Afternoon tea is a real indulgence and one of the most quintessentially British pastimes we can think of.
From the steaming pots of tea to the dainty sandwiches and cakes – everyone has their favourite bit. Personally, ours has to be fruity scones slathered in clotted cream and strawberry jam. There’s just nothing better.
Add in a cocktail or a glass of fizz and you’re all set for a brilliant afternoon. Now, all you need is the venue.
Of course, not all afternoon teas are created equal – which is why we’ve put together this list to help you separate the wheat from the chaff. Keep reading to discover the best places for afternoon tea in Manchester.
The Refuge at Kimpton Clocktower
The winter garden at The Refuge is one of the most stunning settings for afternoon tea in the city / Image: The Refuge
Taken in The Refuge’s beautiful glasshouse winter garden courtyard, the afternoon tea here comes out in two waves: First, you’re presented with savoury treats and scones before moving on to a birdcage full of sweet treats.
ADVERTISEMENT
Start with gorgeously soft pork and kimchi sausage rolls, oak-smoked salmon with beetroot chutney and labneh on pumpernickel, and a mild and creamy cheddar cheese custard with carrots and flatbread crisps for dipping before diving into date and sour cherry scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam.
Then, finish with sweet treats like fig Battenberg, sesame snap-topped tahini choux buns, passion fruit and white chocolate opera cake, the cutest little black forest gateaux (served in an edible chocolate cup) and delicately spiced slices of carrot cake.
ADVERTISEMENT
Price: £29.50 per person with a pot of tea or coffee from Mancunian suppliers. Cocktails, such as a peach bellini made with sparkling green tea and a negroni sbagliato made with sparkling rooibos, start from £9 on top.
Richmond Tea Rooms
Richmond Tea ROoms is one of the boujiest spots in Manchester for an afternoon tea / Image: Richmond Tea Rooms
One of the boujiest spots in Manchester for an afternoon tea, if you’re looking for a raucous all-out affair you can’t do better than Richmond Tea Rooms.
Before the pandemic, it moved to a brand new home opposite Sackville Gardens in the Gay Village – which is absolutely stunning. Decked out in hot pink, the mad hatter’s theme continues throughout – right down to hosting their very own bespoke Alice in Wonderland-inspired tea parties.
ADVERTISEMENT
Alternatively, opt for the house Hatter’s Tea – served all day, it’s perfect for those who just can’t get enough tea and cake at any hour.
Price: £30 per person for the Mad Hatter’s Tea parties, or £11.95 for the Hatter’s tea which is served all day.
Sugar Junction
For something ultra-traditional, you can’t go wrong at Sugar Junction / Image: Sugar Junction NQ
This vintage tearoom can be found in the Northern Quarter on Tib street, serving up a range of delicious cakes and teas throughout the day.
Everything comes decorated authentically in a vintage style – from the tea pots to the china.
The classic afternoon tea here features homemade cupcakes, finger sandwiches, scones with strawberry jam and cream and a selection of freshly baked cakes – plus two organic loose tea infused tea bags.
ADVERTISEMENT
Cocktails are available separately – and well worth it (in our opinion).
Price: £22.95 per person with cocktails available to purchase separately.
The Midland
The Midland Hotel has been serving afternoon tea in Manchester for over 100 years / Image: The Midland
The Midland Hotel has been serving afternoon tea in Manchester for over 100 years. The venue has recently reopened its original dedicated tea rooms, where you’ll find a range of delectable afternoon tea menus to suit all dietary requirements.
Whether you’re vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free, there’s all sorts to choose from – including fun sandwiches choices like coronation tempeh, heritage carrot tartar and roasted pepper, rocket and feta.
Cakes, meanwhile, include favourites like lemon drizzle, chocolate and apple macaroons, olive oil and pistachio polenta cake and apple and caramel ‘crumble’. In such gorgeous settings, you can’t go wrong.
ADVERTISEMENT
Price: £28.00 per person for the traditional, vegetarian and vegan afternoon teas, all of which include a choice of premium loose leaf tea. Gluten-free and royal options start at £38 each.
King Street Townhouse
At King Street Townhouse, there’s not one but two afternoon teas to choose from / Image: King Street Townhouse
At King Street Townhouse, there’s not one but two afternoon teas to choose from.
Opt for their traditional afternoon tea with all the classics – like cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off and apricot scones with jam and clotted cream – or go for their gentleman’s afternoon tea for a more meaty affair.
A twist on the classic, the gentleman’s tea features options like steak and ale pie, lamb kofta pittas, mini fish and chips and sea salt fries – offering something a little bit different for those who want to push the boat out.
Price: £28 per person for both, or upgrade with a seasonal cocktail or champagne for £38.
ADVERTISEMENT
20 Stories
Enjoy sweeping views across the city at 20 Stories / Image: 20 Stories
At this drinking and dining palace in the sky, you’ll be treated to one of the most indulgent afternoon teas in the city.
