Afternoon Tea at Bonbar

I'm sure I've mentioned my epic restaurant list on my blog many times before.  I carry about an ever increasing list of eateries that I want to visit for brunch, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea.  It never seems to go down and so, as you can imagine, it's not often we visit places more than once as there's always somewhere new we have to try.

So it speaks volumes that we have been to Bonbar twice this month.   After such a lovely experience during Restaurant Week (read all about it here) we couldn't wait to try out the afternoon tea, which made its debut only a few weeks ago.  We had friends up over the Bank Holiday weekend so it was the perfect excuse to book an indulgent treat.

As with our previous visit we loved the high level of service that we received.   We arrived pretty wet after walking from the Quayside in the heavy rain but were greeted warmly and our soaked coats and umbrellas were taken off us as we were shown to our comfortable booth.

Afternoon Tea at Bonbar is amazing from the first moment you choose what type of tea you want.   We were presented with a tray full of Tea Forte pyramid infusers and got to take our pick from a wide selection.   Unfortunately I'm not very adventurous when it comes to tea so I went for English Breakfast but Simon decided to pick the Citrus Mint which came served with honey.   

We were even more excited when our teapots and cups arrived a few moments later as they were all made from hand blown glass.  The pyramids fit perfectly into the tea pot with the decorative leaf popping out of the top.  Fun!!

A few moments later our food arrived and our eyes were just about ready to pop out of our heads.  The spread looked absolutely amazing.   

Our sandwiches were laid out on a slate board and we had a lovely selection with salmon mousse, chicken with homemade herb mayonnaise, egg mayonnaise and local mature cheese with homemade chutney.   The bread was really soft and fresh and the fillings were delicious, the flavours were well thought out and we really appreciated the care that had gone into everything. 

As a nut allergy sufferer I always appreciate when my needs are taken seriously and the service at Bonbar was wonderful.  I told them about my allergy when making the booking and as all of the cakes and sandwiches were made to order they had taken special care to change a few of their ingredients to make the afternoon tea safe for me.   I've had some pretty shocking experiences in other restaurants in the past so it was lovely to be so well looked after.

The sweet part of the tea was served on a traditional cake stand.  The scones were freshly baked and had a beautiful homemade look to them and when we cut them open the blueberries inside were still gooey.   They came served with homemade raspberry jam and cream.   As a cheeky little extra our cakestand was decorated with strawberries dipped in white and dark Belgian chocolate.

Saving the best for last the cakes at Bonbar are exactly what should be served at afternoon tea.   They were bite size, looked amazing, were a wonderful mixture of flavours and tasted like heaven.   Our selection featured chocolate brownie squares made with almonds, lime and basil macaroons, mini raspberry pavlova and red velvet cake.

We had a fantastic afternoon sat in our beautiful surroundings for hours - chatting about anything and everything whilst slowly making our way through all of the gorgeous food.   It was probably one of the most relaxing afternoon teas I have ever had and we were so impressed we have definitely decided it is one of the best we've had in the North East.

Afternoon Tea is served at Bonbar daily between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm and is priced at £14.50 per person (pre-booking is essential and a full pre payment is taken).