Time for Tea at 1539…. #Review

Briony Wilson
30th July 2019

What better way to bring in the weekend than spending a sunny afternoon at Chester Racecourse. Watching them prepare for a busy race day, the stunning panoramic views of the Roodee, the oldest racecourse in the world- really add to the 1539 experience. The restaurant is known for its Classic British menu, with some wonderful twists and of course, absolutely impeccable service. A few months ago, when we discovered they were adding an Afternoon tea to the menu, we couldn’t wait to see what they did with it. The restaurant only offers its Afternoon tea from 2pm-5pm on *Fridays and Saturdays* – but there are 4 different Options; Traditional Afternoon Tea, Champagne Afternoon Tea, Decadent Afternoon Tea (served with a tea inspired gin cocktail) and Rose Champagne Afternoon Tea (served with a glass of Laurent Perrier Rose.)

We decided it was a little early for us, so went for the Traditional Afternoon Tea as with all the other options this includes 4 types of sandwiches, 2 scones in 3 flavours to choose from, 5 delicacies and unlimited tea, with 8 delicious varieties again to select from.

We were directed across to our elegantly laid table, offered water and they provided us with a slate of 8 teas in little golden pots to smell and choose our tea from. Now from the menu we were already discussing the lovely blends and ingredients in each, all with wonderful names, but when the pots arrived for us to sniff, this was a game changer and a little added extra that piqued the senses. Personally, I went for the ‘Tales of the Orient’, caffeine free, fresh and citrusy, with notes of sweet mango, lemon peel and pink pepper, adding layers to the medium bodied rooibos herbal tea. It was a hard decision with other tea’s including ‘Cleanse’ which reminded us of the smells of Christmas with its cardamom and ginger elements. Tori went for the ‘Green Flamingo Tea’ a Gunpowder green tea blended with an exotic green fruit indigenous to Brazil, sprinkled with pink, feathery cornflowers and layers of sweet lychee rose and honey. This tea really did pop with the Rose and honey, so the flowery taste was beautifully complimented by the sweetness.

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Tea Selection

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Teapots and Treats

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Strawberry Dream

As we enjoyed our teas and unexpected sweet treat arrived in a small waffle cone, delicately filled with strawberry cream and dressed with a balsamic glazed strawberry. This bite sized treat was an ideal little palate cleanser before we started.

Soon after the Afternoon Tea Stand arrived, with 3 plates, the bottom holding Welsh Dry aged Beef and Horseradish Finger sandwiches on granary bread and Cucumber and Cream Cheese Fingers on white bread. Both were properly sizes tea sandwiches with traditional flavours and an ideal start.

The middle plate held Scottish Smoked Salmon and Crème Fraiche on a brioche rolls whilst the Royal Legbar Egg Mayonnaise topped the same style bun. I must admit I am not a fan of Eggs, but Tori said this was the best egg mayonnaise she had tried, it was clearly fresh, and the colour popped. Doing the little trade, I got to enjoy both of the Smoked Salmon Rolls, a personal favourite of mine with a generous portion of salmon, which many skimp on. Plus, a slight citrus element to the light Creme Fraiche which really added the freshness and mixed with the sweetness of the bun, – Yum! I was very glad to try this twice – sorry Tori, you missed out there, I’m sure I downplayed this at the table out of guilt.

Throughout the tea, the service was impeccable, and we were checked on regularly by at least 3 different well presented waitress, all very politely offering additional sandwiches, tea and checking we were happy with everything, all visits well timed so we didn’t feel interrupted.

We took a short break before tucking in to the delicacies, to makes some room and requested another pot of tea, because of the delicious flavour of my tea, I choose to stick with it and how glad am I that I did, it went beautifully with all the sweet treats. Tori moved on to the British Mint and Caramel, which we were unsure about as big mint tea fans, however the subtle layer of caramel actually mellowed out the freshness, to create a lovely light sweet overall flavour. We thought it was time to order our scones as they are served hot from the oven. With a choice of Plain, Sultana and Maple & Pecan, we couldn’t resist but try one of latter 2 each, and I have definitely never seen a Maple and Pecan scone before and for me nothing beats a fruity scone.

We started with the Lemon Curd Tart Delicacy with a crunchy pastry base and a tart citrus, clearly homemade filling, I could eat one 5 times the size, however for an afternoon tea the bitesize portion was just perfect and decorated with an edible flower. Next we went for the Matcha tea and Lime Profiterole, something that can often be hit or miss, but this was very well executed with a great flake to the shell and beautiful punch to the creamy filling, this was possibly one of the most interesting elements on the tea and a must try for all. Next was the Strawberry Cheesecake, again a great size with a real mouthful taste of strawberry, clearly made from very fresh ingredients. We definitely saved our favourite 2 for last, mine being the Cardamom Semolina Cake, so beautifully light, topped with cream and so very moreish. Tori’s favourite being the Dark Cholate Opera Cake, very carefully put together, with rich chocolate and a good hit of the fruit, yet creamy and just a beautifully presented with the gold leaf decorated raspberry.

By this point we were rather full, but we would not be defeated, our warm scones arrived with our selection of Strawberry and Blackcurrant jams, Butter and Clotted Cream. As follows on any afternoon tea the debate of jam or cream first? Clearly Tori, has been up North too long as we both started with jam topped with Cream. The sultana Scone has a very traditional fruity flavour, that can’t be messed with – or shouldn’t be in my opinion, but it crumbled in just the right way. The Maple and Pecan Scone however was new to me and had to be tried first with out and topping, the sweetness and crunch from the nuts was divine and something for you all to try, I decide the flavour was too great to mask with jam so opted for a simple topping of the delicious clotted cream.

There are so many elements to this afternoon tea, from the views, to the service to the wonderful smells and of course taste of all the food! So much thought has gone into every element of this tea, it really does make it extra special and an ideal gift or way to celebrate an occasion.

*Our Thanks to our hosts at Restaurant 1539 for gifting us this experience – we stand by all the comments in our article, don’t believe us? Go give it a try yourself, you won’t regret it. *

*Since publication the afternoon tea offering has been updated and from the 6th August will now be available from Tuesday – Saturday.