day, what better time is there to escape the miserable weather and treat yourself to afternoon tea?  The Grand Hotel in York is a large Georgian building situated opposite the historic city wall, not too far from York Minister.  I’ll admit this hotel is a little posher (and pricier) than the places I normally head for afternoon tea, but this was bought as a birthday present so I was really looking forward to trying some place new – and the fact I wasn’t paying made it taste just that little bit sweeter!

Tea was served in the Hudson’s dining room, a large and bright room with high ceilings, white and cream furnishings, elegantly set tables with linen table cloths and a scattering of vintage pictures of York adorning the walls.  It was all very fancy.

York's Historic Wall with York Minster in the background

Now being quite a family of quite fussy eaters (we like things plain), we asked if we could make a few slight changes to the choice of sandwiches.  Nothing major – just a simple ‘no mustard’ and ‘no mayo’.  While the staff were more than happy to accommodate the changes, we did have to wait an extremely long wait before they actually arrived and after a good half hour our waitress informed us that the sandwiches were not up to standard so they were being remade.  It’s good that they ensured quality, but an hour waiting for some simple sandwiches to arrive did seem a little excessive.  When they eventually did arrive we had five sandwiches each served on a white rectangular plate consisting of cucumber and dill, egg mayonnaise and watercress, ham (no mustard), and roast beef and black pepper (no mayo), on an assortment of white and malted brown bread.  The gluten free option had the same fillings but there was an extra portion.

Gluten Free Sandwiches

The cakes were served on a classic three tier stand and comprised of a banoffee cream and banana crumb dessert in a glass, a lemon cupcake with vanilla frosting, a dark chocolate delice, a selection of fruit and plain scones with Masham clotted cream and preserve, a slice of tea loaf and a rhubarb and custard cone, which was especially delicious. The amount of cakes certainly made up for the long wait for the sandwiches and we ended up taking most of them home as we couldn’t manage them all.

The gluten free cakes consisted of an enormous slice of chocolate cake and lemon cake with vanilla frosting, a bakewell tart, jam shortbread, fruit scones and a slice of fruit cake. The slices of cake were very tasty but we noticed that the jam shortbread was definitely a Mrs Crimble’s product which was a little disappointing.  It made us wonder if all the other cakes were also shop bought rather than baked fresh on the premises.

Spot the Mrs Crimble's Shortbread!

This afternoon tea was okay – pleasant enough, but far from the best we had had.  For such a high class and fancy hotel we were expecting something a bit more ‘wow’ than we got and it fell a bit short of my expectations.

Ratings:                               Gluten Free:

Tea: 7/10                                   

Sandwiches:  6/10                        6/10

Cakes: 7/10                                    6/10

Scones: 7/10                           

Service: 6/10

Overall: 6½/10

Would I return?   Probably not, we have had much nicer afternoon teas elsewhere.

The Yorkshire Crust - Cookridge Leeds

Yorkshire Crust

252 Tinshill Road

Cookridge

Leeds

LS16 7BT

Date Visited : 17 February 2015

Price: £8.00

The Yorkshire Crust is a small deli cafe at the end of a parade of shops just near the Horsforth railway station.  It’s not the most appealing looking building from the outside but it makes up for that with the food served inside.

Since it was a sunny day we decided to take a walk to the café from home – a walk which I overestimated the length of, so when we finally did arrive we were a little late and our reception was a tad frosty!  But nevertheless, once we got seated and the tea started flowing our late arrival seemed to be forgotten.

We opted for the traditional afternoon tea which consisted of a selection of finger sandwiches, homemade scones with jam and clotted cream and a variety of cakes. For only £8 per person, it is very reasonably priced in comparison with many other places.

The tea was served on a large wooden board rather than the traditional tiered cake stand and it came loaded with a selection of egg mayonnaise, cheese and onion chutney, ham and tomato, and ham and cream cheese sandwiches, all served on brown wholemeal bread.  Now I’m not a fan of onions so I didn’t give the cheese and chutney a try, but my husband and daughter loved it and we ended up buying a jar to take home (the chutney is freshly made on the premises and it is delicious – or so I’m told!).

As with the sandwiches the cakes were similarly scrummy, comprising of buttery shortbread filled with jam and apple, a chocolate brownie, and fruit scones. The shortbread was a particular favourite.

The gluten free afternoon tea consisted of four quarter sandwiches, with cheese and chutney, and ham and tomato, followed by the cafes tangy homemade citrus lemon drizzle cake.

Gluten Free Afternoon Tea

Despite arriving a little behind schedule, this delicious afternoon tea was well worth the long walk and it certainly surpassed my expectations.  And the fact we had to trek back up a viciously steep hill as we headed back home made me feel a little less guilty about all of the calories I’d just stuffed my face with!

Ratings:                           Gluten Free:

Tea: 7/10                                   

Sandwiches:  7/10                   7/10

Cakes: 7/10                              6/10

Scones: 7/10                           

Service: 6/10

Overall: 7½/10

Would I return?   Yes. It’s an ideal stop when out walking or shopping around Horsforth and I’ve heard the bacon sandwiches are really good.