Are you looking out for Afternoon tea in Manchester and have no clue where to start from?
If yes, go on and find out. Manchester is well-known for its nightlife. But if you want to make your trip up here a bit more cultured, don’t worry: you’ll have to try one of Manchester’s fantastic afternoon teas. Whether you opt for a typical British blowout at a small neighborhood café or a more cosmopolitan twist in a high-end restaurant, you’re sure to leave satisfied (and complete). Is it time for tea? Please yes!
Afternoon Tea Manchester – Top 10 Places for Tea Party
1. Annie’s
Annie’s is a crowd-pleaser, having won the People’s Choice title for best tea room at the Manchester Tourism Awards. It’s also simple to understand why.
Its prerogative is to make you feel perfectly at home, abandoning fancy-pants grandeur in favor of something much cosier. It’s also owned by Corrie actress Jennie McAlpine (Fiz Brown).
2. Cloud 23
The highest of all high teas is on level 23 of Manchester’s Beetham Tower, which also houses the Hilton Hotel. Zoom up to Cloud 23, a glam cocktail lounge with stunning views of Deansgate and beyond, in the super-fast lift.
Along with the traditional cucumber and cream cheese and smoked salmon sarnies, there’s also a pesto chicken Sarno and a little feta and tomato pastry. A strawberry and cream cup, a rather elaborate red berry and matcha Battenberg, lemon tart, and colorful macarons are among the sweet treats.
3. The Ivy Spinningfields
The Ivy Spinningfields is a massive restaurant in the heart of Spinningfields that creates a lovely setting for afternoon tea, as well as an opportunity to dress up in your best attire since the attention to detail within The Ivy Spinningfields, is quite astounding.
Summer Garden Afternoon Tea (£24.95 or £33.95 with Champagne) is served daily between 3 pm and 5 pm and includes a selection of elaborate delicacies such as truffled foods and marinated cucumber, as well as delectable desserts such as lemon and a raspberry doughnut with pink lemonade and pistachio nasturtium crème Brulee.
4. The Grand Pacific
The opulent restaurant space once inhabited by the much-missed Room (and even longer before that, celeb hotspot Reform) has become the “colonial-style” (eek), Grand Pacific for quite some time now.
GP’s afternoon tea is appropriately unconventional, served on a golden pineapple cake stand in the manner of art deco. The more traditional finger sandwiches offer lobster butter-coated crumpets and tuna and salmon tartare. An extra Eccles Cake with creamy Lancashire cheese is between sweet and savoury and extremely Manc.
5. Lowry Hotel
Tea lovers will appreciate the chance to explore the menu at The Lowry Hotel at Chapel Wharf, as there are over 80 types to pick from as part of their Afternoon Tea at the hotel’s River Restaurant
And if that doesn’t do it, there’s always a glass of fizz to savor. Aside from the traditional scones, cream, and jam, savory and sweet delicacies are priced at £39 for two. You’ll also get a cocktail on arrival and a 25% discount on additional beverages if you book directly with them.
6. The Vienna Coffee House
The Vienna Coffee House on Mosley Street has reopened after renovating during the lockdown. Their Special Afternoon Tea is £14.90 per person, around half the price of some of the city’s other options.
It includes finger sandwiches, fresh scones with cream and jam, and a choice of cake from their chiller cabinet, as well as tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. If you don’t want to go all out, there’s a cream tea for £5.20 or a cake sharing plate for £9.25, which is worth mentioning given how well this institution is known for its baked goods. This independent coffee shop is a more informal affair, so it’s a great alternative if you want luxury without having to dress up.
7. Bistrot Pierre
If you want to go away from the city center for an afternoon tea, head to Bistrot Pierre in Altrincham, where they’ve recently released a new afternoon tea with a Parisienne touch for a very cheap £11.95pp.
The menu features flavour-packed baguettes, French pastry such as chocolate eclairs and vanilla millefeuille, as well as strawberries and cream, Eton mess, and the obligatory scones and clotted cream.
8. Richmond Tea Rooms
If traditional afternoon tea isn’t cutting it, take a journey down the rabbit hole to an Alice In Wonderland-themed tea parlour. Richmond Tea Rooms, named for the street on which it was once located, has long been a Gay Village institution;
It has since relocated to a more prominent location on Sackville Street. Throughout the years, it has also raised the bar, currently hosting regular tea parties hosted by the finest of Manchester’s flamboyant drag queens, such as Liquorice Black and Anna Phylactic. Cakes and sandwiches are traditional afternoon tea fare, and teas such as Blue Lady and Lotus Rose are available.
9. Menagerie Restaurant
Presentation is essential these days. Sure, your Nana’s tiny square sarnies taste good, but will they hold up on social media? Sorry, mate, but we don’t think so.
Menagerie has upped its aesthetic game for afternoon tea by offering you dazzling Ferris wheels loaded with food delicacies ranging from scones to brownies.
10. King Street Townhouse
The menu at King Street Townhouse on Booth Street, one of Manchester’s most fashionable hotels, varies with the seasons. To celebrate the end of summer, the staff has devised a new Afternoon Tea menu priced at £28pp or £38pp with Champagne.
In addition to the classic scones with jam and clotted cream, guests may now enjoy a tiered assortment of savory and sweet goodies such as roast beef and tomato, raspberry gin, street foods, rose macarons, and passion fruit meringue tartlets.
Conclusion
There’s nothing more authentically English than Afternoon tea in Manchester, a tradition that dates back to the mid-nineteenth century and is still popular today. Even if endless bubbles are accessible these days, something about the delicate bits makes it seem softer than debauched. Manchester’s ever-expanding culinary scene means numerous eateries are selling tiny sandwiches and delectable desserts, along with teas of all sorts.