Available Monday to Thursday 2pm – 4.30pm, the new and improved afternoon tea features a tempting selection of sandwiches, classic sweet treats, homemade scones and pairing tea options – with the extra option to upgrade to a Moet Chandon afternoon tea.
Price: £20 per person for the 20 Stories Afternoon tea, or £32 for a champagne upgrade.
Grand Pacific
A stunning regal setting for afternoon tea with old-world hospitality / image: Grand Pacific
Set in the stunning surroundings of King Street’s old Reform Club, Grand Pacific’s afternoon tea menu is just as gorgeous as the venue’s stunning interiors.
Available to book between 2pm -5 pm Wednesday to Saturday and 12-3.30 pm on Sundays, teas come served on the restaurant’s signature golden pineapple stand for that extra touch of glamour.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tuck into a plethora of bite-sized sweet delights and sandwiches, accompanied by some aromatic beverages from faraway places.
Price: £23 per person, or upgrade with a cocktail for £29, with house champagne for £28, or Moet Chandon for £30.
The Ivy
This Spinningfields spot is a must-visit for afternoon tea / Image: The Ivy
The Ivy has two afternoon teas on offer: a cream tea and a special summer garden afternoon tea, which is currently being served in the brasserie and on the roof garden daily between 3pm and 5pm.
For the summer garden option, you’ll be treated to such delicacies as marinated cucumber and dill finger sandwich on basil bread, lemon & raspberry donuts with pink lemonade, chocolate caramel flower pots and pistachio nasturtium crème brûlée.
Yes, The Ivy has really gone all-out on the flower theme and we’re here for it.
ADVERTISEMENT
Price: £7.95 for the cream tea or £24.95 for the summer garden afternoon tea.
Mamucium
Located next to Manchester Victoria, Mamucium offers a bottomless option with its afternoon tea / Image: Mamucium
Located next door to Manchester Victoria station, Mamucium’s afternoon tea features such delights as grilled cajun goosnargh chicken wrap, creamy Lancashire bomb, and sweet pickle finger sandwiches and home-baked scones with clotted cream and preserves.
The big treat here, though, is that you can also upgrade your afternoon tea to make it bottomless – meaning you’ll get 90 minutes of bottomless prosecco to tuck into alongside your three-tiered feast.
Price: £14.95 per person, or £24.95 to upgrade with 90 minutes of bottomless prosecco.
10 of the best green spaces around Greater Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Greater Manchester doesn’t have the leafiest of reputations, but if you know where to look there are a LOT of green spaces to be discovered in our region.
As the city expands upwards and outwards and glassy skyscrapers spike up into the skyline, most of us are just wandering the streets yearning to touch some grass.
Over the last couple of months, our team here at The Manc have been heading out of the office in search of the best green spaces around Greater Manchester.
And over that time, we’ve fallen back in love with some local favourites as well as discovering some really underrated spots to unwind and reconnect with nature.
The list below ranges from pockets of green in the city centre all the way out to rolling country parks, along with some super accessible beauty spots.
Here are our top picks.
Sale Water Park, Sale
Sale Water Park is one of the best green spaces in Greater Manchester
Peaceful walks, waterside views and a bit of sunshine (if we’re lucky) – there are plenty of hidden corners to explore at Sale Water Park.
After a long day at work, there’s nothing better than heading down here for a paddleboard, a walk by the water, or just a bit of calm away from the city chaos. You can dive into watersports, bring your own board, or keep it more low-key with a stroll and a coffee from the cafe.
Just a short hop on the tram or an easy drive down the M60, who knew views like this could be so close to Manchester?
Fletcher Moss is a firm favourite with Mancs in all seasons – in summer it’s an explosion of colour and flowers, in winter it’s transformed into a Narnia-esque landscape with eerie mist and twinkling frost.
Woodland walks, peaceful picnics, the river sliding past, flower gardens, coffee huts, boardwalks, and loads more.
Green spaces in Greater Manchester don’t get much better than Fletcher Moss, especially on a spectacularly sunny spring day.
Ancoats Marina gets a bit of stick these days as it’s swallowed up by luxury residential developments that are way out of reach for most of the residents who’ve called it home for generations.
But for those who live in the city centre, the greenery around the marina itself is a godsend and shows how good it is when neighbourhood preserve a bit of outdoor space.
As the years have gone on, the waterside neighbourhood has become home to top local indies like Pollen Bakery, Flawd wine bar, and Cask craft beer bar.
It’s a perfect escape from the concrete and high-rise everywhere else.
Where can you go on a walk where you get streams, lakes, woods, rivers, aqueducts, meadows, flower parks, playing fields, animals, mountain biking, great views of the city, and loads more?
