Pitmedden Gardens

I was invited for a cup of tea at Pitmedden Gardens by Mother Hubbard and Monster in Law.

It was lovely.  Although it was a sunny day, it was not really pleasant enough to go for a walk in the gardens, especially at a cost of £6.50 each, as it was quite windy.

We enjoyed our tea though, although in my case, it was a hot chocolate...

The Victoria sponge I had was delicious, definitely homemade.  The Mothers has scones and seemed to enjoy them.

The cafe itself was smaller than I expected and full of ladies of a certain age who 'do tea'.  The staff were friendly and I couldn't have faulted the service.  It was quite expensive, but this was to be expected of a National Trust Cafe.

I'd happily go back.

Patisserie Valerie, Union Square, Aberdeen

I know, I know, I've only just started this blog and I'm already posting duplicate locations.

*hides face in shame*

I really just wanted to use up that second voucher!

This time I went with Alan.  He was desperate to go after hearing about my previous experience.

We arrived late and, again, we were seated inside, next to the table I previously sat at with Mother Hubbard.  We had a different waitress this time who, although pleasant, was not quite so chatty as the last lady.  The tea (breakfast for Alan and peppermint for me) arrived along with our tower of goodies.  All the sandwiches, scones and cakes were the same as last time so I was wise as to what was going to be my highlight of the tea.

Unfortunately, the sandwiches were again slightly dry as if they had been sitting out for a short while, but this did not put us off - especially Alan who never turns down food.  I let Alan have three of the four scones and he enjoyed them with all of the jams.  This time, instead of marmalade, there was honey, much to his delight.

The mini victoria sponge was delicious - I did not try this last time as I was so full - and they were so light I could have eaten several.  Again, the carrot cake was delicious and one of my favourite parts of the tea.

We noticed the 'Summer Menu' on the table which offered three courses for around £13 (or two for £10).  We left thinking that we might come back to try this offer as many of the courses sounded a bit different and very enticing.

Again, another lovely afternoon tea at Patisserie Valerie.

Patisserie Valerie, Union Square, Aberdeen

Today I went with my mother to Patisserie Valerie in Union Square for a prosecco afternoon tea.  I found that a voucher given to me by my friend was due to expire tomorrow (Wednesday) so, as I hate to waste anything, I thought we had best use it up.  I also had another voucher for afternoon tea, this time without the prosecco, given to me by my mother in law.

We took the bus into Aberdeen and were greeted at Patisserie Valerie by a lovely lady who sat us inside the shop - I had only ever sat outside in the booths so it was a nice change to be sat inside.  I explained that I had a voucher and she explained that tea and coffee were also included.  She nipped off to get our glasses of prosecco.  As we heard the pop of the cork, mum and I pondered how restaurants keep the rest of a bottle fizzy when only a glass or two is poured.  Our waitress explained upon my asking that there is a special bottle stop which they use to preserve the fizz.

A tower of treats arrived along with our tea (mum) and coffee (me).  On the first tier were wee finger sandwiches (cucumber, chicken and pesto, salmon, ham and mustard, egg mayo).  The sandwiches were nice, if a little dry as if they may have been sitting out for half an hour or so.  My mum found the ham and mustard to be very mustardy - it appeared to have bright yellow English mustard oozing out of the sandwich - so very strong indeed.  The cucumber sandwich had the opposite problem - hardly any taste at all.  It could have really been done with something else added to it.  There was also a small vegetable quiche each which was, to my surprise, slightly warm.  It was lovely.

There were scones, of both the plain and fruit variety, on the second tier.  They came with butter and four different preserves - blackcurrant, raspberry, strawberry and marmalade - and a ramekin of whipped cream.  They were of good size and tasted great.

On the top tier was a selection of mini tasty treats - a victoria sponge, some sort of berry jelly/mousse thing, a chocolate mousse cake, carrot cake and two chocolate eclairs.  These were all delicious, bar the berry one which was slightly gelatinous for my taste.

The waitress who served us (unfortunately I did not catch her name) was absolutely lovely and I was saddened to see that a table of two men in their late 30s behind us were a little rude to her as she tried to make polite chat with them.  She handled this gracefully and I was pleased to see that it did not put her off making conversation with other diners.

We were both fit to burst by the end of our tea, and set up for a days shopping.  I would absolutely recommend this to others.

The Mountain Cafe, Aviemore

This place is the best!

You always have to queue to get in but it's completely and utterly worth it for the delicious food.

This time I was in Aviemore for a hair and makeup trial ahead of our upcoming wedding.  I was driven by my mother in law, Jo, and we were accompanied my own mum, Linda.

We were famished by the time we were finished and with our full faces of make up we sought out a place to eat.  I had been to the cafe previously so I was interested in going back.  As we arrived at around lunchtime we soon realised that there was a massive queue - almost out the door.  With it being May Day, I wonder if they were busier than usual.  We were so hungry we felt we couldn't wait and continued our search for food.

We ended up going up the funicular railway to the Ptarmigan Restaurant (our wedding reception venue as it happens!) and I have written about the experience here.

After coming back down to ground level, we were in need of tasty cake and thought that perhaps the lunchtime rush would be over at The Mountain Cafe.  We were right.  We only queued for around 10 minutes before being offered a table in the corner.

I should mention that this cafe is above a shop (outdoorsy stuff) and is accessible via the shop itself.  The queue starts at the top of the stairs, where there is a door to enter the cafe and continues down the stairs where the walls are adorned with local business cards and posters advertising services and local events - so lots to read as you are waiting patiently for your table.  The benefit of this is that as you are not queuing in the cafe itself, diners do not feel 'watched' by hungry customers awaiting them to finish in order for them to make use of the table, leaving you feeling as if you could perhaps have another cup of tea and yet another cake.

We were served quickly by one of the busy waitresses and were shown a plethora of cakes near the till from which we could choose from.  The selection is amazing, with all different combinations in flavour and many gluten, dairy and wheat free options available.  There are scones, muffins, cakes, cookies, biscuits, tarts, pies, brownies and cheesecakes in various styles and flavours.  I selected a vegan chocolate brownie and an anzac biscuit (which I enjoyed so much I have successfully attempted at home!) because I couldn't choose just one.  Mum had a passion fruit custard cream and Jo had a great big slab of cake - I forget which flavour.  The portions are all massive!

They also offer delicious breakfast and lunch menus which states the 'bread of the day' and a lovely footnote encouraging the sale of yesterdays bread of the day to be toasted.  I particularly like this thought as I often wonder how much food is wasted in restaurants and it's really refreshing to see an attempt at using up food which may otherwise be discarded.

We all enjoyed our food thoroughly and will most certainly be back.