A festive afternoon tea in the Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle

I love afternoon tea.  I love everything about it!  Steaming hot tea, plates of dainty sandwiches, scones with jam & cream and sweet treats.  What’s not to like?

I will confess that I have sampled many many afternoon teas in my time so I really know what I like.  I can honestly say that the festive tea in the Slieve Donard did not disappoint.

The hotel is a fantastic location with views of the Mountains of Mourne sweeping down to the sea.  It’s a grand venue and perfect for a special occasion.  I booked in with 3 of my close friends for a pre-Christmas get together and we were excited to tuck in!

First us was a choice of tea or coffee.  For me, there is no decision, it has to be tea.  Thankfully the hotel has a great range of teas, blended in Belfast by Thompson’s Family Teas. The food offering was selection of delicious finger sandwiches with ham hock, egg & chive mayo and turkey and cranberry.  my favourite was the Glenarm smoked salmon with crushed avocado and pickled cucumber on rye bread- totally delicious!  An unusual festive offering was the finnebrogue venison warm mini mince pie with pear chutney, a more savoury version than the traditional mince pie made with sweet mince.  

My favourite part of any afternoon tea is the scones with jam and cream.  These came served warm with home-made berry jam and Farmview Dairy clotted cream and were just lovely.  Of all the afternoon teas I have sampled, this definitely had the widest range of sweet treats, Christmas pudding truffle, mince pie baklava, pear & gingerbread muffin with cinnamon frosting to name just a few.

There was so much food on offer, we struggled to finish it.  Thankfully the nice folk at Hastings Hotels provide takeaway boxes so you can enjoy the rest at home!

If you are looking for a lovely afternoon treat, make sure to check this out.