I feel like I can class myself as an afternoon tea connoisseur now, so after trying quite a few in the North East I thought I’d share my opinions to make your next afternoon tea an easier decision if you’re in the area that is.
I’ve rated each place taking the price into consideration too! 5/5 is the creme de le creme, 4/5 is really tasty, 3/5 is good, 2/5 not so good and 1/5 don’t go.
Rockcliffe Hall
I had my first ever afternoon tea at Rockcliffe Hall at Christmas time, so it wasn’t your normal concoction of desserts and sandwiches it was of course christmas themed. If you’ve never been to Rockcliffe Hall it is absolutely beautiful, it even snowed on the day adding to the christmas festivities. There was a large group of us as my family decided it would be an ideal place to meet before Christmas, and nothing was too much trouble. The afternoon tea was delicious, but the christmas flavoured macarons weren’t for me; but this wasn’t Rockcliffe’s fault just my own personal taste! There was lots of choices of sandwiches, quiches, scones, tarts, cakes, macarons, even stollen and of course as much tea and coffee as you like.
Cost: £25.00
Rating: 4/5
12 Harland Place
I’ve been to 12 Harland Place so many times, I think I’ve ate everything off their menu and I’ve been to their Pudding Club which was amazing. One thing that I always get excited for and always have room for is their desserts. I wanted to try their afternoon tea pretty much just for the cake! Let me tell you, the cake. The slabs were huge! So if you’re not greedy like myself then you might want to get a doggy bag (They are happy to do this). They have a variety of sandwiches and even wraps too which I’ve still not come across anywhere else, so if you love a wrap 12 Harland is the one for you. Their cakes were all amazing as well as their huge scones. I found the cakes to be the best bit!
Cost: £15.95
Rating: 4/5
Seaham Hall
Afternoon tea after relaxing in their spa as well as a full body massage was perfect. Seaham Hall is stunning and such a relaxing place. The scones and macarons were really good! I wasn’t really a fan of their cakes some had nuts in and were really chocolatey – just not my cup of tea!
Cost: £24.00
Rating:3/5
Acklam Hall
Acklam Hall’s afternoon tea is possibly one of my favourites! Acklam Hall is another Teesside beauty, each room has so many intricate features especially their ceilings. I had never heard anyone say anything about their afternoon tea’s so I didn’t know what to expect. They had a list of different types of hot drinks and my friend decided to get a mango green tea, it was so strong in taste compared to the usual flavoured standard green tea I still haven’t found one as good! The afternoon tea came out and there was so much choice, the sandwiches were the best I’ve had on an afternoon tea, and the cakes were just something else. I 100% recommend treating someone to an afternoon tea here for their birthday or a celebration!
Cost: £19.00
Rating: 5/5
Spa Hotel
The Spa Hotel in Saltburn is another hidden gem, everything was delicious with such a gorgeous view looking out to the beach. There was fresh fondant fancies, scones, macarons and even cornflake cake! Absolutely delicious.
Cost: £12.95
Rating: 3/5
Olde Young Teahouse
Another favourite! The best thing with Olde Young Teahouse’s afternoon tea is that you choose your sandwich, scone and cake. It’s perfect for anyone that doesn’t like the classic afternoon tea sandwich selection and they have so much choice of fillings. The same with their cakes, whichever cakes they have on the day you choose from, and they come up with the best cake ideas and the slabs are huge. You may not get lots of different cakes and sandwiches but I actually really enjoyed this afternoon tea style, you get exactly what you fancy rather than a cucumber and cheese sandwich (not a fan). And they specialise in tea, they have over a 100 types and so many flavours, and again you can have as many pots as you like!
Cost:£10.00
Rating: 5/5
So, if you’re in the North East and fancy an afternoon tea there is so many places to choose from. There’s still so many places I need to try, let me know your favourite places to afternoon tea!
Sophie x
The Teesside Foodie 