Katie H.
Yelp
I've been to the King Street Townhouse twice now - once for an event and once from afternoon tea. I haven't stayed over, but know a few people who have, and they were very impressed.
The first event was the launch of the PA awards. It was held in the lounge/event space on the South Terrace on the 6th Floor. The lift leads straight to the balcony area and to the room itself. It's a really great space and ideal for a wedding/private gathering of some description. The canapes were really tasty and service attentive. The only downside was the cost of the drinks at the bar, as I thought they were quite steep for Manchester - £11 for a glass of prosecco.
At the event, I won the raffle for Champagne Afternoon Tea for two. Of all the prizes I could have won, this was by far the best for me!
As it turns out, three of us went for the afternoon tea. They were really helpful when I asked to add a third person to the booking (paying for the extra one of course). On the day itself, the weather was beautiful and they were very accommodating when I asked if we could have it on the terrace, as I thought the view would be impressive for my family. As it was a Friday afternoon, we had the terrace to ourselves for the first hour.
My brother went for the Gentleman Jack Afternoon Tea rather than the ladies one my mum and I had as part of the prize. The main difference being that he got savoury bites instead of finger sandwiches and the Gentleman Jack based cocktail rather than champagne - I had a taste and there was some cherry liquer of some description in there. When the cakes came out, he also had a plate of cheese and biscuits and brownies.
The finger sandwiches were pretty nice finger sandwiches and standard type of flavours as you'd expect. The star of the first round has to be my brother's savoury bites. I've been to quite a few afternoon teas and have seen a few takes on gentleman's versions but this is the best - there was a scotch egg, mini fish and chips and many other things.
We had the alcohol served with the first course. The tea/coffee came with the scones and cakes - I went for camomile tea and it was very delicate and nice. You can ask for it the other way round if you want.
The scones were freshly baked and fell apart in our mouths. The clotted cream and jam were good too. The cake selection was good = a mousse type thing in a little shot glass, a lemon macaron, an orange cheesecake and a mini chocolate tart. The chocolate tart was my favourite by far - the pastry was thin and delicate and there was an almondy taste to the whole thing. I also had a taste of my brother's brownie and it was just perfect.
We were absolutely stuffed when we left to head over to a concert at the MEN - I think waddling is a more accurate word than walking. It was so nice. The Tavern itself looked very nice and cosy, so I'd like to go back - maybe to have the Afternoon Tea again but downstairs, or for a normal meal. It was nice though having a view and making the most of the unusually nice weather (though it clouded over at the time I took the photo - typical!).
