This year we seem to be booking our afternoon teas at short notice with little planning. This trip was no exception. Sat on our narrowboat in Worsley post lunch time feeling peckish I Googled to see if the Marriott offered afternoon tea on a Saturday afternoon. They do but the site suggested booking, I called and they checked with the chef and very kindly accommodated us with about an hour of notice.
The afternoon tea is served in the Chimney Bar and Lounge part of the hotel, a public bar area but do not let this put you off it is a very nice bar area with comfy seats and plenty of room. It is not a bar where there is a TV or lots of noise etc.
We arrived early, and they were just arranging the table for us. Not a problem though and we opted for a drink from the bar first to allow the staff to carry on without the pressure of the annoying early customer....
We were seated on comfy seats with a nice big table and offered tea or coffee and as usual had one of each. There was a choice of tea including herbal infusions and coffees including latte, cappuccino etc.
This is one of the average priced afternoon teas at £18.50 per person. As one would expect it was presented with care and attention. The crockery does have a modern, elegant look and feel to it which suits the venue yet keeps the traditional presentation going.
There were ten fingers sandwiches to share including, cheese and onion, egg, salmon and beef. Very fresh on a mixture of white and brown bread and very tasty.
There was the traditional fruit scone served with two individual pots of jam, dish of cream served with strawberry halves.
The middle tier had lots of mini treats including strawberry mousse, choux buns, lemon cheesecake and chocolate brownies.
There was an extra treat served to the side of a Prosecco jelly.
One of the small details that I really appreciated was the number of proportionally sized tea spoons that were provided. I have had a number of instances where food has been served with spoons that were simply to big or not long enough to fit the container that food was served in. Equally having enough for each item to be able to use a clean one was noted.
Overall the service, food and presentation was excellent. There was nothing that could be faulted and the value was very good. As ever it took some time to finish and we were full as we left. I highly recommend a visit and enjoy the miniature delights from the chef.