If you thought we were about to send you all the way into the Peak District, think again…
Drinkwater Park, which also links up with Prestwich Clough, Philips Park and Waterdale Meadow (and all the way to Clifton Country Park if you fancy a big walk) is a really varied spot to go for a big walk, and way underrated compared to Heaton Park across town.
Bramhall Park, Stockport
Bramhall Park, Stockport
There’s a massive Tudor manor that dates back to the Middle Ages just down the road in Stockport – and the park it’s in is a bit of a stunner too.
Bramhall Park is home to all sorts of gorgeous corners to discover, from a community garden with fresh herbs, The Stables Kitchen, open fields, streams and lakes.
As for Bramhall Hall itself, the stunning wattle and daub structure that stands tall on the top of the hill may currently be undergoing restorations, but that’s only so the rich history and culture can be kept intact, so keep an eye out for tours.
After a hectic week of hustle and bustle in the city, there’s nothing better than a nice stroll with views of a very impressive open water space.
Hollingworth Lake is one of Rochdale’s most impressive routes, and even has a cafe perfectly-positioned half way round too, on hand to whip you up an ice cream or two.
There’s plenty of green spaces throughout the region, but this spot is one of Rochdale’s most easily-accessible walking routes and the perfect idea for your next day out.
Heaton Park is no secret to anyone living within Greater Manchester, but sometimes it’s easy to overlook just how fantastic it is.
This is the largest municipal park in Europe county’s biggest park, home to farm animals like Highland Cows, a boating lake, play areas, loads of fields, the historic tramway, and a magnificent 18th-century country house.
This really is one of the best green spaces in Greater Manchester – just maybe wait for Parklife to get out the way before you visit in June.
Mayfield Park, city centre
The opening of Mayfield Park was major news for Manchester city centre, as the city’s first new park in more than a century.
It’s hard to believe there was space for such a vast amount of greenery within the inner ring road, but here it is – a 6.5 acre public park, home to 142 trees, 120,000 shrubs and plants, a kids’ play yard with six slides, and beautiful meandering paths.
As the park was built, parts of the River Medlock were also uncovered, and the mighty river now slices through this pristine park.
Castlefield Viaduct, city centre
Castlefield Viaduct
It’s not the greenest of green spaces, but there’s something magical about Castlefield Viaduct and how it marries together an industrial landscape with nature.
The Victorian-era steel viaduct, way above our heads in Castlefield, is slowly being transformed into a green ‘sky garden’ by the National Trust.
It’s free to visit, and from here you can wander along a section of the viaduct admiring plants and staggering views of the city centre, with plenty more still to come in the charity’s plans.
Don’t judge, don’t walk away, just hear us out here – Piccadilly Gardens, justifiably, has a rotten reputation in Manchester. It’s a hotspot for petty (and more serious) crime, plagued by flocks of pigeons, and gets completely flattened into a muddy pit by the Christmas Markets every year.
BUT the improvements that have happened here in the last few years are quite remarkable – pop down there on a sunny day right now and you’ll notice a chunk of the Piccadilly Wall has come down (yep, you can see the sky again), the grass is actually alive, and there are usually hundreds of people sprawled out on their lunch breaks.
ADVERTISEMENT
As city centre green spaces go… it’s not the worst.
Popular Manchester restaurant bar to give out FREE sausage rolls to people called ‘Greg’
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s much-loved restaurant bars is doing a free sausage roll giveaway next week… but there’s a catch.
The catch being you have to have a certain name in particular.
It was only last week that popular high street chain Pret A Manger announced it would be slinging out free sandwiches to any Mancs with ‘Nic’ in their name over the late May bank holiday weekend, and now Tariff & Dale is getting it on the giveaway action, and it’s all to celebrate the iconic event that is National Sausage Roll Day.
In case you didn’t know – which is very likely, let’s be real – next Thursday (5 June) is the day dedicated to all things sausage roll.
So what better way to mark the occasion than with free portions of Tariff & Dale‘s legendary meaty treat?
The popular Northern Quarter restaurant bar is known for its creative comfort food, craft beers and cocktails, and laid-back industrial vibe, with one of the cult-classic dishes on its menu having always been the honey pork sausage roll – which just so happens to be a whopping 15-inches long, by the way.
Resembling something more of a pork wellington than a sausage roll, if you will, the dish is crispy, golden, and glazed with honey on top.
But to celebrate National Sausage Roll day, instead of parting with £9.50 for a portion or £48 for the full 15-inch thing, people with one specific name can actually get a slice for completely free of charge.
Tariff & Dale is giving away FREE sausage rolls to people with this name next week / Credit: Supplied
And that name is ‘Greg’, because if we’re honest, when it comes to sausage rolls, we all tend to think of Greggs.
So whether your surname is Gregory or Gregson, or you’re simply just called Greg, then all you need to do to claim your complimentary slice of sausage roll heaven is head on down to Tariff & Dale next Thursday 5 June from 12pm up until 9pm.
Georgina Pellant -
6th August 2021 
