Afternoon Tea at the Bank, Low Fell

Low Fell is an area of Gateshead that we love to stroll around.  We dream about being able to buy our first house there as it's such a convenient location, has lots of cute little shops and to have Saltwell Park on our doorstep would be amazing.   Unfortunately it is probably a little out of our price range.

Somewhere we've walked past many times before when daydreaming round Low Fell is The Bank, a bar and bistro situated in a beautiful grade 2 listed building that used to home Lloyds Bank.  I've heard great things about the food and was interested to read that they also serve afternoon tea.   So when a deal popped up on Living Social I decided it would be an ideal time to finally give it a go.

The Bank is split into two, with a wine bar downstairs and a restaurant upstairs. There is also an outside terrace but as Autumn had well and truly arrived on our visit it was far too cold to even contemplate sitting outdoors.

Our food was served in the restaurant, a cosy room that feels nice and private.  The dark interior and leather furnishings made me think it would be a great place for gentlemen's afternoon tea.

The afternoon tea was served very promptly and looked lovely.  I was, however, a little frustrated that we weren't told what was on our cake stand.  More and more places seem to be forgetting this now, and its such a simple, yet important little touch.

 

We had three little sandwiches on our first tier, but didn't really enjoy the fillings.  They were rather unimaginative to the point where I can't remember what they even were!

The tier was a good amount of food for me but Simon did feel a little cheated as most afternoon teas we enjoy come with four sandwiches.

Next we came to the scones, we had a plain and fruit scone each although the appearance of butter on our stand did confuse me into thinking we had cheese scones.   Bank's decision to serve whipped cream rather than the traditional clotted cream left us feeling a bit disappointed in a tier we usually love.

Our cakes were the highlight of the tea with a little square of victoria sponge(fluffy and really tasty) some chocolate cake (so deliciously rich) and a lemon posset (a perfect fruity finish).

The staff were helpful and friendly and the quality of the afternoon tea was, I think, reflected in the fair price of £9.95 per person.   Although we weren't blown away we had an enjoyable afternoon at the Bank and I'd be interested to see what other meals in the restaurant are like.

Let me know if you've tried the Bank and if we should give a different part of the menu a go.