Bury New Road, Whitefield
If you know me well enough, by
now you’ll know how much I love afternoon tea. It’s one of life’s most glorious
indulgences.
Whether you like it or not,
we’re all familiar with the concept. It’s a decadent selection of finger
sandwiches, scones with jam and cream and an array of sweet treats, ranging
from sponge cakes and cheesecakes to trifles and mille-feuille.
However, as with anything in
2019, afternoon tea is evolving. Last weekend, I tried a unique and utterly
brilliant twist on the traditional mid-afternoon meal, a so-called ‘Gentleman’s
Afternoon Tea’. Whilst I appreciate that, in these PC-obsessed times, certain
people are going to take issue with the name, you certainly can’t take issue
with the contents.
It’s a brilliant way of
encouraging the male species to indulge in this past-time. For reasons I’ll
never be able to fathom, many men simply don’t ‘get’ cake. I know – baffling!
So, One88 have done away with the fruit scones lathered with heaps of jam and
dollops of clotted cream and replaced it with a selection of savoury
alternatives.
You’ve still got your
selection of sandwiches, with each one served on a different type of bread. We
had mini bagels filled with egg mayonnaise, roast beef, onion and horseradish
wraps and smoked ham on soft white bloomer bread.
The other savouries were essentially
a trio of bar snacks: there was a bucket of fish goujons, a sausage roll and
two triangular slices of pork pie.
I love a pork pie, but when I
think of them I envisage the minis you buy from a supermarket, with hard,
crumbly pastry filled with artificial meat. You need a pint of liquid just to
digest them. These were nothing of the sort. The pastry was soft, the meat was
recognisably tasty pork and there wasn’t too much gelatine – although, I’ll be
perfectly honest, I love the jelly interior.
With two slices of pork pie,
two halves of a sausage roll and three giant fish goujons, you certainly got
your money’s worth and, if you’re not a sweet-toothed fiend, it’s the perfect
afternoon tea for you.
That’s not to say that the
sweet side wasn’t impressive. There was still more than enough to balance out
the carb-heavy savoury courses. We were presented with two different cakes: a
chocolate fudge brownie and a traditional cherry and almond bakewell tart.
There were not one but two slices of each of the cakes, which, combined, were
certainly more than a single dessert’s worth. Of all the cakes I have tried at
One88, these were definitely the nicest of the lot. The rich chocolate brownie
with its gooey fudge topping balanced out the lighter, more refreshing
raspberry jam and almond flavour of the bakewell tart perfectly.
If you think of an afternoon
tea to be a light mid-afternoon treat, then this is the one to prove you
wrong. It’s priced at £20 per person,
including a bottle of beer and a pot of tea, it’s superb value for money as
you’ll leave feeling full to the brim. I’m a tea-totaller, so I asked if I
could have two lots of tea rather than a bottle of beer. The staff were happy
to oblige, so there’s no reason why you couldn’t swap the alcohol for a
soft-drink.
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| Gentleman's Afternoon Tea |
One88’s Gentleman’s Afternoon
Tea is one of the best I’ve ever had. I actually preferred to their traditional
version. The first time I had the traditional afternoon tea, we were astounded
by the quantity of the food, but when we returned for a second time, there was
significantly less of it, which was slightly disappointing. I hope they
maintain their high standards with the Gentleman’s version and don’t start
scrimping.
If you’d like to introduce, or
convert, the men in your life to the joys of afternoon tea, this is certainly
the way to do it.
Advance booking is required.
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