Seaside afternoon tea at The Assembly House, Norwich

On of my absolutely favourite places to go in Norwich is The Assembly House. I fell in love from my very first afternoon tea there and have been back so many times since then and even had an overnight stay last year. The great thing about The Assembly House is that they change the afternoon tea fairly often and they’re usually themed as well. During May half term we took Erin as a treat to enjoy a seaside themed afternoon tea.

Before you even get into The Assembly House you cannot ignore just how beautiful the building and outdoor area is. Erin always loves a run around the fountain and to look at the flowers. We’re usually there early so this allows us to kill a bit of time before we go in.

On this particular visit we went to enjoy a seaside afternoon tea. I love how to themes always change and they reflect the time of year as well. The menus available to see on the website and on The Assembly House’s social media so you can see in advance what you will get. Sometimes for me the flavours are a bit hit and miss (only because of personal taste) but I was particularly excited about this one.

Certain aspects of the afternoon tea always stay the same, such as sandwiches, savoury layer and the scones but it’s the cakes that change for each theme. This particular afternoon tea included the following:

• The Deep Blue(berry) Sea Gateau Opera: The Assembly House signature cake with blueberry filling and a white chocolate wave The Deep Blue(berry) Sea Gateau Opera
• With a Flake, Please: Vanilla 99 Cupcake with Strawberry Sauce, a chocolate flake, a wafer and hundreds and thousands
• Double Raspberry Ripple Cheesecake Shot: Cheesecake whip with blue and red raspberry ripple and biscuit crumb
• Kiss Me Quick Candyfloss Macaron with an Edible Pearl
• Sea-salt caramel Milk Chocolate Shells buried in Edible Sand

I have to say, this selection of cakes was my personal favourite to date. The macaron tasted exactly like candyfloss and the vanilla cupcake was pretty perfect. Sometimes the themes really suit children more than others and this is definitely the case with this one. Erin couldn’t wait to get stuck into hers, especially the edible sand which was a really fun idea.

The seaside afternoon tea comes with optional extras as well such as warm cinnamon doughnuts, Tipsy Mermaid Lemonade and Mermaid Freakshakes. The doughnuts were amazing and Erin couldn’t wait to get her hands on those. I also had one of the mermaid milkshakes and it was delicious, although very filling. I would definitely get the doughnuts as an extra again though and they’re great to share if you’re dining with a group.

One of my favourite parts of the afternoon tea, no matter what theme, is the three cheese toastie. I always ask for my savoury layer to only have these as I don’t eat sausage rolls or the coronation chicken roll. John loves these parts though so we both win really! You can also get a full sized toastie if you want to order from the lunch menu or for room service if you’re staying the night!

Having been to The Assembly House so many times now I can definitely say that the seaside afternoon theme is my favourite yet! Erin also had a great time and she particular loved the edible sand!

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