Yesterday we went to the Willow Tea Rooms for a relative's Birthday celebrations. We were in the Salon De Luxe and I can't say enough about how amazing it was! We opted for the Champagne afternoon tea which included a glass of champagne, as much tea as you can drink, soup, 2 savouries, 3 sandwiches, 2 scones and so many cakes!!! It also included a tour of the Salon de Luxe and a ticket to the Willow Tea Rooms exhibition.
The whole experience was very luxurious. Megan our waitress introduced herself to the small room of 4 tables and served our Champagne then we chose our teas. I am not a big tea fan although they had 27 varieties so I gave the Cloud Catcher a go. They had a table with all the teas out so you could have a smell before you made your decision. The Cloud Catcher was nice and fruity and was the first tea I actually enjoyed. We each got our own little teapot and a strainer to pour into our Willow print tea cups. As Megan explained you can have as many pots of tea as you want so you can try all the flavours if you desired.
We had tomato soup which was served in a little glass milk bottle, it was delicious and was just the right size. I had a little chicken ball and a sweet potato fritter. A nice little selection when in my experience the gluten free afternoon tea selection doesn't normally include savouries. The picture below is the gluten option but gives you an idea of how it is served. I was too excited to get stuck in and forgot to take a picture first.
The sandwiches were absolutely delicious with flavours different from your usual egg and tuna. And the menu was edible!!!
Now, onto the most important part. The scones. I have been craving scones for so long and I received not one but two, a fruit scone and a plain one with the obligatory jam and closed cream of course. I have had some sub-standard gluten free scones in my time but these were great and still warm too.
The cakes were Willy Wonka themed. They change the themes often having previously had a 1903 theme which was reminiscent of the afternoon tea served in the original Willow Rooms and an Alice in Wonderland theme. The cakes were unlike anything I had seen before and I had to double check that they were in fact gluten free as they looked exactly liked everyone elses.
I have still got a few of these left in my doggy bag as I was so stuffed by this point but the candy floss, the Apple Dapple (orange and green) and Blueberry Beau were absolutely out of this world. The Willow Bar even had a tiny golden ticket inside. We were each given a goody bag at the end with some tea bags, petit fours and a post card. We just managed to fit in a short look round the exhibition which I'd also highly recommend. It was very interactive (I loved the mixing your own tea blend game!) and we thought the carpet was fabulous (see below). Overall, I cannot say enough good things about the Salon De Luxe afternoon tea and would highly recommend visiting!
https://www.willowtearooms.co.uk/
97 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, G1 3HF
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