Silver Service Afternoon Tea at The Grand, York – Hudson’s restaurant at The Grand York is situated in an elegant but cosy room overlooking the York Bar Walls. On this occasion I was there to sample their new Silver Service Afternoon Tea. I have reviewed The Grand’s regular afternoon tea offering in The Rise Restaurant after a lovely spa day there, and was intrigued to try their new luxury offering.
The service in The Rise is excellent, make no mistake about that, but the service we received during the Silver Service Afternoon Tea in Hudson’s was truly a cut above. Prepare yourself for a whole new experience of afternoon tea. In fact the word ‘experience’ really sums up the whole afternoon. To begin with I was pleasantly greeted and shown to my table. My chair was carefully placed for me and my napkin draped upon my knee. It really set the tone for the whole afternoon.
Once we were settled in, the manager approached us to discuss the tea offering. He carried a very distinguished looking leather box folder which opened to reveal the specially chosen Newby teas available to us. We were then taken through their history and tasting notes, and invited to sample the scent of the tea. My guest plumped for The Grand blend breakfast tea, which I went for the braver choice of the Rooibos Tiramisu which was sweet and caramelly.
The first course of the Afternoon Tea was a tomato tea. A clear tomato consommé served chilled. I will be honest, I was a little suspicious about this when I saw it on the menu, but it was truly delicious, light and savoury. A perfect palate cleanser.
Next we moved onto the sandwiches, made up of smoked sea trout, pickled cucumber and dill and Victorian egg mayonnaise sandwiches. We were advised to begin with the pickled cucumber (my favourite) before moving on to the smoked sea trout then the Victorian egg. I am not keen on fish and declined the trout sandwich. My guest tried it and declared it delicious, melt in the mouth and divine. She then would not stop until I had tried a little. I did. We are no longer friends. I am just kidding – but it wasn’t for me! She, however loved it.
We both enjoyed the Victoria egg sandwiches. They were made just like Queen Victoria herself liked them, a slice of white bread, then egg mayonnaise, then (the surprise element) a slice of white toast, before more egg mixture and finally a slice of white bread. The toast provided a lovely crunch to the sandwich, and was a good addition!
Silver Service Afternoon Tea in Hudson’s at The Grand, York.
Once the sandwich course was cleared warm scones were brought. The Grand bakes fresh scones every day and these were glorious. They were served with raspberry and strawberry jam as well as a small pot of honey, oh and clotted cream of course! I think the scones were my favourite part.
Our final course were the cakes. There were three different types, a pistachio cake with strawberry, a banana bread with hazelnut and truffle and a caramel gold choux bun. This was my favourite and came with a very decadent 24ct gold leaf on top.
An additional cheese course was available, and if you have read any of my other reviews, you will know how much I love cheese, but I was really too full to partake by this stage!
All in all, it was a lovely, relaxed and decadent meal. An ideal experience for a special occasion!
Don’t miss my other reviews of lots of lovely places for Afternoon Tea in York.
The Grand, York invited us to dine and review. As always, all opinions are my own.