Always on the hunt for a unique and exciting new afternoon tea experience, back in the summer when shopping for my mums birthday treats, we had a re fuel pit stop at the Godiva cafe and I instantly fell in love. So when my friend asked if I wanted to join her and her fiancé for a celebratory “we all just got engaged” jaunt, I obviously jumped at the chance to do it over afternoon tea at Godiva.
Surprisingly, the new cafe is situated at Meadowhall, and has planned its design out perfectly, so that when you do go in to indulge, you manage to completely escape the chaos of the shopping centre; and instead can just sit back, relax, and people watch watch the world go by. It’s priced at £25 per person (pretty decent prices), and for that price, you get an afternoon tea stand each, yes each – that whole stand in the picture above was for me only – and then a pot of tea of which options range from Chai, to Earl Grey, to Blackcurrant and Hibiscus, to chocolate tea. I went for Blackcurrant & Hibiscus and genuinely loved it; sometimes I’m not too fused for the tea and will often either skip it or ask for something else – as you can see I’d ordered a hot chocolate too, expecting not to like it; but no, it was lovely.
After you’ve chosen your tea, you’ll be asked to choose a petits gateaux (top tier for those of you, who like me, had no idea what that was). This is great, because it means no arguing over having to divide portions between two, and someone getting left with the fruit cake – that no one else wanted… you can just choose your own preference, and indulge to your hearts content. I chose the Chocolate Lover, a 72% dark chocolate mousse, with caramel crémeux on a chocolate brownie base with a velvet finish; but there’s loads of options, including fruitier based selections for those who don’t want too much chocolate overload. In all honesty, I never even managed to get to the top tier as I was so full, and they gladly boxed it up for me to take home, so don’t worry about having too much chocolate. Then you’ll be asked to choose a chocolate (white, milk or dark) for your melted chocolate fondue – milk all the way for me.
Once selected, everything comes out together, and you get one tier of decadent little sandwiches, then two tiers of chocolate heaven. The sandwich offerings are smoked salmon & lemon balm cress on red sesame brioche; cucumber & cream cheese on green polenta brioche; mature Irish cheddar, walnut & red onion chutney on orange poppyseed brioche; and egg mayo on yellow poppyseed brioche – those are works of art in themselves… but it’s the middle tier that is particularly stand out. Chocolate fondue on an afternoon tea in itself is different, but it’s served with the quirkiest, delicious little treats: mini chocolate chip scones; fresh strawberries; mango marshmallows; Granny Smith meringues; and chocolate, hazelnut and orange biscotti – literally, incredible.
As I say, I never even made it past the second tier; so you certainly get your moneys worth in food. I thought this was one of the best afternoon teas I’ve ever tried, it was more like something you’d get in London – and for £25 each, I don’t think that’s too bad at all. I couldn’t really fault anything from the food, to the atmosphere, to the service… I’ll be returning, and I’ll be returning very soon.
