Time for Tea...The Avon Gorge, Bristol

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you've had a fab week!

This week I have been away with work quite a lot, visiting Hereford and Bristol. When I'm away I'm not normally in one place for very long, but this time I found myself in Bristol with a little spare time...so I decided to indulge in a little afternoon tea....for my dinner! That's perfectly normal isn't it??

I was staying at the Avon Gorge Hotel in the Clifton area of Bristol, which is located right next to the Clifton Suspension Bridge. In fact in their Bridge Cafe you can enjoy a spot of afternoon tea overlooking the bridge....

Afternoon tea at The Avon Gorge
Peer through the window...that's the Clifton Suspension Bridge!

There are various different options you can enjoy in the Bridge Cafe, but I opted to sample their afternoon tea for one, which is served with a fresh pot of tea....

The tea selection was a little limited, but there was something for everyone on the menu. I went for their Breakfast Blend, which was a good, strong cup of black tea. As I was dining alone, the afternoon tea spread is not served on a tiered cake stand. However, I liked the presentation of the food, everything looked very appealing and there was plenty of cream and jam....

Considering it was just me enjoying the tea, I was really impressed with the sandwich selection - I had four different finger sandwiches plus the small roll too...

The sandwiches were lovely, made of fresh, soft bread and there wasn't a crust in sight! The fillings included salmon, cream cheese, cucumber and ham. The mini roll was also fresh and was filled with egg mayonnaise. All were very tasty.

Next lets move onto the scone...the GIANT scone....

Now, when your scone is as big as your teacup you've got to hope that the baking has been perfect. Experience has shown us at Tea With Me and Friends that scones of this size can either be really claggy...or really dry. I have to say that this one smelt amazing...it was all I could smell when the plate was put in front of me and I couldn't wait to tuck in.

However, it was rather claggy and I have to admit I didn't eat it all...there was just too much of it!! I was really pleased that I had generous servings of cream and jam. It was a shame really because the flavours were good.

On the other hand...one thing that could have been a little larger were the cakes. Take a closer look at these miniatures....

Here we have a Chocolate slice, a mini fruit pavlova and a square of orange polenta cake.

Each one was like a little mouthful of heaven - perfect in taste and texture. I might have been a little greedy...but I just wanted a little more of them! The chocolate slice actually tasted like chocolate (often any chocolate cake leaves me a little cold as it doesn't really taste of chocolate) and the orange polenta cake was divine - full of orange flavour! The mini pavlova was crisp and chewy - just perfect!

Now I have to say that the service, although friendly, wasn't the best I have ever received. I wasn't asked about dietary requirements and no one asked if I was ok during my afternoon tea adventure. However, this isn't a high end hotel and therefore the service will be different.

The afternoon tea cost £15.95 plus service and I left feeling full, so I think it was good value. You also have a rather wonderful view....

For more information about the afternoon tea at the Avon Gorge Hotel please visit their website.

Have you enjoyed an afternoon tea adventure in Bristol - do you have a favourite place to go? We'd love to hear from you - drop us a line!

Thank you for popping by today, 

Rachel