Afternoon Tea At The Aviary Tea Room In Belvoir Castle
Published On Sunday 14 May 2023 by Sticky Beak
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I know I’ve said it before, but I really am very lucky doing this little blog of mine - ably assisted by his camera-clickiness, The Man Bird, of course! I did have to pinch myself, though, when we got the invite to visit historic Belvoir Castle (home of the Dukes of Rutland) to have a look around the castle and gardens and then go for Afternoon Tea – how blooming fortunate are we?! 😊.
As you’d expect there is loads of parking: the car park near the ticket office seemed to go on ad infinitum! His Nibs chucked £6 into the machine (you need to enter your reg number), which meant we’d got the whole day to meander around without worrying whether the parking meter was running against us. If, however, you do run out of time, don’t panic; simply head to the machine and top-up the difference before leaving the car park.
Pooches and children are very welcome at Belvoir Castle, though dogs cannot go in the castle itself or into the children’s adventure playground; they can however walk their little paws off through the grounds and sniff to their hearts’ content!
We headed up to the ticket office and got our coloured wristbands to denote that we were permitted into the Castle, its Gardens and were partaking in Afternoon Tea. The lovely lady also gave us a map of the estate, and there are several walk routes denoted on here, as well as the location of points of interest. The terrain is varied and there are some steep climbs (the ticket office to the castle and gardens being the first one you’ll encounter!), so wear appropriate footwear folks 😊.
Having survived the uphill climb to the Castle we headed inside and spoke to a member of the team, following the directions they gave us to The Aviary Tea Room. Decorated in Regency Style, our senses were dazzled from the moment we stepped inside; ornate gilded mirrors, assorted patterns and glittering, spherical lights certainly aren’t subtle!
The designated Afternoon Tea tables are set around the outside of The Aviary, making the most of the recessed windows by using them as banquettes, with free-standing chairs assembled towards the centre of the room. For an added touch of refinement, these tables are laid with pristine white, linen cloths; the rest have more practical, easy-care cloths on them, albeit pretty lace-edge ones, due to higher turnover of guests that are visiting just for lunch or simply refreshments.
Each outer table space was defined by friezes of elaborate columns, jardinieres and grasses, and garlands of colourful faux foliage were draped above the alcoves. I particularly liked the wall lights that were disguised by wicker ‘nests’ that had birds in them, they were super cute. Talking of birds, each Afternoon Tea table was decorated with a gilded birdcage, complete with moss, branches, and bird ornament. As far as statement spaces go, The Aviary Tea Room at Belvoir Castle certainly stands out in the memory 😊.
Included in the £70 per couple price tag, (£80 if you fancy a glass of Prosecco) is a selection of Finger Sandwiches, Fruit- and Plain-Scones with jam and cream, and a variety of Dainty Treats – all of which are made fresh each day by the in-house team of specialist Chefs and Pâtissiers. You also get two drinks from the selection of teas and coffees: I went for classic Breakfast Tea, His Nibs fancied Earl Grey Tea, and both came in monogrammed teapots, with matching cup-and-saucer. A bottle of chilled water and heavy cut-glasses were also provided for us. There is also a vegetarian Afternoon Tea available, also priced at £70 per couple (£80 if you have Prosecco).
One of the lovely team placed the triple-tiered tea stand between us and bade us enjoy; there’d be no worries on that score, looking at the spread😊! The bottom tier housed a quartet of differently filled finger sandwiches: White Crab with Lemon Watercress Mayonnaise, Home Roast Ham and Smoked Tomato Chutney, English Cucumber with Horseradish and Dill Cream Cheese, and Free-range Egg and Belvoir Mayonnaise. This was already a superb sandwich selection, I’m sure you’ll agree, but even better was the fact that a variety of breads were used in their making: white, 50/50 multigrain and wholemeal, all chosen to enhance the flavours of their filling.
Lady Luck was on my side: His Nibs still doesn’t like Crab, so I bagged both of those beauties – and they really were delicious 😊. The sweet, juicy Crab was elevated very nicely by a subtle citrus hint and peppery notes of Watercress; needless to say, I was in heaven eating these. Wonderfully meaty, ‘proper’ Ham bounced in our mouths and we both commented on how tasty the Tomato Chutney was; both elements were as powerful as each other and our mouths were filled with scrumminess.
There’s something inherently comforting about a succulent, deep-filled Egg Mayo sandwich and the quality of this particular specimen shone through, making it a real treat to savour. The richness of the egg by itself was superb; then you’d got the thick, creamy Mayonnaise in there, too, and this ramped up the flavour stakes to incredible levels. Cucumber and Cream Cheese is a mainstay of any classic Afternoon Tea; the combination of cool, crisp Cucumber and silky dairy element is just wonderful. This particular interpretation was jolly tasty, with a gentle breeze of herb and whisper of heat from the Horseradish off-setting the sweetness of the vegetable perfectly 😊.
As we’d been munching away, the ladies had been keeping a discreet eye on our progress and came over at intervals to check that a) we were enjoying our finger sandwiches and b) that we were ok for drinks. Dressed smartly in navy, their uniform look was softened by the addition of a delicate white lace collar, something I complimented them on as they came over to chat. The passion and enthusiasm that this team has for their work is unmistakeable; they know the origins of Afternoon Tea began at Belvoir Castle in the 1840s, when a visiting lady was too hungry to wait until dinner time and so had a sandwich made to tide her over, and they know who in Chef Jane’s kitchen team makes which part of the Afternoon Tea (and where the ingredients are sourced from!).
