The luxury resort in Newport is well established as a place for pampering, golf and fine dining. The Afternoon Tea’s here are also crowd pleasers offering seasonal twists on this indulgent tradition. I was asked to try to The Celtic Manor’s Summer Afternoon Tea and share with you my experience…
Located in The Olive Tree and Garden Room in the Resort Hotel, first-timers here will be wowed by the scale of the entrance hall and facilities available, like the new champagne and beauty bar, spa and restaurants like Epicure and CEN. On-site parking is free for 3 hours which gives you just enough time to enjoy the Afternoon Tea and general hotel ambience.
The Summer Afternoon Tea costs £21.50 per person (£29.50 on weekends). For an additional £5 you can start with a crisp glass of Italian Prosecco, or £7 for Jacquart Champagne.
What I immediately loved about The Celtic Manor’s Summer Afternoon Tea is that they’ve divided the savoury and sweet into courses so you’re not met with an overwhelming amount to consume in one go. Having an equal amount of savoury to sweet is also very welcome as even I, with a sweet tooth, struggle to get through all the sugary cakes and pastries.
The top tier of garnished savoury bites were beautifully flavoured and included a baked tomato and chilli tart with minted pea salad and a goat’s cheese and pesto mousse. It appeared even the traditional finger sandwiches have been put under the microscope with finely cut spiced carrot sweetening the grated cheese and a brioche bun cushioning the egg and cress.
Perhaps the only thing that would benefit from some more seasoning or sauce was the chicken and spinach wrap with garlic mayonnaise, however the thick chunks of meat were nice and soft.
“How delicious does this look?!” Click to tweet
Freshly brewed coffee and speciality tea is available throughout, so I began my sweet course with a pot of Assam Breakfast tea. There are eight Jing tea’s to choose from, including a refreshing Early Grey from Sri Lanka and a grassy Green Tea sourced in China.
The cakes are little works of art, delicately hand-made and flavoured by summer berries. A red berry and vanilla shortbread is their own take on a ‘Jammie Dodger‘ and tastes just like it.
The two scones are vanilla and raisin and sized just right, but by this point I reached my limit so finished with a whole peppermint leaf tea and requested a takeaway box that came with pots of jam and clotted cream.
I was really impressed by the Summer Afternoon Tea at The Celtic Manor, it’s proportioned well and the quality and presentation was excellent. I’ve already talked about returning to the Resort and enjoying it again before the autumn.
For more information or to book, visit their website or call the reservations team (+44) 01633 410262. You can also view my Christmas Afternoon Tea review by clicking here.
Disclosure: My experience was complimentary for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.