This weekend we were invited to sample the delights of Malmaison Hotel in Manchester’s Afternoon Tea Menu. Hungry and expectant we had high hopes for the menu, which we would get to taste rather appropriately during National Afternoon Tea Week.
Set just opposite Picadilly Train Station, the Malmaison’s restaurant offers big open windows, perfect for people watching as you relax. Surveying the menu, there were a couple of options available, the Classic Cream Tea covered the basics, with Tea Scones, butter and Jam on the agenda, with Lemon and Polenta Cake and Chocolate Brownies to keep things interesting.
Offering more variety was the simply named Afternoon Tea, which promised fruit scones, a selection of savoury wraps, mini burgers, summer berry smoothies, brownies, lemon cake, meringue, mousse and of course a choice of teas.
There is also availability to change your Tea to a more tippled affair with upgrades to Champagne and Cocktail varieties. Considering it would be rude to visit and not review the full selection, we opted for the Champagne Afternoon Tea, of which we accompanied our main selection with a glass each of White and Rose Mumm NV Champagne.
Kicking off with the savoury choices, we tried the Salmon Creme Fraiche and Chicken Avocado Wraps first. Light yet delicious these were easy to enjoy and snack on without fuss and satisfied our taste buds as desired.
Moving on to the Mini Malmaison Burgers, these tiny meat packed treats provided a small amount of dressing with traditional burger sauce to keep things simple. Cooked perfectly, this meaty choice was one favourite of the sampled bunch.
After so much savoury it was time to try the sweet with a Summer Berry Smoothie, this was appeasing however the flavours got a little lost after so much difference in our starting food choices. Nonetheless, the appearance was well received, with the tiny bottles featuring cute and colourful paper straws.
The Sweet Treats were most appealing to my eye upon first serving and I was not disappointed. The Salted Chocolate Brownie was gooey and soft with a rich chocolatey flavour, whilst the Lemon and Polenta Cake added a zest of citrus to an otherwise crumbly good cake. The Strawberry Meringue proved to be a personal favourite, sugary and light as intended, whilst the Peach and Amaretto Cream offered a good end to the feast (although we struggled to finish it all).
For the teas we tried a Scottish Breakfast Tea, made in typically British fashion with milk and sugar, a good companion to the food to begin with. Mid-way through we opted for a Green Tea, known for settling the stomach and so advised for when you’ve mixed a variety of mini-dishes. Lastly we tried a Peppermint Tea to soothe and cleanse our palettes after mountains of food and drink. The Teas were recommendable, not too much considering the accompaniments.
With our upgrade we got a glass of White and Rose Mumm NV Champagne with left us a tad tipsy and beautifully blended together with the multiple flavours on offer, leaving us glad we went for the trade up.
