Afternoon Tea At Hart's Hotel And Kitchen, Nottingham
Published On Wednesday 22 Mar 2023 by Sticky Beak
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It’s a funny old thing, but His Nibs and I have noticed that things tend to come in a flurry; a bit like the saying ‘all the buses come at once’. For the past few weekends it’s been the turn of Afternoon Teas to have their 15 minutes of fame, and this time we were in the historic city of Nottingham at Hart’s Kitchen (recipient of no less than 2 AA Rosettes) to review their interpretation of this iconic foodie treat .
We didn’t manage to snag one of the parking spots on the hotel site, but there’s plenty of parking nearby that doesn’t cost the earth (not the NCP site, that’s a bit pricier!). Making our way back to Hart’s Hotel we saw a lovely young lady on reception who gave us directions to Hart’s Kitchen and we were then greeted by a member of their team who took our coats, popped them on a stand, and walked us over to our designated table.
I sat on the delightfully squishy banquette, leaving The Man Bird with the firmer chair, and took in the stylish, relaxed decor of the restaurant. Nothing has changed, decor-wise, since our last visit, so it was like embracing an old friend as my eye took in the gallery of signed photos on the textured walls of stars and celebrities that have frequented the venue whilst in the city. Judging by the sheer number of photos, Hart’s is clearly well loved!
Simple blinds dress the windows, their russet, blue and putty colours mirrored in the carpets, soft furnishings and the striking table lamps. After giving us a couple of minutes to settle in, one of the young chaps (very smartly attired in formal black trousers, crisp white shirt, black tie and waistcoat) came to ask if we’d like any drinks from the bar, or would prefer tea or coffee, and then asked if we’d like Chef to prepare our Afternoon Tea stand at that point. We answered that, yes, we’d like our Afternoon Tea and ordered loose leaf tea (Jing Tea) and a black coffee (from 200 degrees coffee). On a completely girly note, I’m just going to tell you how swish the glass cups were: seductively round in shape, with nice tactile handles, they nestled in my hands beautifully. The Assam blend wasn’t too shabby, either!
Both The Man Bird and I smiled happily when we spied the heavily laden, triple tier stand making its way over to us and our server detailed all of the morsels that Chef had prepared for us to savour, which I thought was a lovely touch. Hart’s Kitchen uses bread from Hambleton Bakery, which arrives fresh on a daily basis, and the multigrain type was used in all the finger sandwiches on this occasion.
The first sandwich we tucked into was the very tasty Farmhouse Ham and Mustard Mayonnaise minx, its rich flavours immersing our taste buds in their glory. You can’t beat the meaty intensity of what I call ‘proper’ ham, it just has that wonderful boldness that captures the palate and holds its attention; partnered with the combination of creamy Mayo and pungent Mustard, this made for a superb sandwich to kick our Afternoon Tea experience off.
Next up was the equally deep-filled Windy Ridge free-range Egg and Mayonnaise finger sandwich, and again you can tell that the ingredients were top quality. The eggs had a superb richness to them that was matched with the Mayo and the yolks golden hue could be seen as sunny flecks in the creamy toned sea that contained it.
Lady Luck was shining down on me: the final choice of sandwich was a succulent Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese and Cucumber number; you all know that His Nibs doesn’t like ‘fishy fish’ such as Salmon, so these delights were mine, all mine ! The silky flesh was soft and comforting in the mouth with a gorgeous, subtle smoke at its periphery that married very nicely with the Cream Cheese. Crisp, cool Cucumber slices provided a hit of texture in a sea of smoothness and didn’t detract from any of the other flavours within the sandwich. All in all, a great savoury selection, albeit not the most diverse one we’ve encountered in our Afternoon Tea journey.
The central tier housed a plethora of homemade sweet treats, including the Madeleine that The Man and I popped into our greedy little hands. Madeleines always remind me of shellfish with the scalloped pattern on their underside; the taste of these beautiful, buttery cakes certainly isn’t reminiscent of the sea in any way though! Vanilla’s gentle rounded notes nestled in my mouth when I’d bitten through the lightly crunchy outer and into its wonderfully airy middle. Another morsel from the sweet selection was a Lemon Curd, so I got my knife and popped a little of this fruity treat onto the Madeleine, and it went superbly with it if I say so myself.
