When I was asked if I would kindly accompany one of Manchester Confidential's, (here on known as ManCon), writers to Richmond Tea Rooms to tweet and take pictures I could hardly say no. After all it is my personal dream is to own my own tea rooms, so why not take the chance to scope out a successful one and see how it is done?
One thing people forget about Afternoon Tea is that it is a meal. A big meal. How often do you sit down to lunch with a sandwich, quiche, an extra savoury nibble, a scone, several cakes and biscuits? Not very often I'd wager but that is what appears on a Queens Afternoon Tea at the tea rooms. But let’s start right from the beginning.
The tea room was stuffed by the time we got there at 1pm (a little late from getting lost but not disastrously so. Google Maps betrayed us). The average clientele seems to be middle aged women and mothers with daughters and maybe grandma. As promised the décor was perfectly quirky and fun with mismatched colours and banners and Alice in Wonderland-esque drawings and signs. My companion delightedly informed me that she loves anything Alice in Wonderland themed which quickly became clear from the sheer amount of pictures she took of the rooms.
(The quieter back room)
We were seated in a quieter back room that I assume does not open until later in the day.
Seeing as Richmond’s is a tea room we decided to experiment with their large selection of flavoured teas. Some were rather appealing sounding and I gladly accepted a recommendation of Red Berry and Rose Bud tea whilst our writer chose a Vanilla Chai tea. We both admitted to not being big herbal tea drinkers, the flavours not usually strong enough for us.
My tea was a gorgeous punch pink and smelled of a summer garden. As I usually find with these teas it was a little weak but very enjoyable. I also discovered that a few sugar cubes made it taste like jelly so the pot was very quickly emptied. I tried the vanilla chai but it was too pungent for my tastes.
(Very cute tea sets)
We decided to get one breakfast, two lunch items and an Afternoon Tea so my companion had enough to talk about in her piece.
In retrospect I wished we had ordered less or brought an extra body to demolish the food. As tasty as it was, I was in desperate need of a lie down and maybe a sleep afterwards. I'll show you why now.
First off we tried the Eggs Benedict. A toasted English muffin with cuts of cold ham, poached, runny eggs and Hollandaise sauce, with a small leaf salad. The Hollandaise sauce is always the make or break for me, I like it creamy and with a hint of lemon rather than something edging close to lemon curd as I have had in the past. This one hit the spot nicely with a subtle but distinct lemon flavour and a smooth creaminess that complemented the egg nicely. I am not a big ham fan but I still helped finish them off.
(Eggs Benedict)
Then came the lunches; a croque Madame and a Black pudding and Bacon salad. Essentially a ham and cheese toasty with an egg on top, the Croque Madame still looked special and honestly smelled amazing. Layered with a Béchamel sauce it was creamy and satisfying although I was already becoming wary of eating too much too soon. I have vowed to return soon and finish one to myself.
The salad was exactly how I think a salad should be. Chunky strips of cucumber and fresh leaves in a honey mustard dressing were completely dominated by crispy bacon, two generous wheels of Bury Black Pudding and a poached egg. This is another I am definitely coming back for, the sheer amount of meat piled on top of the greens made sure every bite had a carnivore's delight in. I would recommend this as a cheat's salad. A meaty lunch in disguise as a salad; completely guilt free right?
(Croque Madame)
(Bacon and Black Pudding Salad)
After we finished with the salad and Croque Madame it was time for the main event; the Afternoon Tea.
A three tiered cake stand laden with cakes, scones, sandwiches and quiches arrived on the table, much to our delight and horror. We were already starting to feel full and the sheer amount of food in front of us was making us seriously consider ringing the office for back up. Instead we soldiered on, starting from the top and working our way down.
(Stunning Afternoon Tea)
The top tier featured a delightful array of desserts; a raspberry chocolate brownie- rich, dense and sinfully chocolatey, a Passion-fruit and raspberry cheesecake - delicate and moreish, cherry Bakewell slices of fluffy heaven and two bite sized macaroons. Needless to say we demolished every sweet bite.
(The desserts)
The second layer provided two generous scones with pots of Jam and Clotted Cream. By this stage I wasn't too sure I could eat half a scone let alone one of these colossus offerings but one bite changed that. I swear these scones were honestly the best I have ever eaten outside of my Mum's kitchen. Sweet and crumbly with that warm, sweet, fresh baked taste, a bronzed crust that added a little crunch but wasn't over cooked. It was beautiful! I was very pleased to find that my companion didn’t like scones so I promptly wrapped up the second scone to take home with me. There was no way I would let that go to waste.
(Perfect Scones)
The final tier featured three sandwich of ham, egg mayonnaise and cheese and onion, a small bruschetta and a mini quiche each. I thought the sandwiches looked a little lacklustre compared to the scones and cakes but they were tasty enough if not likely to be overlooked. The bruschetta was nicely seasoned and the quiches packed a punch flavour wise but by that point I felt like I couldn't eat another bite. I do feel that the sandwiches should all be a uniform shape however, is it just me or is two triangles and a rectangle rather irritating?
(The Irksome Sandwiches, Bruschetta and Quiche)
We were then presented with a Gentleman's Afternoon tea by the very eager manager but I honestly couldn't face eating it. It arrived on a stylish slate board with battered fish and chips, half a homemade scotch egg, a sausage roll, sandwiches, bruschetta, potato salad, green salad, mushy peas and square of chocolate brownie. Any other day I would have been thrilled and I am determined to head back and taste it. However we just couldn't manage another mouthful. Instead we wrapped up the fish, sausage roll and Scotch egg to eat at a later date. I am assured that they were as wonderful as they looked.
(Gentleman's Afternoon Tea)
Over all I really enjoyed everything we sampled, proving that the Richmond Tea Rooms can provide excellence no matter what meal you arrive for. As long as they decide what shape to have their sandwiches I see no reason why I shouldn't become a frequent visitor on treat days. Maybe not for a while yet though seeing as this one visit kept me pretty much stuffed full until dinner time the next day and even then it was just toast before bed.