To Have a Mini Afternoon Tea Rant

[AfternoonTeaTotty]

Disclaimer: complete first world problem, that goes without saying. Not at all important in the big scheme of things.

I was gifted an afternoon tea voucher for myself and DH by a very lovely and amazing friend who knows I love going out for afternoon tea. She's a wonderful soul and so thoughtful so would never say anything at all to her because I truly appreciate her. We went and had a lovely time because it was just special to sit and enjoy a quiet moment of calm and relaxation. But...

Has anyone else noticed how much places are taking the p@!? when it comes to afternoon tea now? Used to be lovely scones, nice slices of cake, decent sandwiches, lovely pot of tea and maybe a glass of bubbles if it's a special occasion. Yesterday it was tiny, tiny sandwiches with odd fillings, tiny strange combination micro cakes which were just weird and tea that I'm sure was Tesco red label tea bags. A glass of prosecco that tasted like a £5.99 bottle special. Scones were good to be fair. But if we had paid for it, it would have been £40 each for this experience, so £90 for two of us 😮

There was a table next to us, a group of ladies who didn't look very impressed with the food but were trying not to say anything. Their bill would have easily been £400-500.

I completely get that places are struggling with the cost of everything but surely it would easier and cheaper to do an old style afternoon tea. With slices of cake and straightforward sandwich fillings? Less time and less fiddly.

Has social media killed this off now because everything has to be Instagram worthy instead of tasty? Since when did they charge so much for so little?

Plus it didn't help that the guy tried to charge me for the meal when we left despite knowing we were there on a gift voucher. Tried to charge me £50 saying he'd give me a discount. That was until I gave him the hard stare and reminded him it had already been paid for. He tried to insist but saw he wouldn't get anywhere so caved. Cheeky F@#!?#

Is this the massive Mumsnet salad?

I have given up on Afternoon tea. Not enough sandwiches in my experience and not great cakes. Quite pricy as well. I would prefer to go to lunch and have two to three course. I think it works out better value.

I had an afternoon tea as part of a hen do earlier this year that was meant to include cheese and crackers, thought that would be lovely as I agree there are never enough savoury items on a standard afternoon tea - well it arrived and there was a handful of jacobs cream crackers (fine) and..... some cheese-strings (unwrapped). It was so bad it was funny and we all just sat there and took the piss.

Edited to add that the cakes were also fairly obviously a defrosted Iceland selection. It didn't stop us from having a lovely time but we were all starving when we left.

My family and I love an afternoon tea and we go for maybe 3 or 4 per year but there has been such a drop in the standards of them sadly. The prices go up and the quality and quantity go down.

Afternoon tea is my favourite type of ‘dining’ and we do about 6 every year. A lot are gift vouchers as friends and family know that I love it. To be honest, they do vary a lot. Some are great, others so so and it’s not just down to the price. So we return to the better ones!

Idiot. 🙄
£40 is not cheap for afternoon tea.
I live in the north, average price is around £30 without bubbly, whether you choose champagne or prosecco would obviously alter the price.

I find garden centres do great afternoon teas too, fresh sandwiches, often homemade cakes and scones, jam, clotted cream, no complaints usually.

Name and shame this shoddy establishment!!!

All hail the arrival of the competitive undereater!

@Cynic17where exactly is charging £100 for butties and a scone?
because it ain’t the ritz or claridges 😂😂😂😂

I paid £20 ppn with unlimited tea and coffee for afternoon tea at a local cafe in Manchester. Recently. Lovely freshly made sandwiches and wraps. Homemade cakes in a variety of Lovely flavours, homemade scones, mini pots of roddys cream and more when we asked, the mince pies seemed shop bought but the ginger biscuits homemade. Service very friendly. We took lots of leftovers home in a bag each.

I think £30 reasonable in a hotel but then I'm paying for posh, calm surroundings and professional smooth service that is neither overbearing nor inattentive. £40 in a very posh hotel and then you're getting into silly prices.

It's the wrong time of day for a big meal in my view.

Blimey - you must be every rip-off merchant's fantasy!

😂

This is my local place festive afternoon tea also £40 a head.

