Afternoon tea at The River Restaurant, Manchester Review

The River Bar and Restaurant is placed inside the illustrious Lowry Hotel in Manchester. Living up to the hotel’s name, the River Bar and Restaurant combines contemporary design with sleek, elegant décor. The fresh design creates a stylish setting for the high-quality cuisine served in the restaurant, while the Bar area provides a contemporary setting for lunch or dinner dates. Having visited The River Bar and Restaurant once before, we were revisiting to experience afternoon tea again.

We sat down for afternoon tea in the restaurant after being welcomed by the friendly staff. The menu was slightly different to last time and used locally inspired ingredients including Boddingtons chocolate cake and Eccles cakes.

We selected a glass of Laurent Perrier champagne to start, first up was a prawn cocktail in a small shot glass. This fresh and light start to the tea was followed by fresh strawberries and cream. Simple but elegant, they were a welcome addition to the traditional afternoon tea.

“The fresh design creates a stylish setting for the high-quality cuisine served in the restaurant.”

For the traditional sandwich course we enjoyed ham and mustard, salmon and lemon crème fresh, egg mayonnaise and cheese and pickle. Although the sandwiches were classic combinations, they were lifted to a new light by the restaurant’s twist on a simple afternoon tea.

The sweet part of the tea was made up of chocolate cake, Manchester tart with banana and egg custard, Eccles cake and Vimto jelly presented in a shot glass. These original and modern takes on the sweet section of afternoon tea were delightful and contemporary. The afternoon tea was accompanied by loose leaf English breakfast tea.

Our visit to The River Bar and Restaurant was thoroughly enjoyable and we will certainly be returning for a third visit!