Leckenby's, Bury

Leckenby's, Millgate Shopping Centre, Bury 5th May 2013

Today's afternoon tea visit to Leckenby's in Bury was not our first choice, it was on the list but we had seen The Pavilion at Birtle, Bury and were hoping to go there first simply because at £18.50 per person it was to be the most expensive by far and should be amazing. I emailed the Pavilion midweek to book and having had to chase them for a reply discovered that although they open Sundays they do not serve afternoon tea on that day (the website implies they do) and they do not check their emails daily so best to call. A little annoying to say the least, do not advertise your email if you do not check it daily and why not offer afternoon tea when open? We would have been greatly put out if we had gone and then found that out. Some of us work 6 days and only have Sundays for treats. Anyway, their loss was Leckenby's gain and that got moved up the list and to be honest are very glad it did.

I emailed them at night from their website and got a reply the following morning to confirm a reservation. 

Today we arrived fifteen minutes early and were greeted and shown to the reserved booth that had been set aside for us.

The young lady that greeted us and served us throughout our visit was very good at her job indeed, very polite and efficient and notably made the right amount of conversation. Asked about our trip into Bury and what our plans where but then left us to eat.

It was an excellent start being offered traditional, champagne or a vegetarian afternoon tea. That is the first time we have been offered a vegetarian option, not applicable to us but a very nice touch and a simple but effective idea. 

The tea rooms are very traditional in style and decor with a suitable 1920/30's feel. It is very well presented with nice small booths and centre tables. Naturally, more than afternoon tea is served and there is a selection of traditional cakes, biscuits and drinks area available to buy to take away as well as eating in options. 

We ordered the traditional afternoon tea, as usual with one tea and one coffee. The latte was the largest standard size latte I have seen and served with a biscuit. The tea was presented in matching tea pot and was loose tea, not a bag. I had forgotten how flavoursome loose tea was and this was a very nice change and on request I was very kindly given an extra pot of hot water. No biscuit for me though.

The service was excellent with very little wait time; the afternoon tea was served on a traditional 3 tier stand with nice matching small plates.

For the first time on our afternoon tea visits the sandwiches were served in triangles and not fingers. This makes no difference at all to the quality or tastes just a presentation difference. We had four triangles each, with egg mayo, turkey, tuna and ham, and were offered any dressing should we want any. Both white and brown bread were used. Between each one were slices of cucumber and cherry tomatoes, a nice touch. The sandwiches were very fresh and very nice.

The second middle tier had the fruit scones, pots of strawberry preserve and two small dishes of fresh cream and there was plenty of fresh cream. We were also provided with a number of butter packets. The scones were very fresh and tasty.

The top tier had four mini cakes provided by Slattery’s, a carrot cake, chocolate cake, strawberry mouse in a white chocolate casing and a lemon mouse in a dark chocolate casing. Downside of not having the same of each double up leaves a dilemma of who has what. What a dilemma to have, we cut the 2 cakes on half and shared and I opted for the lemon mouse. As it happens Paul was full so I also had the strawberry mousse.

All very good, especially the lemon mousse in my opinion. The carrot cake was not the best in my humble opinion as it was a bit too doughy but it is always personal choice and this maybe the general preference of Slattery’s customers.

We spent about a hour in Leckenby’s and it is fair to say that we were very full at the end and that is the first time we have said that after any afternoon tea we have had recently.

At £11.95 per person I would highly recommend going to Leckenby's and it doesn't need to be for a special occasion just allow an extra hour when shopping. Well worth it.

The upshot is my mother would love it and it is one to take her too on another day.

Leckenbys