Afternoon Tea at Bartisserie 2

2 Market Place, Ramsbottom, Bury, BL0 9HT

We all know how I’m partial to a decadent Afternoon Tea. My latest indulgence came courtesy of Bartisserie², a restaurant, bar and patisserie in the heart of the idyllic countrified village of Ramsbottom, which is now a foodie heaven.

Located opposite the landmark earn, Bartisserie² serves meals across the day using the finest and freshest local ingredients. It’s local, Northern fine dining at its best.

Chef and founder Ethan Ballan, born and bred in Bury, set up the local bistro with the aim of bringing together the best of both worlds from French and British cuisine.

At the age of just 26, Ethan already boasts an impressive CV. After studying cookery at Bury College, he discovered he had a passion for patisserie whilst undertaking a culinary diploma at the Ashburton Chef’s Academy. Ethan went on to put his passion to good use working at Michael Caine’s Abode Restaurant in Manchester. For over two years, he worked as a pastry chef and prepared afternoon teas as London’s prestigious Dorchester Hotel and, in 2016, was part of the team who catered for The Queen’s 90^th Birthday Party. Now that’s the ultimate high tea.  

Bringing his expertise of all things patisserie back up North, after spending time working with the San Carlo group, he fulfilled his ultimate career ambition of opening his own Bistro and Bartisserie² was born.

It only opened earlier this year but I’ve read and heard great things about it. When you walk past the shop front, you’ll see the artistically constructed cakes and pastries delicately placed in full view in the front window and if that doesn’t tempt you to add it to your ‘to dine’ list, I don’t know what will.

Afternoon tea at Bartisserie² is a unique experience. Gone are the towering cake stands with your sandwiches on the bottom, scones in the middle and the cakes on top. Instead, it’s served in three courses: sandwiches and quiche first, scones second and a selection of desserts to finish. This is a genius idea. You’re much more likely to take your time as you’re not overwhelmed by what’s in front of you. Each course is delivered to your table by Ethan himself. He talks you through what he’s prepared for you, which is a nice personal touch; the kind of thing that makes an experience special.

Arriving first were four fresh finger sandwiches and two mini quiches. The sandwiches were decent sizes, the bread wasn’t dry and there was plentiful filling. There was smoked salmon, sliced chicken with pea puree, tomato and mozzarella and cucumber and cream cheese. Often, on an afternoon tea, the flavours can be a little bit boring and the bread is somewhere along the scale of dry to going stale. These, however, were beautiful. The quiches were creamy goats cheese and caramelised red onion in a buttery pastry. They were a welcome addition to the savoury course and helped set you up nicely for the sweet.

Sandwiches and Quiches

On the second course were two small but perfectly formed scones – one plain, one fruit – served warm with homemade chunky raspberry jam and whipped cream. Clotted cream may be more traditional, but, personally, I prefer the lighter, fluffier texture that comes with the whipped alternative. This is where serving the afternoon tea in courses proves to be a good idea, as we could tuck into the scones whilst they were still warm. Naturally, I made sure they were laden with copious amounts of jam and cream.

Scones

The third and final course, the spectacular finale, was a selection of four miniature patisseries from the cake fridge. With nothing too sweet for my palate, this is really what an afternoon tea is all about. We had a passionfruit tart topped with zingy Italian meringue, a raspberry macaron, a chocolate mousse encased in a solid chocolate and hazelnut coat and a millionaire’s shortbread topped with chocolate orange piping. Half fruity, half chocolate, it was the perfect mix and all four were faultless. Presentation was equally superb; they looked almost too good to eat. With every mouthful, you could taste the passion that had gone into its creation.

Cakes

Millionaire’s Shortbread is one of my favourite sweet treats, and this was the best one I’ve ever had. With a thick, crunchy shortbread base and a generous layer of caramel, the ratios were on point and the chocolate topping was elegantly decorated with a stave and musical notes. Finished off with chocolate orange piping – one of my very favourite combinations – it made me wonder why every slice of Millionaire’s shortbread can’t taste like this.

With hot drinks of your choice to wash it all down, it’s well worth the £20 per person. The quality of the food, the attention to detail in the cakes, the friendly attentive staff and the sophisticated playlist make for an impeccable experience.

With different menus available at all times of the day, I look forward to returning to Bartisserie² for another dining experience soon.

If you’re looking to treat someone special for their birthday, an afternoon of indulgence at Bartisserie² would make the perfect present.

All menus are available online at: http://bartisserie2.co.uk/