The Lemon Curd was presented in a dinky shot glass and topped with a whole, fresh Raspberry (superb colour contrast, presentation-wise) and fronds of micro Lemon Balm whose taste was exquisitely clean and vibrant. Both of us commented on the unctuousness of the Curd, it certainly wasn’t thin and miserable, nor was it overly sweetened which allowed the sharp citrus tang to really shine on the palate. I could eat this all day long; it was excellent!
Chef had presented us with an assortment of colourful Macarons, so we went for the Coffee ones first, biting into the super-thin crispy layer of the shell and into the marvellously yummy, chewy centre. The soft filling in the middle of the two halves was beautifully heavy with coffee and the fragrance soon flooded our mouths. The other Macarons (Lemon and Pistachio varieties) were just as moreish, their pastel hues lightening up the darker elements on the plate nicely to increase the visual appeal of the platter. In comparison to their coffee containing sibling, both of these Macarons were delicate in taste, though still deliciously flavoursome.
Next up were the individual Blueberry Tarts, their fruit providing a marvellous blue/purple shade that contrasted with the golden pastry case that contained them and the sponge-mix filling. Now, being perfectly honest here, the pastry was a smidge over-done; it’s what I would’ve called at home a ‘phew, I’ve just stopped it going over’ shade of rich brown; BUT, on this occasion it acquired a deeper, nutty taste that actually worked in its favour against the sharpness of the fruit and the airy, vanilla sponge. Who knows, maybe Chef meant it to be like this, but for my money it was too dark a colour.
I am rather partial to Carrot Cake and the one here at Hart’s Kitchen was superb! Individual squares were topped with piped frosting for decorative effect, and both His Nibs and I loved the fact that this wasn’t tooth-clatteringly sweet as some versions can be. The cake mix itself was superbly moist thanks to the inclusion of super-fine shreds of Carrot, with a chunky texture from the pieces of chopped Walnut that were clearly visible within it. One thing that sets this example apart from others is the fact that it isn’t as spiced as a lot can be, and The Man Bird was very happy because of this.
It's no secret that The Man Bird is a chocoholic, so I was surprised that he’d managed to resist the lure of the Chocolate Brownie that apparently had white chocolate pieces in its centre! The pleasingly generous squares of this dark delight were superbly intense in the cocoa hit they delivered and our brains’ pleasure centres lit up like the Blackpool Illuminations. Creamy tasting white chocolate pieces lightened the effect on our palates and kept the brownie batter’s flavour profile mellow and sweet rather than bitter at its edges. On closer inspection, you could see that this was a thing of beauty; a seductive sheen and gloss caught the light and seemed to pop against the matte, gently crisp top of the brownie. Bravo, Chef, this was superb!
With the final morsel on the middle tier polished off, we turned our attention to the pinnacle of the Afternoon Tea stand where a pair of large Fruit Scones, individual pots of Strawberry Jam and a dish of clotted Cream (decorated with an edible flower) waited patiently. There was a great amount of fruit within the scone that, generally had a lovely texture to it. I say generally because the centre of my scone was still doughy - a big disappointment, as I love scones. I wasted about a third of my morsel in total, removing the heavy portions of it, which was a shame because the rest of it was delicious and I really could’ve eaten more of it. Not one to dwell on negativity, I busied myself with squeezing on as much jam and cream as I possibly could onto the rich-tasting scone that I had salvaged.
Our lovely server had kept us well stocked with fresh pots of tea and cups of coffee throughout our feast and nothing had been too much trouble for him. It wasn’t just us that he kept a keen eye on; all the other tables received the same high level of service. When we’d first walked in to Hart’s Kitchen, I’d noticed a rack laden with fresh bread from Hambleton Bakery and, as we left, I purchased a loaf of white sourdough to take back to the Nest.
Other than the couple of hiccoughs with the scone and the pastry case, this had been a really nice Afternoon Tea that offered a great selection of sweet treats and very generously filled finger sandwiches in a wonderful setting. Prices for the Afternoon Tea (served Monday-Saturday Noon-4.30pm) start at £21.95 per person (£43.90 per couple) and you can add a glass of Prosecco for £8 pp, or go all-out and indulge in a glass of Champagne for £11 per person.
As well as Afternoon Tea, Hart’s Kitchen serves lunches every day of the week and dinner in the evenings. For more details ring the team on 0115 988 1900 or visit www.hartsnottingham.co.uk for opening times and table availability; I would definitely advise booking ahead to ensure you can be accommodated in the intimate setting of Hart’s Kitchen. Many thanks to the lovely Emma (Marketing Manager) for inviting us along.
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