The Man Bird and I like to save the Scones for last, so we turned our attention to the selection of Dainty Treats which changes seasonally: we had individual Passion Fruit Jellies with Mango and Strawberry Salsa, Cherry-topped Triple Belgian Chocolate Cakes, Raspberry filled Pistachio and Elderflower mini-Eclairs, and Blueberry Meringue with Lemon Curd Cream and Fresh Blueberries. The colours really did bring to mind the optimism and sunshine of spring and summer, all credit to Jane and her team 😊.
Many of you know that, recently, The Man has been discovering that he likes ‘my’ morsels and so the chances of extras for me have been ever decreasing; well, pay-back was about to come a-knocking! Meringue is one of those things that I love, but it hates me, and I decided that the time had come to try it once again and see if the status quo had changed. Putting on my big-girl pants, I took a bite from the insanely pretty meringue and allowed my palate to swim in its delicious combination of Blueberry and zingy Lemon filling. You could feel the disgust coming from across the table towards me as I smiled at the slight resistance of the crisp meringue shell, followed by the moreishly soft, chewy inner – gosh, I was thoroughly enjoying this morsel. His Nibs sat there silently fuming at his extra sweet treat portion rapidly disappearing into my mouth – suck it up, buttercup!
The mini-Eclairs were perfectly proportioned between the light choux pastry and ‘wetter’ ingredients, making them a marvellously tasty, two-bite treat. Soft and fluffy, the Crème Pâtissiere was nice and thick to coat the inside of our cheeks and provided a deep bed for the fresh Raspberries to laze on. Continuing the fruit theme was a superbly sharp Elderflower glaze that was scattered with tiny pieces of Pistachio for some additional texture. There was bit of a debate as to what we were going to savour next, the Chocolate cakes or the Passion Fruit Jellies; eventually we opted to have the Triple Belgian Chocolate minxes, figuring that the fruity jellies would cleanse our palates in readiness for the Scones.
Chocoholics will fall in love with the sheer amount of cocoa in the Triple Belgian Chocolate Cakes, it is literally in every single crumb! Chocolate chunks were scattered within the sponge mix, whose halves were themselves filled with sumptuous chocolate crème, and the whole lot was topped with an extravagant swirl of gold-speckled ganache. If I’m dreaming, don’t wake me!
In total contrast, was the exuberance and intensity of the sweet-yet-sharp Passion Fruit jellies that were crowned with an equally colourful salsa of Mango and Strawberry. Flavour-wise, you’ll have to go some to find anything that matches these delights! As far as Afternoon Teas go, this one was certainly stimulating our taste buds more than a lot of other offerings out there – this definitely ranks as one of our favourites 😊.
At the pinnacle of the tea stand were the dinky Plain- and Fruit- Scones and their faithful companions: thick cream and Strawberry jam. When Tracy had first brought our stand out, she did say that if we wanted more jam and cream to just mention it to any of the team; it won’t surprise any of you that we did request seconds! Our pots of tea were also replaced with fresh ones as we’d finished the dainty treats, so we were fully armed and dangerous, and ready to attack the Scones 😊.
Scones are one of those cakes that feel like your favourite pair of slippers: supremely comforting and familiar, and never discarded. The Man and I smiled happily as we bit into them, marvelling at their perfect texture: light enough to avoid any clartiness, but dense enough not to disintegrate into a thousand crumbs and pieces when cut into. Adding a Belvoir Castle twist on these iconic Afternoon Tea staples, Chef had included miniscule pieces of Apricot into the fruit version as well as the usual Currants and Sultanas. As well as providing a hint of sunny colour, the Apricot also brought a wonderful sweet layer to the taste party.
Our (not so!) little tummies were positively bursting; why do Afternoon Teas have to look so deceptively ‘doable’ when you first spy them? It’s just pure deception if you ask me…of the best kind though! Thank goodness we were not only going to be exploring the grounds and walks to walk off some of our indulgence, but that we were doing so in descent, not ascent! For those that struggle with walking distance and/or climbs, or are wheelchair users, all you need to do is have a word with the ticket office team, and they will issue you with a pass to drive up to the castle – a Blue Disability Badge not a requirement for this, either.
During our time at Belvoir Castle, every single member of staff had gone above-and-beyond for us and had done so with total professionalism and friendliness. Directions were clearly and helpfully given, information about the history of the rooms happily divulged, and details on the day-to-day running of the estate (which is still very much a home to the Manners family; we saw them in the outdoor pool!) unstintingly shared. The mood, as we departed, was one of happiness at having had such a great time; Hot Wings given without reserve here! Although we had gone, primarily, to review the Afternoon Tea, I also extend the HW award to the Castle experience and the grounds 😊.
For more information re: opening times of Belvoir Castle and its grounds, and the Afternoon Tea please visit the website www.belvoircastle.com then hit the ‘Shop, Dine and Stay’ tab at the top of the page, then click on the ‘Book Now’ button to see availability. By having Afternoon Tea, you automatically gain access to the grounds; to explore the Castle an additional ticket is needed.
Huge thanks to Freya at Red Brick Communications for extending the invitation to us, and to her counterpart at Belvoir Castle, Georgia, who sorted the finer details 😊.
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