My present to my friend for her 30th birthday was to take her for Afternoon Tea in Harvey Nics. I booked a table for 3:30 and in preparation decided not to eat lunch. Or breakfast. My friend did the same and, consequently, we arrived somewhat ravenous.
We're shown to a table by the window and handed menus, and almost immediately opt for the Traditional Afternoon tea. I order a pot of afternoon Darjeeling (because I like the name) and my friend goes for a pot of green tea (because for some unfathomable reason she likes the taste).
Our teas arrive swiftly in trendy teapots. We're informed that our scones have only just gone in the oven, and that they'll take sixteen minutes to bake and that they'll arrive shortly after the rest of the food. A few minutes later, a three tier stand is placed on the table.
I'll be honest, it doesn't look like much, and I suppose for £19.50 the amount of food is a tad disappointing. That said, it is Harvey Nichols and so a hefty price is to be expected.
The finger sandwiches (smoked salmon and cream cheese, egg and cress, and ham and mustard) are small but really tasty. Our scones arrive and they're still warm from the oven. I load mine up with strawberry jam and clotted cream and try to eat it as daintily as possible (but fail, miserably). They are delicious, really delicious. My dream in life is to be someone who has the time and money to sit around and eat freshly baked scones with clotted cream and jam. And you know, not have a heart attack.
PLOT TWIST: After my scone, I feel full! I drink some tea to try and let the feeling pass and move onto one of the mini-desserts: a shot glass filled with a creamy pineapple... thing. It was a little too sickly for me, so I'm glad it was only small. I realise I'm beginning to run low on tea. Perhaps the teapot was a little on the small side, or perhaps I just drink tea by the bucket load, but for me the tea to sweet treat ratio was a little off.
I move on to the chocolate dessert with a popping candy topping. It's delicious, but it's very, very rich. After a few mouthfuls I admit defeat and my friend does the same. There are still two pink macaroons and two slabs of carrot cake to go, but neither of us can eat another bite.
We decide to pay and head on home, but we have a bit of trouble getting the bill. It's half an hour before we manage to get anyone's attention. Maybe it's because our table just happened to be behind a pillar, or maybe it's because a woman was making the most long-winded (and stupid) complaint of all time because there was too much ice in her drink and it distinctly wasn't crushed (even though that's what it said on the menu, apparently).
Eventually, we pay and ask for the left over macaroons and carrot cake to be wrapped up for my friend to take home. She reported back to me the following day to say that the carrot cake was nice but had too much icing and the macaroons were absolutely perfect.
HN Fourth Floor is by no means inexpensive, but as a posh treat for a present or a fancy splurge for yourself you can expect the food to be top quality. Sadly, the service wasn't great which made me slightly more resentful of the premium cost. I still had a fabulous time (darling), but I'd like to see what else Leeds has to offer Afternoon Tea-wise... read more