A huge thank you to voco St David’s Cardiff for inviting us along to try out the Welsh Afternoon Tea.
Afternoon tea is one of the signature experiences of any luxury hotel and the one at voco St David’s Cardiff is extra special.
This Autumn the hotel has introduced a Welsh Afternoon Tea to The Admiral St David restaurant. It’s one of two new afternoon tea menus that they’re introducing, with their Festive Afternoon tea arriving in December.
Head Pastry Chef Michael Coggan has taken the traditional afternoon and created his own with a Welsh twist.
The Welsh Afternoon Tea swaps out the usual menu for indulgent savoury snacks and sweet treats inspired by iconic Welsh history and famous landmarks, created using local produce.
What’s included:
- Open cucumber and cream cheese on pumpernickel
- Welsh smoked salmon sandwich
- Welsh rarebit on pumpernickel Free-range
- Welsh egg mayonnaise sandwich
- Homemade Welsh cakes and scones, clotted cream and Welsh Lady jam
- Iced Welsh love spoon
- Pistachio raspberry opera rugby pitch
- Black gold, Merlyn and dark chocolate macaron
- Apple and vanilla sheep tart
- Your choice of tea
Cost: £24.95 per person
What we thought …
It arrives at a time when Wales start their Rugby World Cup campaign in Japan, so forgive us for feeling a little patriotic…
Each tier has been carefully planned out to complement one another.
The melt in your mouth smoke salmon sandwiches were absolutely delicious.
Although this may not be to everyone’s taste, we found the cream cheese took awake the sweetness of the pumpernickel bases, which was a perfect combination.
The scones were divine. I’m not afraid to say that I’ve eaten my fair share of scones and never have I tasted any so light and fluffy on the inside as these.
Welsh Cakes… well, what can I say? They’ll never be as good as gran’s Welsh cakes will they?
…They were actually really good, so don’t tell her.
It was indeed a struggle to wait until the end for these, but it was worth the wait.
You are presented with an iced Welsh love spoon per person. If you know anything about Wales and if you’re reading this article, let’s hope that you do, you’ll know giving a Welsh love spoon on wedding days has been a tradition since the 17th century. It is also a popular gift on Saint Dwynwen’s Day (Welsh patron saint of love) on 25th January. We weren’t here celebrating any occasion in particular, but I imagine this would make the perfect gift for an anniversary.
Chef has gracefully made a nod to the fact that there are more sheep in Wales than people (apparently?), but all is forgiven when you give this a try. I did feel a little guilty for picking off the sheep’s eyes, but they were sooooo yummy.
The pistachio raspberry rugby pitch was a little interesting. I didn’t really know what to expect from the texture. I guess I was expecting it to taste like actual grass (I don’t know what that tastes like either) It doesn’t… it tasted amazing and left me wanting an extra slice.
Bursting with flavour, the black gold macaron is filled with dark chocolate and Merlyn (the Welsh liqueur) ganache, making this very rich indeed.
The experience was completed with a refreshing Brecon gin mixer.
Overall a very impressive afternoon tea experience, I say experience, because this is what you’ll get from start to finish.
Staff were on hand to take us through the array of tea available (I honestly didn’t realise some of the choices even existed!). What made it that extra bit special was the incredible view of the bay that greets you. You’re still in the bay, but you are away from the hustle and bustle of Mermaid Quay, which was lovely.
We were lucky that the weather was absolutely beautiful on the day that we tried this, so we were able take a stroll on deck after our food.
Don’t be mistaken, this is a novel afternoon tea, not a novelty.
Available from 1st October.
For more information and to book, click here.
