A Different Take on Afternoon Tea: Gentlemen's Tea at The Morrison Hotel

Having tried a few afternoon teas in Dublin and beyond over the last few years, the Morrison hotel was one that I hadn't made it to until last weekend. While their regular afternoon tea has never really tempted me, I've been dying to try their Gentlemen's tea for ages. The thing is, I'm not a gentleman so I requested the presence of a few gentlemen to see what they would think of it. We ended up being a party of six, with everyone being hungover except for yours truly.

We found ourselves in the bright dining room on Sunday afternoon where we were brought a pint of Wicklow Wolf IPA each to start off with, this afternoon tea doesn't include tea but an Irish craft beer instead.

It took a while for the food to arrive but when it came we were delighted to each be presented with a wooden board with both savoury and sweet items on it. 

The savoury highlight was a tasty and juicy pork sausage with jalapenos and pickled gherkins on a skewer. I found the steak and coleslaw slider a little unmemorable though and preferred the beef burger slider. 

The paprika chips were perfect while the bacon and cheddar scone was a little dry but went very well with the apple chutney. The chill jam was quite lovely to eat with the sausage and the chips.

On the sweet side of things, the salted caramel dessert was rich and buttery without being too heavy while the chocolate and whiskey mousse was cutely presented in a little cup made of chocolate. It turned out the whole thing was pretty substantial and we were all ready to sleep afterwards, while the rain was lashing outside.

I collected the opinion of everyone just to give you an idea:

Monsieur C. (The Frenchie): 'I really liked the sausage combination with the apple sauce and the burgers were quite good but nothing special. The fries were really nice and the caramel dessert was awesome'

Richie Big Finger: 'Overall the meal was very nice, presented very well but didn't really capture the magic of afternoon tea. My highlight was the sausage but I didn't really like the caramel dessert'

Mr. FFID: 'My favourite was probably the sausage and the chilli jam. The steak was a little bit dry but the scone was very good. Overall it was delicious and the beer was very good!'

Mr. B: 'I think my favourite was the apple puree chutney thing and the salted caramel dessert. Least favourite probably the chips because they're kind of just chips'

Ms. L (The Dancer): 'For me the sausage was the best with the apple sauce thing, yeah it was all really good but I agree with Richie Big Finger it didn't quite capture afternoon tea like different layers, levels of separation although beer instead of tea was fine. I enjoyed the slider a lot as well!'

So overall the Gentlemen's Afternoon tea was a very enjoyable experience and reasonably priced at just €23 per person which is when you think about it the price of a pint and a main dish. We all thought it looked small at first but ended up being very full as a pint of beer is rather filling at lunch time. The Gentlemen's Tea is a nice alternative to the usual and also cheaper than many afternoon teas in Dublin. Don't be mistaken by its title, ladies with a more savoury tooth will enjoy it just as much as gentlemen.

The Morisson Hotel 

Ormond Quay

Dublin 1

Afternoon tea with a view: The Cliff House, Ardmore, Co. Waterford

“Is that it?”…

“No, that’s a big house!”…

My housemate and I were driving through the quiet streets of Ardmore and found ourselves at the bottom of the hill, not sure if we were going the right direction.

Expecting a big flashy hotel, we were surprised to see the understated Cliff House Hotel discreetly nested on the cliff.

Yet this luxurious hotel feels contemporary, with the outside made of dark granite stones. Once inside, the lobby is bright with big windows overlooking Ardmore Bay and little touches such as lamps and mirrors frames made with sea shells.

Afternoon tea takes place in the House restaurant on Sundays from 2 to 5pm at a price of €35 per person. However, it’s not on every single week so check dates on their website first.

We arrived earlier than our booking but were welcomed and brought to our table straight away. We were seated in the function room (just adjacent to the main room) with a beautiful fire place and chandelier. Our table was by the window, from where we had the most stunning view over the sea. Such a peaceful setting for an afternoon tea, we were very pleased and eagerly awaited our treats.

We were told that the price included a glass of prosecco and were shown the tea menu that features a great selection.

Soon after, two stands were placed on our table, one for savoury bites and the other full of small pastries and buttermilk scones with raspberry jam, lemon curd in smalls jars, with a bit of cream on the side.

The organic salmon finger sandwich was served with gem lettuce, horseradish sauce and cucumber. It was probably the least exciting part of the meal but still good. 

Next up was a thick fennel bread filled with a cray fish salad, which was tastier and more substantial. A small Waterford blaa (the famous little bread roll from Waterford) was lovely with some delicious corned beef and a leek mayonnaise. 

The highlight for me was the melted Milleens cheese on walnut bread with some pumpkin relish. The flavours worked so well together and the topping to bread ratio was just perfect.

The cakes were all very sweet but small enough so as not to feel like too much. My highlight was the fool, presented in a verrine with a thin chocolate disc on top: the vanilla crème was light and matched brilliantly with the rhubarb. 

The lemon verbena cake had a zingy glaze and lovely green colour. The dark chocolate cake had an almost fudgy consistency with a melt-in-the-mouth chocolate glaze on top. Unfortunately the millionaire square wasn’t too remarkable in comparison to the rest. I loved the pistachio muffin, which came with some orange curd hidden in the middle, topped with a rosewater flavoured soft meringue.

Having tried a few afternoon teas in Dublin, the one served at the Cliff House Hotel is definitely very good value both in terms of food and service. I honestly doubt it’s possible to find an afternoon tea in Ireland with a better view.

I’ll certainly be back to try Martijn Kajuiter’s Michelin starred food some evening for what I’m sure must be a stellar dining experience.