Soup and Sandwiches
Parsnip and Sweet Potato Veloute
Garnished with Chives and Roast Chestnuts
Home-cooked ham, mature cheddar & house chutney slider(vegetarian has no ham)
Smoked salmon, Lemon cream cheese & Cucumber on brown(vegetarian has Free-range egg mayo)
Warm Savouries
Mini Beef Yorkshire Pudding
Slow-cooked brisket of beef, horseradish creamed potato, red wine jus, crispy onion (vegetarian has Moving Mountains veggie sausage & veggie haggis with horseradish creamed potatoes, vegetarian gravy
Festive Bonbon
Roast turkey breast, Cumberland sausage, smoked bacon in a sage & onion crumb, truffled confit egg yolk. (Veggie version has Root vegetable hash cake, sage & onion stuffing, confit egg yolk)
Camembert
Mini breaded Camembert, warm cranberry relish, crispy sage and sprout tops
Sweet Treats
Black Forest Mousse
Dark chocolate mousse, cherry compote, chocolate mirror glaze, caramelised white chocolate
Egg Nog Tart
Egg nog custard tart, butter pastry case, nutmeg cream, candied orange zest
Christmas Cupcake
Christmas cake cupcake, marzipan frosting, gingerbread & frosted snowflakes
Salted Caramel & Cinnamon Trifle
Caramelised biscuit base, cinnamon creme anglaise, toffee pieces and salted pretzel
Scone and Rum Butter
Vanilla-bean scone with rum butter and home-made mulled fruits jam

Must depend where you go as with anything. It’s always been homemade scones and whipped cream with jam, sandwich selection and homemade brownies with nice coffee (I don’t drink tea) for me. Always too much food.

This one is massive and amazing https://greyfriarscolchester.co.uk/dining/afternoon-tea/

The posh, silver service Lady Betty's afternoon tea at Betty's in Harrogate or York is to die for. £45 per head and everything is freshly made and delicious. They offer extra sandwiches included if you want them, as well.

If I were a wealthy woman I'd go monthly.

Cliveden afternoon tea with champagne is less than £100 so would be too cheap for Cynic17

They vary a lot, I’ve had excellent ones but it’s far from guaranteed, and higher prices doesn’t mean better in my experience. The best ones are little tea rooms who actually listen to you when you say you hate eggs and tomatoes!

Depends where you go. I recently had afternoon tea at a local independent cafe where the owner makes all the cakes and scones himself. It was £25 per person and included a mix of sandwiches, cake and a scone each along with a pot of tea. Absolutely delicious. I think avoiding chains and cafes where they use catering companies to buy in food.

This, I have the constitution of an ox but the thrice I have had afternoon tea, I have come away with a headache 😩

No. The last 2 afternoon teas I've been to were amazing and they were on special offer. Both had limitless tea, coffees, latte, hot chocolate with a nice selection of sandwiches, lovely fresh scones & little cakes that we took home. The first one was in a hotel.and I paid £15 for 2 people (Groupon). 2nd one was at a spa hotel & I paid £99 for the afternoon tea plus use of the spa for 2 people

What was he thinking trying to charge you?? Did he think you’d forget you’d were only there due to a gifted voucher!

Has anyone else noticed how much places are taking the p@!? when it comes to afternoon tea now? Used to be lovely scones, nice slices of cake, decent sandwiches, lovely pot of tea

It still is, you had a bad experience. Did your friend bother to read reviews before forking out so much?

You can get a delicious afternoon tea for half what she paid.

I think too many people think if they pay their money, they'll get a good experience. But you do need to read reviews.

Plus it didn't help that the guy tried to charge me for the meal when we left despite knowing we were there on a gift voucher. Tried to charge me £50 saying he'd give me a discount. That was until I gave him the hard stare and reminded him it had already been paid for. He tried to insist but saw he wouldn't get anywhere so caved. Cheeky F@#!?#

I wonder how many vulnerable people he has ripped off.

I would report him to Trading Standards.

And it's bloody wonderful (Cliveden)! Took my mother and we were stuffed to the gills with fabulous food.

Think AF is a bit 'bandwagon'. Places think they can make a quick buck by offering it. The Ivy being a case in point. Was given a voucher for AF there and it wasn't great.

Awww you’re just so teeny tiny and delicate and feminine and the rest of us are such big fat lumbering scoffing greedy guts. Sure.