In amongst the chaos that is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival a little piece of tranquility and calmness can be found at One Square in the form of their afternoon tea. Running until the end of the month you can enjoy a delicious picnic with a difference. They have teamed up with Rocco Venezia to offer you a complimentary glass of Rocco Rosé or Rocco Prosecco Brut DOCG alongside an indulgent array of scones, savouries and sweet treats.
Afternoon tea is served daily from 2.30pm to 5.30pm and priced at £32.00 per person I think it’s a bit of a steal. Mr E wasn’t able to join me on this occasion, much to his disappointment but he was on Alfie duty 🙂
I love being in One Square there’s something so fancy about it and we’ve always had a lovely time. Last time we visited it was when they had their honey themed afternoon tea. They like to change their theme frequently to keep things interesting. After the picnic afternoon tea finishes, from 1st September you can look forward to a chocolate theme in partnership with Cacao Barry.
Before things got properly started we were shown to our table by the lovely Paul who was going to be looking after us for the afternoon and he was fab. He only added to our experience. His enthusiasm was contagious and he had us very excited for what was to come. Prior to the main event we were treated to a lovely tomato gazpacho with a finger of toast topped with pesto and cream cheese. The gazpacho was delicious, I could have easily had more. Well seasoned and with a little kick of balsamic vinegar it left you wanting more.
Now it was time for the main event. First we were served our delicious plate of savouries, then our scones and lastly our picnic hamper arrived with lots of lovely looking fancies. With everything laid out in front of us, it really was a feast and it smelt delicious. The cheese from the cheese scones was drifting up and we couldn’t wait to get tucked in.
In the assorted savouries you’ll find an Ayrshire pork & Braeburn apple sausage roll, smoked salmon & cucumber finger sandwich, smooth chicken liver pâté on crisp thyme baguette and home-dried tomato & mozzarella quiche. My favourite item had to be the sausage roll. It was a taste sensation. Packed full of meat and nicely finished with the sweetness of the apple. Just serve me up 4 of those and I’d be happy! The chicken liver pâté was very smooth and flavoursome. I would have liked a little bit more baguette, but given how much we still had to eat it was probably no bad thing.
Next we moved onto the scones so we could enjoy them whilst they were still warm. There are three flavours included in the afternoon tea. You can expect to be treated to brown sugar & apple, Mull Cheddar & mustard and a plain scone. The scones were served with rhubarb & vanilla jam and clotted cream. The Mull cheddar scone was delicious. Before I had even tucked in you could smell and taste the cheese. Rhubarb jam is my favourite and this didn’t disappoint. Not too sweet and just the right amount of tart.
The sweet finale to the afternoon tea had all sorts of delicious looking treats. Here you will be treated to a strawberry fruit tartlet with vanilla crème patissiere, watermelon lollipops with Thai basil & lemongrass syrup, millionaire shortbread, toffee & chocolate cupcake, honey, fig & curd cheese tart with almonds, lime & blueberry cheesecake and a sharp raspberry doughnut.
Unfortunately we couldn’t finish it all and I took some home to Mr E. He was treated to the cupcake and millionaire shortbread. The millionaire shortbread was a little different from what we were expecting. I prefer a much thicker layer of chocolate and a more shortcrust pastry base. Everything else was beautifully presented and my favourite was the sharp raspberry doughnut. Maybe because you don’t expect to have one as part of your afternoon tea or maybe it was the sharp raspberry coating and raspberry jam which just oozed out of it, either way it was delicious.
We had a lovely afternoon, the service is fantastic, the location beautiful and the food delicious. Why don’t you pop in and treat yourself, it is national afternoon tea week after all 🙂
Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa, Edinburgh | 1 Festival Square, Edinburgh, EH3 9SR | Tel: 01312216422 |
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