The Cliff House Hotel

Middle Road

Ardmore

co. Waterford

Website

Afternoon Tea at The Shelbourne Hotel

Mr. FFID's mammy is the typical Irish Mammy. She managed to join us in New Zealand for three weeks while we were half-way through our round the world trip in 2010, yep she's like that. She also ran an intensive voting campaign at her workplace to get all her colleagues to vote for my blog at the Image.ie Blog Awards, as if I were her own daughter. She looked after her grandchildren our cats while we were away this summer and was the most enthusiastic volunteer at my French Food Fair a few weeks ago. Last but not least she recently completed a Master degree while working full-time at the age of 53. So did she deserve a special treat? Most definitely.

None of use had tried afternoon tea at the Shelbourne Hotel so Mr. FFID and I treated the Irish Mammy to it, to thank her for everything and celebrate her academic success. 

Booking a table seems to be essential as the room was packed and we had to queue to get in, even with a reservation. The Lord Mayor's Afternoon tea is available all week with the classic priced at €34.95 and the champagne option at €46.95 from Monday to Thursday. From Friday to Sunday it's an additional €2 but you might be lucky enough to hear a classical piano being played on these days (sadly we didn't).

The afternoon tea takes place in the Lord's Mayor Lounge which is a bright elegant room with a fire place, piano and lovely armchairs all around. The room isn't very large but nicely laid-out as you don't hear people's conversations (if you're not too nosy).

We were brought the menus and asked our choice of hot drinks. I was eyeing the display of Moët champagne right next to me and we couldn't say no to the Irish Mammy when she asked if we should get champagne. So Champagne afternoon tea it was, feck it, you only live once.

We kicked-off with a glass of bubbly and waited quite a while before our plates of sandwiches arrived. They were busy but in fairness we were in no rush, soaking up the luxury surroundings. 

The savoury plate included four different sandwiches: turf smoked salmon on brown wheat soda bread, braised Waterford ham with shallot bound and mayonnaise on sourdough baguette, cherry vine tomato with St Tola Goat cheese on pumpkin and turmeric bread and egg & chicory on low GI bread.

The salmon and the ham sandwiches were the highlights for me but all sandwiches were good, fresh and using quality ingredients with decent breads. 

The first thing that struck me when the cake tray was brought to use was the size of the cakes, they were not small. 

The lower tray included delicious small warm buttermilk scones served with clotted cream and strawberry jam and also a nice thick slice of Irish tea brack. 

We had a conical shaped coffee and praline, chocolate vanilla crunch dessert. This was my favourite, the coffee flavour was quite subtle, the mousse texture was light and the crunch brought a nice contrast. It was a proper, elegant afternoon tea treat.

The carrot cake was lovely and moist, topped with a vanilla cheese cake topping that might have been  a little heavier for me.

There was a caramelised banana and coconut macaron, I liked the flavour combination and the softness of the banana filling however it was very sweet.

Now if there's one thing you'll never make me eat it's trifle: it's not an appealing dessert for me. I'm just not a fan of the jelly texture and I think the use of hundreds & thousands looks cheap, so I didn't eat it. That's said, my French palate is totally subjective and I admit being picky when it comes to cakes.

We were initially given a table for 90 minutes but stayed a bit longer and weren't rushed in any way. The room emptied for the second service, which was great as I could take pictures with no one around. We didn't manage to finish the food and asked to bring everything away in a little doggie bag.

Overall I thought it was one of the best afternoon teas I've had in Dublin, the service was very polite and professional and the settings just beautiful. The savoury plate was spot on, the desserts a little too rich but the selection changes regularly so the evil trifle might not be there all the time and my two Irish afternoon tea companions seemed to have enjoyed the desserts more than me.

At the end of the day the Irish Mammy was over the moon, mission accomplished.


The Shelbourne Hotel
27 St Stephen's Green
Dublin 2
Website

Chocolate Afternoon Tea at the Dylan Hotel

Easter eggs aren’t really my thing but afternoon tea is right up my alley so when I saw the Dylan Hotel was doing a chocolate afternoon tea for Easter I just had to try it.

The chocolate afternoon tea is currently being served every day from 12pm to 5pm until the 27^th of April and has to be booked in advance. When I saw the price of €35 per person I almost didn’t book it, thinking it was a bit too pricey but Mr. FFID said the magic words ‘Ah go on, it's an Easter treat!.

Art Tea at the Merrion Hotel

On the day of our anniversary Mr. FFID announced that he’d booked us in for the Art Tea at The Merrion hotel. A few weeks later, we headed to The Merrion Hotel on a windy, freezing day and I can’t express how excited I was. I was even delighted to be cold on the way there, as I knew they had a fireplace. 

A Most Peculiar Afternoon Tea at The Westin Dublin

I think every single lady should be treated to an afternoon tea on special occasions. The experience of an afternoon tea always leaves a long lasting memory.

As I was recently awarded Best Newcomer and Best Personal Blog at the Blog Awards Ireland so Mr. FFID booked an afternoon tea at the Westin to celebrate. I've always wanted to try their 'Most Peculiar Afternoon Tea' and was very excited about it.

Afternoon Tea at the Westbury Hotel

Mr. FFID was intensely reading about some lady waving a baguette around the streets of Dublin. Oh la la, that was me! I couldn't believe the size of the feature about my French Food and Wine Tours of Dublin in the Sunday Times last week. Himself was so proud that he decided to celebrate my little bit of fame with an afternoon tea at the Westbury hotel.