Afternoon Tea Diaries: A Mother-Daughter Tradition at One Square Edinburgh

1 Festival Square, Edinburgh EH3 9SR, UK

Do you and your mum have a special tradition? Well, my mum and I try to visit The Sheraton's One Square for afternoon tea at least once or sometimes twice a year. The tradition started quite by chance. We had tickets to see a show at the Usher Hall and we turned up far too early, it was pouring with rain and we wandered around looking for somewhere to wait. We ended up directly across the road in the Sheraton's stylish and cosy lounge with a cuppa and a selection of their sweet treats. We were so impressed that we made a mental note to return and try their afternoon tea. Fast forward four or five years and we're still avid fans of the Sheraton's afternoon tea. What we always find exciting is the fact that their afternoon tea theme changes every season so we never get bored!

Since One Square heard I'm a fan of their afternoon teas, I received a lovely email inviting me to try their new Gin Afternoon Tea. They have partnered with Edinburgh Gin to create a truly gin-spired Afternoon Tea menu. With a whole host of gin-infused treats and botanical ingredients. As you can imagine, I excitedly accepted.

A Mother-Daughter Tradition: Afternoon Tea at One Square!


Yesterday, my mum and I had hoped to enjoy a lovely wander in Edinburgh to admire the spring flowers and finish the day with afternoon tea at One Square, unfortunately, Scottish weather did not cooperate and it rained the entire day. Instead of our lovely spring walk, we ended up spending most of our day in the National Museum of Scotland - which isn't a bad thing at all! By 2.30pm we were seated inside One Square watching passers-by hurrying through the Festival Square with umbrellas and admiring the Usher Hall and Edinburgh Castle which were shrouded in a light mist.  




Once we were seated, our waiter introduced himself as Thomas and showed us their selection of Twinings loose-leaf tea. After some deliberation, I opted for Redbush Caramel Velvet and my mum choose Elderflower & Blossom Flavour Darjeeling. Thomas then wheeled through a vintage-looking tea trolley, complete with samovar, and brewed us up a lovely pot of tea. He informed us that at any point during the meal he'd be happy to make us a fresh cup so we could try another flavour of tea. Being an avid tea drinker, I really appreciated this! 


After a little while, our amuse-bouche arrived. It was a delicious yogurt with rhubarb. Not a combination I would normally think to have but we found it very refreshing and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next, Thomas brought out our afternoon tea stands filled with sweet and savoury treats. The savoury treats consisted of mini pulled pork burger with spiced gin & onion chutney, smoked duck breast with rhubarb and beetroot relish & toasted fruit bread, grapefruit and rosemary marinated rainbow trout with samphire, celeriac remoulade & malt bread, and lemon & black pepper goat’s cheese with watercress on toasted walnut bread. Being a vegetarian, my savoury treats were slightly different but equally good. After we finished our savoury treats, a selection of scones (Banana & Cinnamon, Almond & Cherry, and a Plain scone) were brought out for us to enjoy. 

Their sweet treats consisted of a coconut, ginger & chocolate cone, an Edinburgh Gin macaroon, lemongrass & vanilla bavarois, rose & grapefruit opera cake, pine nut caramel tart, lemon drizzle cake, orange & elderflower marshmallow teacake, and an earl grey tea infused fruit loaf.

 

If you're interested in trying an afternoon tea at One Square check out their website for more details. Not to worry if you're not a gin fan, One Square change their afternoon tea theme every season so keep an eye out for what their next exciting theme will be. 

Website: www.onesquareedinburgh.co.uk/afternoontea

That's all for now, hope everyone has a delightful week x

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