The Great British Cupcakery on the corner of Queen Street, Newcastle has always had a good reputation. So much so that we tried to pop in with our friends who had came up from Great Yarmouth. Unfortunately it was Easter weekend and the sun was shining and the queue was spilling out of the door. There was a very slim chance of us getting a seat for Freak Shakes and Cakes. In order to guarantee my next attempt, I decided to book in for afternoon tea.
To make it even better I thought that booking Afternoon Tea as a Mothers Day gift would be perfect. So I booked up early and contacted them in late January.
The Great British Cupcakery, Newcastle
We were blessed with some amazing weather again. It was so nice that Abigail insisted on wearing Shorts and a T-Shirt and insisted that I wore a cap! Which looks daft with my woolly cardigan on, so I was forced to bare arms! Something I rarely do.
Due to the great weather the Quayside was bustling with people. The Great British Cupcakery also seemed to be hit with a crowd surge too. The queue wrapped around the counter which showcased their cakes and cupcakes. The majority of people were looking for take outs, which was a good job as all the seats were taken bar the reserved ones. I caught someone attention to be seated before the queue had gone down any places.
Great British Cupcakery’s Mothers Day Treat
My mother was really looking forward to our visit and had been talking about it for weeks. Which really lifted her spirits up as she’d been feeling down recently. I was made very welcome and greeted on a first name basis (from my booking).
“Hi Alan, we have you booked for 2 Adults and one child. Is that right?”
It would have been if my Mam hadn’t fallen down the stairs three days earlier. As bittersweet as it ended up I felt the best thing was to have Afternoon Tea with Abigail and get a takeaway version for my Mum. Even though it wouldn’t have been the experience she wanted, at least she got a treat for Mothers Day.
Great British Cupcakery’s Milkshakes
We opted for an Adults Afternoon Tea with Coffee and a Child Afternoon Tea. I think the default Childs drink is a Fruit Shoot, but Abigail wanted a milkshake, which I was happy to pay for this additionally. After all it was a special treat experience.
The menu listed various drinks and items. For the milkshakes the menu only listed Freak Shakes, which I knew would be huge. Abigail opted for a Strawberry based Freak Shake which looked amazing, as did the Child’s Afternoon Tea.
The Strawberry Milk shake was a nice large portion of milk and ice cream. The glass was drizzled with strawberry sauce, topped off with whipped cream, marshmallows, meringue, a strawberry and a shortcake biscuit in for good measure. Abigail’s face lit up when it arrived on the table, she didn’t know where to start. Starting with the Strawberry, then giving me the biscuit, she rapidly made her way into the lovely creamy milkshake.
Great British Cupcakery Afternoon Tea
The Child’s Afternoon Tea is very similar to the Adult’s version, with only a few tweaks. Obviously it is a trimmed down offering to reflect the ability to consume less. The sandwich filling was limited to just Ham for her, which was perfect as it is her favourite. Though the display of cakes and sandwiches made her feel like a princess at a tea party. On the way into town she’d mentioned the tall tray of cakes that she wanted. Which is exactly what she got when it arrived.
The bottom layer held the Ham Sandwiches. The middle layer was a raspberry and white chocolate blondie, a brownie with a chocolate coated strawberry on top and a Caramel Shortbread. Finally the top plate held a strawberry cupcake also topped with a strawberry.
I’m a coffee drinker so opted for Afternoon Coffee! It was served on an unlimited basis, but I never got to the bottom of the teapot full of coffee. Being really posh, like I am! I added the milk first to the teacup then topped up with the coffee. Being unused to that sort of behaviour the next two cups were just topped up with coffee as I like it really strong.
My Afternoon Tea selection was similar to Abigail’s with a slight amendment. Instead of the Caramel Shortbread, I had a strawberry jam and Chantilly cream scone. The top plate had an additional item of a cheese scone. Finally there were four sandwiches, one of each, Egg Mayonnaise, Cheese and Pickle, Tuna and Cucumber and a Ham and Pease Pudding.
I wolfed down the Sandwiches, all of them fresh and delicious. Next up I tackled the scone with Jam and Chantilly Cream. Feeling slightly posh, I decided to split the scone into the two halves. Instead of stretching open my mouth like I was eating a huge burger.
A couple of tea cups of coffee and I started on the brownie. It was soft and gooey and very chocolatey. Both Abigail and agreed that it was “Mmmm mmm mmmmmmmm mmm!”
It was at this point that the display of food over took our 6 year old. She started feel overwhelmed and needed to be cuddled. The richness of the cakes and Milk Shake had hit her limit and I knew we needed to have a walk about in the summer sun. So we boxed up the rest to take home. Given another 30 minutes I would have finished my 3 tiers, but needs must.
Usually I’m not a huge fan of cupcakes and it was going to be my last choice. However when we got home I took a bite and there was a surprise jam centre and I was amazed with the whole thing!
Great British Cupcakery Newcastle Prices
In terms of a review this is a pretty much a gushy one. I loved the setting, I loved the offerings and I loved how friendly the staff were. I even loved how the 50th party in front of our table had dressed up with 50s clothing and hair styles. The only thing I didn’t like was the health and safety “Cleaning in Progress” yellow sign in the middle of the floor behind Abigail. This is the world we live in now.
The Afternoon Tea costs £19.95 per adult, while the child’s Afternoon Tea is £9.95. For a slightly trimmed 3 tier service I really felt the child’s option was really good value. According to their website they are offering this to children under the age of 11 years old. When my mother is fully recovered We’ll aim to visit again this summer.
Leave a Reply