Review: Afternoon Tea at Sugar Junction, Northern Quarter

You may remember Charlie and I visiting Sugar Junction on Tib Street for the launch of their new cocktail menu (if you didn’t you can catch up HERE) and we loved it. So much so that we decided to get some of our favourite girlfriends rounded up for a Christmas get together and an afternoon tea.

We had reserved a table for 10 so were seated downstairs at a cosy table big enough to seat us all but not so big that we couldn’t chat, just perfect. I opted for the Prosecco with my afternoon tea which arrived in a beautiful vintage crystal glass. I also chose a tea and went for ‘pucker up lover’ which is a fruity floral blend of hibiscus flowers, rosehip, strawberry, apple, rose petals, elderberries and orange blossom. I love the vibrant pink hue of the tea and the fruity scent it had that wafted through the downstairs of the tea room. Once our tea had been served our afternoon tea was brought out to us.

This is a stand for 3, isn’t it huge? I am embarrassed to say that I didn’t even try the pretty mince pies on the top layer. I was so stuffed after the sandwiches, scones and cakes! There was a great selection of sandwiches and I loved the barms option instead of dainty fingers. Much more Northern if you ask me even if you do call your barm a bap. I had brie and cranberry (a great amount of filling but I would have liked the brie to have been rested outside of the fridge for a little while so it goes gooey) egg mayonnaise (very tasty with a good amount of egg and just enough mayonnaise to bind it together) and beef (good, a basic sandwich but done well) but there was also smoked salmon with cream cheese on offer. The scone was the highlight for me, it was slightly flatter than normal and I loved this as it meant the centre was slightly denser yet still fluffy. We had plenty of cream and jam to share around for the scones that was also topped up regularly, a lovely touch. The macaron was firmer than others I have tried but had a lovely orange chocolate flavour, I noticed these went from most stands very quickly so were a hit with most of the table! I wasn’t a fan of the brownie though. It was also firm and I am a lover of a gooey brownie… something slightly wibbly with an intense chocolate flavour. These tasted like a flourless version and were quite heavy, a bit too much for me. That said, I ate it after everything else so I’m not really surprised I couldn’t manage it all!

The service was impeccably attentive and the staff are happy to provide whatever you need, considering both floors of the tearoom were full I found this amazing. The staff really are a valuable asset to Sugar Junction and are the main reason I will come back time and time again with friends and family. Well them and the amazing cakes and cocktails…

This event was paid for.