Gino’s Italian Inspired Afternoon Tea
Gino’s restaurant on the Newcastle quayside is in my opinion the best Italian restaurant in the city, with a huge menu and a great atmosphere and service. They’re always adapting for the seasons with the tipi at Christmas, and now for the summer they’re offering an afternoon tea experience. Being Gino’s, it’s an Italian inspired afternoon tea, which combines the traditional British afternoon tea experience with some Italian flair and flavour.
Disclaimer: I received complimentary afternoon tea for 2 in exchange for Instagram content, I was not obligated to share this blog post.
We arrived along the Quayside, so we were met with the new outside terrace at Gino’s that has also just opened for the summer. There were outside dining options available previously, and that area is still there, but this is an additional seating area for drinks, with tables in both the sun and under shades. The island bar outside takes centre stage, serving ice cold wine, beers and cocktails.
Gino’s Italian Inspired Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea first though, before any drinks so we made our way inside. It’s served in the bar lounge area, which is the section between the bar and the restaurant sit down tables inside. The tables are low so you’re on the comfy chairs, and it was laid out ready for us.
We were offered a choice of tea or coffee, and also a glass of rosé. Gino’s are making a big deal of a ‘Summer of Rosé’ this year, as they’ve selected a varied rosé menu with wines from both Italy and France on offer. There’s a big display in the entrance from the quayside as you walk in. It was lovely too, you just can’t beat a crisp glass of blush in the summer.
Our drinks were served while we waited for the afternoon tea tower to arrive, which gave us time to take in the view. It really is in a fabulous spot, and with the current weather the outside bar seemed very popular. Sunday lunch was in full swing in the restaurant too – I must try it here as it looked great the Yorkshires were huge.
Afternoon tea arrived on a traditional three tiered gold and white stand, with the usual courses – savoury, scones and desserts. The Italian influence is visible straight away, with two of the savoury selections being bruschetta and a loaded ciabatta slice.
The bruschetta is parma ham, with spicy nduja, Italian honey and pistachio. It might sound a strange combination but I’ve never tasted anything like it, so so good. You could really taste all the different flavours too, I would have happily had a few more of the same thing.
Of course they have other options, which included cured salmon with creme fraiche, and dil on the toasted ciabatta. Another really delicious one with the salmon mix piled high.
The two sandwiches were egg mayonnaise and truffle cream cheese with pickled cucumber. They were a good size too and lots of filling, not quite the slither finger sandwich you get at some afternoon teas.
The scones were savoury and fruit, served with thick cream and jam. Whenever I have afternoon tea I always stuff my face with the first two courses then never have room for the desserts, so I decided to do it the wrong way round and dive in for the desserts before my scone, as they just looked amazing.
The first one I tried was the chocolate cake with ferrero rocher on top. It might sound very rich but it wasn’t it was absolutely gorgeous. Again all the desserts are good sizes so I knew we wouldn’t get through them all.
My mum is a big panna cotta fan, and this one was served with amaretto, strawberries and basil, and crushed amaretti biscuit. She polished it off so fast I had to eat mine too – really light and easy to eat.
I have to mention the lemon and blueberry Italian meringue tart as well, as it looked like we think of meringue but it was all soft, with lemon on the top and blueberry on the bottom at the base. Another gorgeous pairing that we both wolfed off with no shame. I never get through as many desserts!
I did go back for one of my scones, but I couldn’t eat both and I have no regrets as the desserts were such a highlight, as was the parma ham bruschetta I’m still thinking about that now. Service was fabulous as always, and they don’t rush you through.
Afternoon tea at Gino’s is available every day from 12pm-5pm, and until 3pm on Saturdays. It’s £29 for the standard version, which is very reasonable considering the quality of the food and how much you get. It’s then £35 for the Franciacorta Rosé afternoon tea or £37 for the Champagne afternoon tea. All would be more than worth the money if you like rosé or champagne with yours.
You do need to book the Gino’s Italian inspired Afternoon Tea experience in advance, at least 24 hours. You can find the full details and the menu on the Gino Newcastle website here.
We were on to another glass of rosé by the time we finished so we decided to move out onto the terrace as it was such a lovely day. It’s a sun trap out there, and it’s really handy to have the bar outside rather than having to go in or wait for drinks to come from inside.
A lovely spot to spend the afternoon for a drink, or lunch and a bottle of wine, or afternoon tea as we did. I really liked the Italian twist on the traditional British afternoon tea, it made it a bit different so I’d definitely do it again.
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