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elevenses at the priest house, castle donington.


with picturesque views of the river trent and east midlands countryside through lattice windows,  the history of the priest house in castle donington can be traced back around 1000 years. the site that was once valued at "ten shillings and a penny" is now a popular destination for weddings, dining, a luxury hotel break and of course... afternoon tea and elevenses. last weekend, mum and i went to sample the savoury delights and as much tea that could be had at by 11.30am.



with a friendly welcome, we were seated right by the window whilst we selected what tea we'd like from the ornate box of twinings tea.


my mum instantly went for her favourite signature lady grey. we were invited to take our time smelling the teas, reading about their qualities and how best to have them whilst looking out onto the beautiful river trent view.


after much deliberation which only tea lovers will understand, i decided i'd abandon my usual english breakfast tea for russian caravan. in the same family as earl grey, assam, and english breakfast which go well with the usual milk and sugar, this tea had a slightly smoky quality which for me made the tea taste much stronger than usual. lovely.


after just a couple of minute sipping on tea, the incredible three tiered stand packed with elevenses delights appeared.


we decided to conquer the elevenses plate by plate! firstly going for the smoked salmon and egg as a sort of breakfast starter, followed by the cheesy haddock tart. we then had the sweet danish pastries as micro dessert and ended with a cheese course of cheese and chive scones, sparkenhoe red leicester and onion jam. 


as you can see each plate was quaintly presented in miniature form, leaving me wanting more every time. i especially enjoyed the classic smoked salmon and cream cheese combination here and will definitely try out eggs in ramekins for breakfast one weekend.


of all the dishes, this was hands down my favourite. a colston bassett cheese, caramelised onion and haddock tartlet with buttery shortcrust pastry which was still very slightly warm.


just a little sweetness to the savoury ensemble, mini pastries are always welcome with a piping hot cuppa.


to finish, a fresh savoury scone along with sparkenhoe red leicester cheese and sweet onion jam. i love the slightly crumbly and crystalised texture of really good quality red leicester with a strong but sweet and creamy taste. maybe i'm biased living in leicester and all? we asked for some butter to accompany our scone and this is what we were presented with... pretty fancy!


at £16.95 and available from 11am- 5pm (although probably just called savoury afternoon tea if you're having it that late), elevenses was a real weekend treat and a nice change from our usual sweet-toothed clotted cream and jam scones. 

if you're ever in the east midlands, i'd highly recommend making time to visit the priest house. who could complain with excellent food, service and that stunning setting which even looks gorgeous on a rainy day.


see the menu here at the priest house elevenses ♥
or perhaps see if any other handpicked hotels are serving elevenses near you?

the priest house
park lane, castle donington, de74 2rr

note: we paid for elevenses ourselves and all honest opinions are my own.

2 comments:

  1. Lovely pics! I used to work next door to the priest house, we always went for leaving dos and birthdays, it's a lovely place :-)

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    1. Was really lovely! I want to go and stay a night in their hotel... just because! x

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