The Tea Room At The Midland

My friend who comes here regularly with her family treated me to afternoon tea here on Friday and it was perfect. The staff are so professional and nothing is too much bother, they are very attentive and make you feel welcome (thank you Jasmine, Selina, Marielle and Stacey). The tea room itself is a very calm and airy space and feels miles away from the busy city centre location. The food including the vegetarian menu is fresh and tasty and portions are generous (I took some home as I couldn’t eat it all). There are so many different teas on the menu, I enjoyed the Midland Jubilee and the 06:30 to Singapore - worth another visit to try some of the others. Such a lovely way to spend an afternoon, definitely recommend. I meant to take some photos but got carried away at how nice it was that I forgot!

Visited for afternoon tea, to celebrate an 83rd birthday. The staff were impeccable and the prices were as expected. The afternoon tea was well presented and staff were attentive without being overbearing. The choice of teas covered every taste from traditional teas, fruit and herbal teas and some more exotic blends, all of which (I believe) are available to purchase to take home. The sandwich selection included the kind of fillings I'd expect for a cream tea, including cold meat, salmon and egg (4 different sandwiches in total). The cake selection again was a selection of various cakes including a chocolate orange cake and macaroons as well as a scone (choice of plain or fruited) with clotted cream and a choice of jams. The only negative I'd give here is that butter is not provided with the scone. All in all, the afternoon tea was excellent, as was the service. There are a few negative issues. The tea room lacked atmosphere. The tables were all clean and well laidout but the room itself just felt a little ordinary for such an otherwise atmospheric building. Arriving early, we were asked to wait to be seated. The waiting area was effectively the foyer bar area, which was a very busy, bustling area. For me, the worst thing was the compulsory, 12.5% service charge. This is a personal objection, based on the fact that I expect all employees to be paid according to minimum and living wage standards and, having agreed to pay for a service, I object to an additional charge which I have no control over and which I have no assurance will be paid to the employees, in full, without deductions, or used as a separate incentive by the employer. I actually find this tactic abhorrent and, for this reason, no matter how good the service, food and environment, I will not be returning.

We had not been to the Midland before, so we were not sure where the tearoom was. (Main entrance. Left side. Next to the tree.) We wanted to ask someone for directions, but the congierge was not there, so we had a little wander instead. The lobby is gorgeous. We had the traditional afternoon tea - without alcohol. Since it was breast cancer awareness month, they served a pink afternoon tea. We expected a lot of pink, but they kept it classy and the only pink items were the strawberry cheesecake and raspberry macaron. Both were gorgeous. We did not have lunch, so it was a perfect amount of food. We managed to finish almost everything. The sandwiches were tasty. Our favourite was the crayfish. The quiche had a beautiful, flaky crust. The sweets were great. The scones were huge. We could not finish them, but Pete offered to pack them for us. A special thanks to Jane (or possibly Janey or Janet?) for modifying our booking so last-minute.

I came here for an afternoon tea included with a spa day package from the Rena Spa (which I also highly recommend!) and I had a fabulous time. I haven’t been to very many places as classy as this and I felt underdressed and a little nervous but the staff were all absolutely wonderful, so friendly, attentive, polite and welcoming! The service was excellent and the food was absolutely amazing - every item was delicious and beautifully presented, and I got to enjoy their vegetarian menu, which was excellent and did not feel like an afterthought to the “normal” at all. I cannot recommend this place enough - thank you for a wonderful afternoon!

Enjoyed a really nice Royal afternoon tea. It was great that we were able to choose which sandwiches we wanted from the set menu. Everything was delicious. The staff were excellent, what a lovely team you have. I made the booking by emailing directly, which was quick and easy. On a warm, humid day, it was lovely and cool inside. Will be back!

Had Champagne afternoon tea with my family here today. Cannot fault anything at all. The young lady that served us Jasmine was lovely and explained every thing fully to us. Food combination was excellent and the Midland Jubilee tea was a delight. Had many Afternoon Teas around Manchester and this has to be the best. Good tea room and was lucky enough to have a window table.