A Healthy Afternoon Tea at Filmore and Union 

“Healthy shouldn’t taste this good” that’s the motto of Filmore & Union and I have to wholly agree. I was amazed at this place. As an avid lover of afternoon tea indulgences, I was rather reserved about trying this one, I was sure they couldn’t live up to the real experience. How very wrong I was…

We were firstly asked if we would prefer a glass of Prosecco or a pot of tea to accompany our food, I asked instead if we could opt for a smoothie and our waiter was happy to oblige. We both ordered a “Super Antioxidant” smoothie, packed full of strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, apple, mint leaves and coconut water. This came out quickly, I was really impressed at the speed of service here. The smoothie was refreshing but not at all sharp or acidic as some smoothies can taste, it was gorgeous; my only minor complaint is that it could have done with a little ice.

Along with our smoothies, the waiter brought us two sample juices each to try. “Slim Down” consisting of pineapple, lemon, orange, apple & strawberry and “The Oxygenator” a mix of apple, pineapple, broccoli, spinach, celery, cucumber and ginger. The latter sounding almost unpalatable, those were my exact thoughts. However, I stand corrected – this was delicious, it tasted so fresh and zesty; the fruitier version obviously tasted a little sweeter, but I was pleasantly surprised with both.

Our afternoon tea was made up of the traditional three tiers. On the bottom, we were presented with a selection of canapés served on malted rye bread. Upon first glance, I was apprehensive about how filling these would be; but we were provided with two of each option per person, so we did infact end up rather full. The dill and lemon cream cheese topped with Scottish smoked salmon was delightful and paid homage to the more traditional afternoon tea, the salmon portions were generous too – so no complaints from me. The basil pesto and sliced tomato topped with parma ham was a pleasing change to the normal boring afternoon teas, and the salty hit of the parma ham complemented the pesto perfectly. Our favourite though, had to be the hummus with roasted red peppers topped with caramelized red onion – the flavours worked beautifully together, the onion offsetting the hummus in just the right way – it left us wanting more!

The second layer is made up of gluten free scones and these really are something special. My sister and I commented quite a few times that we actually preferred these scones to the normal “unhealthy” versions. The size of them was again rather generous too, much to our delight. These were served with a fruity compote and a helping of natural yogurt. I’m not sure how they do it, but it just worked, I wasn’t missing my usual mountain of sugary cream & jam.

On the top tier, we were served with a selection of cakes; pistachio, lemon and poppyseed cake, raspberry blondies and raspberry muffins. Wow! The blondie was to die for, it was just so temptingly sweet and indulgent. The muffins too providing that perfect finish to the offering; the lemon and poppyseed cake was just stunning, sweet but refreshing at the same time, and the raspberry muffin was laden with generous portions of fruit. I was that impressed with these cakes, I spent a small fortune on taking some fuller sized portions away with me. They were that good, that my boyfriend didn’t believe the brownies & blondies were in any way healthy. If you want to do the same, and you only try one thing – I implore you to try the vegan brownie. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long enough for me to take a picture.

If you live in or around Yorkshire, you simply must try this place. I promise you will not be disappointed. I also feel that the food here is reasonably priced, I often find myself paying more money for healthier alternatives, but not here. I’m absolutely itching to return, I left feeling joyful and satisfied – well done Filmore & Union.

Gluten Free Afternoon Tea is served daily from 2pm – 5pm and is priced at £15.95pp or £19.95pp to include a glass of Prosecco.

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