After a gorgeous stay at the Mount Juliet Hotel (read about it here!) we surprised my lovely mum with an afternoon tea date at the hotel on a return visit to Kilkenny. Our trip coincided with her birthday celebrations and what better way to toast a birthday than with the lovely occasion of afternoon tea. We’re huge fans of afternoon tea and we were excited to check out what Mount Juliet had to offer!
Afternoon Tea at Mount Juliet
Afternoon tea is served in pairs in Mount Juliet so my mum and I opted for an afternoon tea stand while Dave ordered the honey and mustard glazed bacon loin over a rustic sour dough bread with apricot chutney. Our food was accompanied by a cocktail, a mocktail and a Guinness since birthday celebrations were the order of the day!
Afternoon Tea
The afternoon tea stand arrived and we couldn’t wait to tuck in to the delicious spread of sandwiches, scones and sweet treats. The food was beautifully presented and plentiful and we loved the sharing concept.
The sandwich tray was a mix of smoked salmon, salad, ham, chicken, crab and a cheese swirl each of which were presented on a different type of bread. The crab, cheese and salmon were winners for me and we enjoyed the variety of the fillings. Excellent start!
Staying true to the traditional afternoon tea order we moved on to the scones next and sampled the 4 mini fruit scones on the top layer. The warm scones were delicious with some homemade jam and clotted cream and it was time to move on to the sweet treats that had been tempting us from the second they arrived at the table!
The scones:
I’m a huge chocolate fan and made a beeline for the chocolate cake which was delicious albeit extremely chocolatey as one would expect! My mum enjoyed the fruit cake but we both had to admit defeat after a final slice of the chocolate Battenburg! Dave stepped in to finish off the sweet treats and while the lemon cheesecake received his seal of approval he wasn’t convinced by the green macaroon-esque finale!
The cakes:
Having heard that we were celebrating the staff delivered a little extra birthday plate with some milk and white choclolate individual sweets and my mum was delighted with the sweet gesture.
Cocktails:
Our summer mojito and fruit mocktail were delicious as was the accompanying pint of Guinness for Dave. Afternoon cocktails are always fun and we were pleased with our choices!
Afternoon tea menu:
The Room
Our afternoon tea was served in Mount Juliet House and the relaxed old style luxury was the perfect setting for the occasion. We chose a window seat and enjoyed the beautiful summer breeze through the stable door while we indulged!
The pretty setting for afternoon tea:
Fun decor:
Although it wasn’t quite warm enough to have our afternoon tea outside we did enjoy an alfresco drink in front of the hotel and took a walk around the grounds where we were joined by the four legged love of my life (sorry Dave)! The grounds are huge and we enjoyed a wander around working off some of the afternoon tea damage!
Relaxing in the outdoor dining area:
The stunning grounds:
Our VIP guest was more interested in posing than her new horse friend!
Overall
We had a fab time at Mount Juliet and really enjoyed the setting and the afternoon tea treats. Best of all, my mum had a fab birthday and loved her afternoon so what more could we ask for!
To read about our stay at Mount Juliet click here!
To read about our Michelin Star dinner in the Lady Helen at Mount Juliet click here!
Mount Juliet is located in Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland.
Looks and sounds fabulous 🙂
Afternoon tea and cocktails are such a treat!!
Must try there as i love afternoon tea
It was very good Cara! We love afternoon tea too!