Back when I posted about Ox Pasture Hall, I explained I was holding a few posts back as they deserved extra special attention. One of these was their afternoon tea.
Warm scones, delicate finger sandwiches and a selection of cakes, what's not to love about afternoon tea? Plus with the addition of an open fire, what could be more perfect for a cold November afternoon.
I feel like I post about afternoon tea a lot, you must think this is all I do with my weekends. It's not, but i couldn't think of a better way to spend them. Although until a few months back when I visited went bridge house, I'd never had afternoon tea. Ohh how do things change quickly. These days I feel I've got pretty good knowledge at spotting where the good afternoon tea's are and Ox Pasture Hall proved a brilliant choice.
The sandwiches were a good selection, Yorkshire ham, smoked salmon and cream cheese and cucumber. A nice balanced mix and they all tasted great. My favourites as you may have guessed was the smoked salmon.
The scones were warm with a large pot of clotted cream (why is there's usually never enough of this) and choices of jams. I always go for the raspberry. As a kid I was always taught jam first them cream, but I've adopted cream first than jam now a days.
The cakes were exceptional and there was a really nice mixed selection. A raspberry tartlet with meringue top, lemon cheese cake, short bread biscuit and a classic sponge cake with delicious vanilla butter cream filling. The short bread was crumbly, the cake moist and the the cheesecake..well it was cheesecake and lovely, like cheesecake should be. My favourite was the mini tartlet which was quite tart due to the fresh raspberry's but a very nice addition to the heavier cakes.
The service here was brilliant and the staff are extremely welcoming. As soon as we arrived we was given a choice of coffee, tea or speciality tea's. We could choose where to have our afternoon tea, in the main dining room (the courtyard restaurant), by the roaring fire in the lounge area or on warmer days there's the option to dine outside. I would love to return here in the summer when I can sit outside as the place really is truly beautiful.
Sammie