Luxury afternoon tea for a taste of the Ritz, without leaving the North

The consensus

The Midland has served afternoon tea since the hotel opened in 1903, and since 2017 has done so in a purpose-built Tea Room overlooking St Peter's Square — by its own account the longest-running afternoon tea menu in Manchester's history, getting through around 800 pots of tea and 600 scones a week. Traditional Afternoon Tea is £38 per person, rising to £48 for the Royal option with champagne or £60 for the Excellence tea, served Wednesday to Sunday from noon to 4.30pm (the hotel's own prices, October 2026). Independent reviews are more divided than the hotel's heritage framing suggests: many guests call it one of the classier settings in the city, praising the loose-leaf tea selection, presentation and the paneled, window-lit room itself, but a meaningful minority of reviews describe service as inconsistent and the sandwiches as underwhelming for the price on an off day — a real gap between the grand setting and what turns up on the stand, worth knowing before booking a special occasion here.

Sourced from TripAdvisor, Secret Manchester — how we rate venues

The consensus

The Grand occupies the North Eastern Railway's 1906 Edwardian Baroque headquarters — a Grade II listed "Palace of Business" in red brick and Portland stone, converted into York's only five-star hotel in 2010, with oak panelling and decorative plasterwork intact throughout. Afternoon tea is served at The Rise, its restaurant overlooking York's city walls, and won 'Best Afternoon Tea' at the 2026 Condé Nast Johansens Awards for Excellence. Prices change with the season: its autumn menu (7 September to 11 November 2026) is £42.50 per person, £52.50 with Prosecco or £55.50 with Champagne, plus a 15% discretionary service charge, up from £39.50 earlier in the year. Independent reviews skew strongly positive on the food itself — particularly the scones and patisserie — but aren't unanimous on the setting: at least one visitor felt The Rise, a working all-day restaurant, doesn't suit afternoon tea as well as a dedicated lounge would, and reported service on the day lacking the polish the room's grandeur promises.

Sourced from TripAdvisor, Yorkshire Post

The consensus

The Queens opened in 1937 as the London, Midland and Scottish Railway's replacement for Leeds's original Midland Railway hotel, faced in white Portland stone with Art Deco interiors by William Curtis Green — a Grade II listed building still frequented, in its day, by the likes of Cary Grant and Princess Grace of Monaco. Its former restaurant, the palm-and-chandelier Grand Pacific, closed in 2025 and was replaced by Cinnamon Kitchen, chef Vivek Singh's contemporary Indian dining room, deliberately designed to echo "the grandeur of railway travel" and Indian railway first-class waiting rooms — a fitting callback to the building's own history. Its afternoon tea, High Chai, reinterprets the format with Indian-spiced sweet and savoury courses rather than a classic three-tier stand, priced at £28 per person. Reviews of Cinnamon Kitchen are respectable rather than rapturous — strong on atmosphere and service, with occasional notes that the food doesn't always feel fully worth the price.

Sourced from TripAdvisor, Yorkshire Evening Post

The consensus

The Vermont occupies Northumberland County Council's former headquarters, a Classical-style County Hall completed in 1910 on Castle Garth and used by the council until 1981, before its 1993 conversion into a hotel. The building carries its civic pedigree well: a grand reception hall with sweeping chandeliers, an Art Deco ballroom, mirrored pillars, and marble bathrooms throughout. Afternoon tea is served daily in the Lounge, with views towards Newcastle Castle and the Tyne Bridges — Traditional or Gentleman's Afternoon Tea both £25.95 per person, or a Cream Tea from £9.95, with a Prosecco upgrade at £7 a glass. Independent reviews are genuinely split: many guests call it a relaxing, well-served treat, but a real minority describe stale bacon, dry sandwiches and scones, and slow service — one reviewer calling their £30-a-head tea "not what would be expected for this kind of hotel," a gap worth knowing about before booking a special occasion.

Sourced from TripAdvisor, Co-Curate (Newcastle University)

The consensus

The Municipal Buildings served as Liverpool City Council's headquarters from 1868 until 2017 — a quadrangular Victorian pile in the Italianate Renaissance style, its Dale Street frontage running over 200 feet — before a two-year, roughly £45 million heritage restoration turned it into the city's only five-star hotel, opening as The Municipal Hotel & Spa, MGallery in 2023. The conversion kept the grandeur: marble columns and staircases throughout, and a Palm Court bar with a glass-vaulted ceiling and a marble bar at its centre. Its Botanic Tearoom serves a three-course afternoon tea of scones, finger sandwiches, hot items and patisserie in a plant-filled, atrium-style room, from £49 per person or £59 with Champagne. It's rated 4.8 out of 5 on TripAdvisor from several hundred reviews, with consistent praise for presentation and staff — though, as with any tea at this price, a handful of guests feel the bill doesn't always quite match the experience.

Sourced from TripAdvisor, Luxurious Magazine