The Aviator Hotel - Farnborough

The Aviator Hotel - Sky Bar 13th July 2013

This trip was for the hotel not specifically afternoon tea, however once we discovered that they offered it, it would have been remiss not to try. The price is shown at £23 and we assumed per person but we were charged only £23 for the two of us (noticed after we had checked out and where on the way home), if it is for two then it is amazing value. If it is per person and it was an error then still excellent value but you may class it as a treat.

There is normally a requirement to book at least 24 hours in advance but when we asked in the morning, the team were very accommodating and said they could fit us in. Normally it woud have been served on the Terrace but the hotel had a lage wedding that afternoon that had booked the whole of it so it was served in the very nice Sky Bar, this is not second best but my photos do not do it justice.

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When we arrived there were a number of others having tea, the bar is a very relaxing bar and makes a very good setting for afternoon tea. The service from start to finish was first class.

We ordered the usual coffee for one and on this occasion tea is served a little differently  You are given a large shining pot of hot water and on the table is a very large selection of Clipper tea bags and you can choose which you prefer. I got three different types of tea from my one pot of water.

The tea pot was gleaming and kept the water very hot for the duration.

 

The detail was there throughout, including the matching bowl for the used tea bags, the sparkling cutlery and immaculate high quality linen napkins.

The food was served with the sandwiches on a plate and the cakes, desserts and scones on a modern tier stand.

The Sandwiches consisted of: Chilli cream cheese, Salmon and cucumber, Chicken and egg mayonnaise . There were dressed with rocket and came with two mini eggs. each finger had a good size filling and the breads were all made in house were exceptionally fresh and their own speciality breads. They were very very good indeed, the best yet!

The tier had a very good selection of cakes, mini desserts and of course scones.

The scones were warm and very fresh and came with a pot of jam to share and plenty of clotted cream presented with a strawberry on top.

We moved to desserts next as it was a very hot day and the mousse. There was a chocolate one that was great for chocoholics, heaven and  raspberry one. Again the presentation and the exceptionally high quality was there.

At this point we were getting quite full but in no rush, we were not going to leave anything (unlike some others that struggled. Onto the cakes, the mini lemon meringue pies were so tasty as were the macaroons and then there is the triangle. We had no idea what to expect with this but it is a sponge cake with pistachio cream filling. The time it must have taken to make this and slice and it stay perfect with it being squashed again showed the patisserie chef off to his best. The detail and the skill and of course the taste was simply perfect.

Overall this was first class in every which way, the service was exceptional and the bar manager was attentive, the food was of the highest standard and presentation second to none. If anyone is ever in the area and wants a fantastic afternoon experience, book in, allow time and enjoy. Plus they do fabulous cocktails.

The Aviator Hotel

 

Last Drop Village Tea Rooms - Bolton

The Last Drop Bolton 30th June 2013

This afternoon tea was booked via the daily deal website Living Social. It dropped in my email inbox and I thought it was a good idea to try with it not being that far away from Rossendale.

The cost was £8.50 per person (a saving of £1)

When we arrived we were not sure where the tea was and naturally went to the hotel to discover it was in the village tea rooms on site. Very traditional interior decor as to be expected with the Last Drop complex. We had to book to use the voucher so we were expected and we could sit anywhere. The manager was very jolly and chatty and the service was efficient.

We were not offered any alternate options or asked if we were vegetarian etc and not offered any other teas. This option was a traditional afternoon tea with regular tea and we had to ask for one with coffee.

The Tea pot was very small with a bag and no extra hot water. Due to the size of the pot the tea was strong. I did ask for more hot water later and the teapot was topped up. The drinks were brought very quickly but due to the size of them they were almost finished before any food arrived.

Onto the food though, it was served on two large plates not a tiered stand, and there was plenty.

The bread was not the best, seemed very cheap and as you can see presentation was limited. The next shot shows it slightly more favourably but the lack of detail made the event nice but not an experience to want to do again.

The sandwiches included ham and mustard, salmon and cucumber, chicken in mayo and cheese and chutney. They were nice, the tarragon mayo was very nice it was a shame though to have a small amount of gristle in it. I am glad I had that one last as it was off putting.

As ever, we were served scones and a plate of desserts. The scones were warm but I suspect microwaved as the texture was quite doughy. A pot of jam each and a large portion of clotted cream to share.

The pots were lemon cheesecake, we used our tea spoons from our drinks to eat them with as we were not given any spoons. I did like these, I would say my favourite of the desserts. As hubby doesn't like cheesecake I had both.

In addition, we had carrot cake, chocolate fudge cake and coffee cake all of which were very moist. We couldn't eat them all and ended up taking some home.

Overall, it was OK, there was plenty of food but to me afternoon tea is an experience and it was the detail that let this down. The quality of sandwiches compared to others was not there and there was a  lack of finesse, the lack of spoons and the small tea pot, it could be so much better with minor changes.

The Last Drop is part of the Mercure group and at the same time as buying this voucher I also bought one for the Dunkenhalgh as part of the same group. It will be interesting to see how they do in comparison.

The Last Drop