I can’t get enough of afternoon teas, as regular readers may know, so when I was back in the UK for my birthday this year, I couldn’t resist finding another one. I’ve been to The Allotment various times during its existence in Manchester, but the afternoon tea is a fairly new offering, just in the last year or so, and I hadn’t tried it before. I’ve found that The Allotment has changed quite a lot as there have been some significant changes in the kitchen, and it is no longer a must-visit for me when I’m back in Manchester – it started out as quite fine dining with a really innovative chef, but has become a bit more of a regular restaurant to me with a bit less creativity in the dishes (I’m not blaming them for changing their approach, it’s a tough industry). But I was feeling optimistic about the afternoon tea…until I read the reviews on Happy Cow, which were generally not glowing. I’m glad I hadn’t read the reviews before I booked, as they might have deterred me, and we would have missed out on a real treat!

As you can see above, it’s arranged slightly differently than a typical afternoon tea as there are two savoury plates and just one sweet, which was not the best omen for somebody as sweet-toothed as me. But again, I needn’t have worried!

The bottom tier was all sandwiches, which were regrettably very dull – there was a cream cheese one, a hummus one, and an avocado one. They didn’t taste bad, but it was a shame not to see a bit more innovation and flavour. They looked a little rustic too, not quite the elegant bites you might get at a fancier (and admittedly more expensive) spot. There is a lot of scope for creativity in the savoury plate, and I’m always disappointed when it doesn’t come to fruition.

However, there was one very exciting savoury element, which was the cauliflower wings. These are a staple on the menu at The Allotment and we’d all tried them before at least once, so we knew this was going to be a winner. It was absolutely delicious. The cauliflower was really tender, the batter was crispy and well-seasoned, and the sriracha mayo was perfect. I was thrilled that we each got our own little bowl – I was expecting it to be a really small portion, and this exceeded my expectations.

Because the cauliflower wings got their own tier, all the sweets and scones were crammed onto one plate.

There was one scone each, and they were generously sized. The cream was high quality, not too coconutty or greasy as they sometimes are, and the jam was simple and fruity. The scones were a really good bake.

The cakes, a brownie and a red velvet, were also well baked. I don’t think the menu specified what the cakes would be, but it looks like these are the regular ones, from other reviews. The brownie did not have the perfect texture, but it was decent, and good and chocolatey. The red velvet cake was top notch. The sponge was really light and moist, and the amount of icing was just the right balance. I’ve not had a lot of red velvet cakes since going vegan, and this was a good one.

It was £16 for this spread, which feels pretty good to me after forking out a lot for some in London in recent years.

I will say though that, even though we had booked in advance, service was quite slow and it took us a long time to get our afternoon tea. It seemed like they were a little understaffed, so I can believe it was just a bad day. But when the food did arrive, it looked and tasted impressive.

Overall, I found it good value for money and mostly a real treat. If they livened up the sandwiches, this would be a total winner!