Located in the stunning Victoria Quarter, Harvey Nichols Leeds Fourth Floor Café is one of the city´s most fashionable places for afternoon tea. Head Chef Lee Heptinstall aims to combine “the traditional aspects of an afternoon tea with an interesting twist”, and changes the menu regularly in order to “surprise and delight” guests every time they visit. Needing tea and cake and a break from shopping, StyleNest headed over to sample December´s festive inspired afternoon tea.
Upon arrival we received a warm and friendly welcome, and were promptly shown to our table, perfectly positioned next to a fantastic view over Leeds and it´s beautiful architecture. The café was light and open with modern, stylish décor, and an atmosphere that was pleasantly lively rather than noisy. We were quickly brought menus from our friendly waiter, who was more than happy to answer any questions we might have, even offering to make amendments to the menu should we need anything. The service continued to be faultless throughout the afternoon, and we felt thoroughly looked after.
Once settled in to our cosy corner table we took a look at the menu, and were pleased to see some traditional Yorkshire touches, including the much loved Yorkshire Tea from nearby Harrogate. After making our tea selection and ordering glasses of Harvey Nichols ´own Brut Champagne, it was Christmas after all, our festive treat soon followed, a delicious selection of traditional finger sandwiches, homemade fruit scones with generous pots of clotted cream and jam, and a selection of Christmas inspired cakes and dainty desserts. We started on the sandwiches first, which were on the pleasingly larger side of dainty, and generously filled with classic combinations such as smoked salmon and cream cheese and egg mayonnaise. The cakes were of course festive inspired, but still with enough variety to offer something for everyone. The slice of Christmas cake was soft and moist with the perfect amount of sugary icing, and the mince pies had been given one of Head Chef Lee´s twists, with traditional pastry replaced by a delicious, crumbly shortbread. We all agreed that the orange cheesecake, although we loved the idea, didn´t quite live up to our expectations, although the miniature trifle more than made up for it with it´s layers of fruity blackberry and creamy custard. We had just enough room left for the traditional homemade scones, still slightly warm, we layered them up with generous amounts of clotted cream and Harvey Nichols´ own preserve. One more cup of Yorkshire Tea later, and after friendly Merry Christmas from our waiter, we were ready to leave, happily full of both festive food and Christmas cheer, and looking forward to returning to see what surprise will be on the menu next.
Throughout January and February Harvey Nichols will be offering a special afternoon tea in collaboration with The Samling Hotel and it´s a Michelin starred restaurant. For more information go to www.harveynichols.com
Afternoon tea is priced at £39 for two without champagne, or £49 for two with champagne.