Schofield's Dish of the Week: Afternoon Tea with Chips

What?

Mr Thomas’ English Afternoon Tea. A normal afternoon tea only a bit feistier. 

Where?

Mr Thomas’ Chop House, 52 Cross Street, City, M2 7AR. 0161 832 2245

How much?

For one £9.99, for two £18.99.

Description please

Sandwiches (mini-barmcakes really) including beef, cheese, smoked salmon and cucumber. Cakes and tarts galore including of course scones ( I say it to rhyme with 'phone' not 'gone') and jam with lashings of rich, full cream.

This tongue-tickling treat can be enjoyed within the tiled splendour of Mr Thomas’ Chop House in close proximity to the bottles of excellent Carr Taylor, a Brut Champagne from East Sussex. This is £5.99 by the glass if you want to ramp the afternoon up. A very British affair all round. You could even have an ale rather than the tea. The teapot is filled as many times as you want for no extra cost by the way.

Anything else?

Of course, the point of difference.

What’s that, sweetmeats and fancies?

Nope, chips.

Chips in an afternoon tea, sacrilege.

They’re not sacrilege, they’re a defining moment. This is what makes the difference, what makes it so very Chop House. The pretty ramekins of beautifully fat spuds, timed to perfection, bolster the fandango of the sandwiches and the cakes giving the whole afternoon tea substance.  This is Tom’s not the Midland Hotel, or Patisserie Valerie remember, afternoon tea needs the weight of the chips here. It’s a very welcome surprise. Especially if you’re hungry.  If you're really hungry you eat the chips and then jump all over the fig rolls adorning the top platter.

Fig rolls, that’s more like it, more cake-y.

These are simply delicious. Home-baked, naturellement,  with a perfect blend of sturdy casing and yielding centre, and that taste that lurks between nuts and berries and speaks of hot climes. My gran, ‘a strange old bird’ to quote my dad, once told me not to eat too many figs at one sitting. Still have no idea what she meant but these are so good you might want to attempt to put both the fig rolls supplied with the afternoon tea into your mouth at the same time to stop dining partners snaffling them. That's what I did. Conversation was poor after that - maybe that's what my gran meant.