Three-tiered Indulgence At Jesmond Dene House

This month we continue the Jesmond Dene theme with a review of their hugely popular afternoon tea offering.

The hotel’s afternoon tea strives to be one of the best in the area and is served daily from 12 til 5 in either the garden room, restaurant, billiard room, lounge or snug cocktail bar depending on the guests’ personal preference. On a sunny, autumnal day we elected for the garden room and we were soon looking out over the hotel’s well-kept surroundings. Traditional tea is reasonably priced at £25 a head and for this includes a selection of dainty, finger-cut sandwiches, homemade quiche and sausage roll, three types of scone and a rainbow of colourful cakes and sweet treats. Also included is a choice of tea (loose-leaf of course) or coffee.

We settled on the traditional English Breakfast yet more adventurous folk can also look forward to a range of fruit and herbal blends. The daily offering is often subject to change depending on the season, yet there’s seemingly always something tasty to sample. Our bottom tier comprised a range of savoury treats. A cheese savoury filling was served on malty wholemeal, chicken came on white bread with fresh avocado and rocket cress whilst a lovely broccoli & stilton quiche and ‘posh’, seeded sausage roll made in the hotel’s kitchen – provided a nice alternative to the sandwiches. On the next floor up were scones of the plain, cheese and fruit variety. Fresh and doughy, with the fruity kind dusted in sugar, these really hit the spot and were there to be slathered in clotted cream, fresh butter and homemade jams. My tastes being a little more savoury, I usually like to operate using the countdown method “1 from the top, 5 from the bottom” yet the cake selection here looked so inviting that I had to deviate from convention.

The pick of the plate proved to be the chocolate, orange and almond truffle an oblong of sheer decadence with the three complementary flavours melting in majestically together. Also on the menu was lemon cheesecake on a biscuit-y shortbread base, the strawberry & lemon verbena macaron (one of the best this side of Betty’s tea rooms) and a raspberry & coconut sundae neatly presented in shot glass form. Admittedly, even for seasoned troughers like us, there’s a lot to get through so we inwardly rejoiced when we were given the option to have any unfinished morsels boxed up to take home. Indeed the service had been friendly and approachable all afternoon. The staff are all really passionate about their work here and were happy to talk through every aspect of the experience and answer any queries before we tucked in. Vegetarians and those with other dietary requirements are also well-accommodated for.

Upon being seated, we were surprised to be presented with a vegetarian/gluten free menu. Clearly Jesmond Dene House has all guests’ preferences in mind which we thought was a lovely personal touch. Those really looking to indulge can even pair their tea with an alcoholic beverage of their choice. Sparkling teas and cocktail accompaniments remain ever-popular yet guests also get the option to try the new “NovelTea” range offering either a tea/gin or tea/rum composition. How about that? This was a hugely pleasurable afternoon which provided a welcome release from the humdrum of working life. Much thought has clearly gone into afternoon tea at Jesmond Dene House – another branch of a highly polished food & drink offering.