If there’s a better way to spend an afternoon than eating cake, drinking tea and chatting with friends then I’m yet to find it. Afternoon tea is an opportunity to kick back with friends and bite sized food means you can nibble without it getting in the way of the chatter. Because we all know that the main reason for afternoon tea is to natter with friends!
The Courthouse was the location of my latest afternoon tea.* As the name suggests, this handsome building was indeed once home to the court in Knutsford town centre, but some sympathetic refurbishment has now seen a restaurant named Barristers and function rooms open, with boutique style bedrooms soon to follow.
We we treated to not one, but two types of afternoon tea at The Courthouse – and yes dear reader, I ate it all!
Traditional afternoon tea
The traditional tea is something of a bargain at just £15.95, as the quality is outstanding. A variety of loose leaf teas come courtesy of Teas from the Manor – and a sample box is provided so you can have a sniff and decide if you fancy trying something new. The mint tea was excellent, although I was tempted by the fruity passion fruit, guava and mango as well.
Sandwiches are fresh and classic with fillings such as smoked salmon, cheese and pickles, and ham and tomato. Enough filling to be tasty, yet small enough to a) wave around when you talk and b) leave space for the sweet stuff. The classic scone really was a classic: light and fluffy and a little bit sweet. I sometimes find scones a bit heavy (usually when I make them!). However, I must admit, I am more a butter and jam fan rather than clotted cream – I just think on afternoon tea there is more than enough to fill you and the cream seems a bit of a waste. But I am sure that I am in a minority thinking that!
The patisserie bites change regularly as chef Steven Tuke cooks with seasonal availability. For my visit, there was a chocolate and pistachio opera cake (light layers – oh so easy to demolish!), a raspberry bomb (my favourite), vanilla profiterole and a sour apple macaron.
Savoury afternoon tea
Launching on Mother’s Day 2018, Cheshire Courthouse have created a savoury afternoon tea. It is a great idea – you and a friend could get one of each or if you or a friend doesn’t have a sweet tooth, it means that you don’t have to miss out on an afternoon social. Now, you know I love cake, but honestly I think next time I visit I will order this.
Let’s start with the headline item – beef doughnut with Guinness jam. It was still a work in progress when I sampled it, but the idea is solid and I am sure by the time it is launched it will be a taste sensation!
A croque monsieur was a nod to the sandwich course, but much better was an open face potted shrimp and caper toast. I adore potted shrimp so it is great to see it on here.
The scotch egg still had a little wobble in the yolk (*happy dance*) and a slight chilli kick, and the black pudding roll had a slight sweetness- maybe there was a bit of chutney in there.Whatever, it really worked. There was also a lamb and mint pastie to round off the warm elements.
No afternoon tea is complete without a scone, so this one came with a walnut scones. Unequivocally loved around the table, I would be very happy to see it as an option with the traditional afternoon tea to offset all the sweet stuff. It came with red onion jam (yum) and a moussey whipped blue cheese. The whole savoury tea was a good mix of flavours and I think it will be a winner.
The Venue
Barristers is a lovely room. Light coming in from one side, a wall of mirrors on another, and a big open bar in the middle. Much of the art is from Manchester artist James Blinkhorn, and shows various celebrities through the ages who have been arrested; a nod to the building’s previous life. I must admit though, my favourite of these isn’t Sid Vicious or Sinatra….it is Preston the very naughty dog from Wallace and Gromit!
It was a lovely few hours, chatting about everything from weight lifting, to travel to cats (all chats lead to cats at some point!). I like that it’s not got OTT ‘Cheshire glitz’ that some places suffer from, and the staff were all delightful.
SHE LOVES: relaxing for a couple of hours with bite sized nibbles and great company!
The Courthouse. Toft Road, Knutsford, WA16 0PB
* PR invite. Thank you to Cath at Perception for a lovely afternoon.
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