Afternoon Tea At The St James Hotel, Nottingham
Published On Friday 20 Dec 2024 by Sticky Beak
See Recent Dining Out Reviews | See All Recent Reviews
Nothing feels better than a last-minute, cheeky annual leave day, and His Nibs was positively brimming with excitement at his ‘freedom’! So was I, I have to say; more so, because The Man had snagged a Groupon Deal for Afternoon Tea ( a ‘Sparkling’ one, no less) – I love a bargain as you all know and at a doubly-reduced price of £26.96 for the two of us, it was irresistible. To be fair, the original price of £45.90 per couple would’ve been ok, but seeing it on Groupon at £29.95 with an extra 10% sealed the deal.
St James Hotel is a stones’ throw from Nottingham Castle, and the venue itself is a lovely-looking building. I was instantly smitten by the striking lights in the reception area, which itself was looking snazzy in all its festive finery. A lovely chap behind the desk directed us up to No.6 Bar and Lounge, where the Afternoon Tea is served, and one of his colleagues took care of us from then.
We took a seat in a tucked away corner table that afforded us a view of the entire area; I love indulging in a spot of people-watching, and this was the prime place to do it from! Our server wasted no time in bringing out pots of tea and coffee for us and then scooted off to pour the bubbly. Chinking our glasses together, we sat back and awaited our treats.
A simple, triple-tiered stand was soon winging its way over to us, brimming with a wide selection of temptations. The widest, bottom tier housed the selection of sandwiches: squares of white and wholemeal bread filled with Ham, Egg Mayonnaise, Cheese and Pickle, and Tuna and Cucumber. Each filling was generous and bursting with taste, and I was a very happy lady because I got double Tuna and Cucumber: despite getting more adventurous, His Nibs still says that Tuna is a step too far! Fine by me. Personally, I loved the malty, nutty flavour of the wholemeal bread and all the bread was fresh – you can tell by the softness and springiness.
Next up were the assorted, homemade cakes and biscuits that had been carefully arranged on their middle tier home. We kicked off our sweet odyssey with individual Meringue nests filled with whipped Cream, fresh Blueberries and a sharp, zingy Berry Coulis; ooh, these were delicious – I am so happy that me and Meringue have rekindled our love for each other. The Man loves a Sticky Toffee Pudding, so he was in raptures when he took a bite of the Sticky Toffee sponge cake! I have to agree with him; it was very moreish, its gentle toffee depth beguiling the palate and we both loved the crunchy balls of Toffee that decorated the surface.
Chef had made super-cute, dinky rounds of Shortbread and sandwiched Cream and Strawberry Jam between two of them to create a visually pleasing morsel that melted beautifully in the mouths’ warmth. The final treat on this tier was what looked like a large Ferrero Rocher at first glance… and it sort of was, just not as overtly nutty. The chocolate shell was pierced to reveal a pale sponge which, when bitten into, made way for a centre of soft Chocolate Ganache – very tasty, let me tell you.
As is our custom [don’t ask me why, it’s something we’ve always just done] we had saved the fresh Scone until last, and the pair of them took pride of place on the uppermost tier of the stand, accompanied by individual jars of Strawberry Jam and a pot of Clotted Cream. Texturally, the scones were perfect, though I was a bit disappointed that they were plain rather than fruited. With no decorum at all, we slathered the jam and cream onto the cut halves and began to dig in. Along with a pot of tea, there isn’t much that a good scone can’t solve, is there?
Just like that, our Afternoon Tea adventure had reached its conclusion; but a jolly pleasant one it had been, and I would certainly come back for the Afternoon Tea at St James Hotel in Nottingham. Full price it might be a couple of quid over-the-odds (the sandwiches could’ve been a bit bigger and the Scone a fruit-pimped one), but if you see a Groupon deal it’s worth bagging yourself a voucher!
| Savoured a Delicious Sunday Lunch at The Bulls Head, Belper Lane End His Nibs and I have recently been away, so it had been a couple of Sundays that Mummy Bird had had to fend for herself on Sunday which is just not on! Ever the Read The Article | |
| A Cracking Sunday Roast at Fairways, Chevin Golf Club, Duffield Miracles do happen! I can't tell you the last time that diaries got co-ordinated enough that we could pin Fledge and The Beau down to eating out with us all, but it finally Read The Article | |
| A Celebration of Flavours - The Sunday Thali at Lasani, Southwell Covid and The Lockdowns (wouldn't that be a fab name for an alt-rock group? - just sayin') proved to be a pivotal time for many businesses and people; one of them Read The Article | |
| Autumn Comforts and Culinary Delights at The Peacock, Owler Bar I never mind when a good day gets made even better, and this was most definitely the case last week. Landing in our inbox was a lovely invitation to enjoy the Read The Article | |
| Stairway to Roast Heaven at Piccalilli Nottingham Another Sunday rolled around, and we all know what that means - time for one of the best meals: an iconic British Roast Dinner. Heading off for Nottingham city, The Man Bird was well prepped Read The Article | |
| Evening Delights at Scoozi Clevedon: From Burrata to Beef Short-Rib The Man's day job took us down to Bristol and we took the opportunity to go out for dinner with one of his colleagues and their husband. Having previously dined at Scoozi Read The Article | |
| Tapas Madrid Ashbourne Serves Up a Fiesta of Flavour Over the years, we've met many a lovely manager, and Mark is no exception. Having previously been at the Moon and Dog pub in Derby, and at another venue in Ashbourne, Mark Read The Article | |
| A Tasty Sunday Lunch at The Tavern at Tansley It had been a good while, i.e. several years, since we'd last visited The Tavern at Tansley but, with the weather being dodgy (to say the least!) a foray out into the wilds of the ‘Shire wasn’t Read The Article | |
| From Empty Cupboards to Thai Treasures - Our Feast at Mimi Kitchen, Eastwood It's no secret that I'm a bit lacking in the kitchen, and I've never tried to pretend otherwise. However, you would think that I'd at least be able to ensure that Read The Article | |
| Sunday Roasts and Country Charm at The Red Lion, Birchover Finally, the rain came! Like most things, this was a double-edged sword: on the one hand, the gardens certainly needed the water; on the other, it was impeding mine and The Read The Article | |