Life: bloggers' afternoon tea at the Sky Lounge Leeds

To end May in style, I headed off to a bloggers afternoon tea last month at the Sky Lounge situated on the 13th floor (with one hell of a view) at the DoubleTree by Hilton. Being in the company of the local bloggers, and meeting some new faces, is always my favourite place to be. Our many girly, and often food and cocktail intoxicated trips out have proven the best kind of people are those you click with instantly and it helps sharing the same interests (ie. the nod of approval for photographing everything in sight because they'll be doing the exact same).

This was my first time here and I was pleasantly surprised by the dainty location, situated on the Granary Wharf with beautiful watersides and selection of restaurants. It's become a new found love for me, discovering those quirky, quaint food hide outs which win at curing hunger just by reading the menu and admiring the setting both indoors and outdoors. So once I whizzed up to the top floor to the Sky Lounge I knew I was in for a treat.

To start off the celebratory nibbles heading our way I instead politely asked if I was able to have a hot chocolate in place of coffee or tea because being the awkward individual I am, I don't like either. But by god am I glad I made this swift decision as it was definitely the most appetizing hot chocolate I've had in a while and it was the start of something great!

As the metal stack filled with delicious treats was brought to the table of nine (and after we'd all photographed the food as eating before snapping up a few pictures based in the correct angle is like the rule of being a dedicated blogger and fellow Instagrammer!) I couldn't help but think these half segments aren't going to fill my demanding tummy... but how wrong I was! By the end of each given snack, I was absolutely stuffed and couldn't even manage the rest of my scone (if you know me, you'll know I must have been full to turn down some home baking!).

I haven't ever been to a proper afternoon tea before (I know, I'm certainly missing out) so I can't compare to any other satisfying taste-bud provider but I can honestly say I loved the range of choice within the servings at the Sky Lounge. It was what you call the traditional kind, a proper British spoonful. For the mains we were given three choice of sandwiches; Parmesan ham on a crusty bread, soft cheese and cucumber in wholemeal bread and the extremely fishy salmon and prawn sandwiches which I narrowly avoided (as hard as I try, I just can't warm to any type of fish). For the 'middle' order, there were tarts and scones, and finally the dessert kind with a choice of brownies topped with a strawberry, sponge cake and profiteroles. They even supplied us with a gluten free option for a couple of the girls. It's safe to say the desserts were what finished me off. Greed took over my natural sense and I consumed so much sugar you could almost see it swimming around hesitating whether to digest and add a few unwanted pounds to this supposed summer bod. However, they were all insanely good. In particular the cake and brownie. Albeit a little dry, you could instantly tell it was all freshly made at first bite.

Where we were sat on a put together large table, we had a first hand birds eye view of the city which was lovely and weirdly relaxing. I've never really thought of Leeds having a touristy skyline (aside from the visible train station) but it could pass as the ideal backdrop for gazing into and pretending you're in a movie until you snap out of the moment and realise where you are. 

Before we left (and after we'd chatted and giggled our way to de-bloating) we then admired the other side of the building, on an open balcony which probably isn't used to its advantage enough due to the shocking temperamental summer we have in this country. It was hard to capture the view from this corner with only a 35mm lens on hand but, beside the clouds, as an end to a wonderful day, Laura whipped out the selfie stick to capture that finalised moment and I think she did a pretty good job.

For my first afternoon tea experience, I really enjoyed it. At £15 per person I think it's an affordable price for a nice afternoon out with great basic food. The staff were friendly, helpful and patient with our indecisive minds (must be the blogger brain) and I'd definitely go back there. This weekend it's my birthday and as a planned trip to York is out of the question (once again, due to the weather ruining everything) I'm paying another afternoon tea location a visit so it will be interesting for me to check out and compare.

Thanks to Dei for organising this lovely day out!

Have you ever had afternoon tea?

Bridie x