The Roseate
Not far along from the buzzing corner of Haymarket in Edinburgh, you’ll find the Roseate — a luxury boutique hotel that also happens to serve a classic afternoon tea.
The Roseate is a collection of luxury hotels with multiple locations across the UK and India, and supposedly more in the works. Their Edinburgh branch, previously known as the Dunstane Houses, has 35 rooms, events spaces, a lounge and private gardens. However, I was there to try the afternoon tea from the Dunstane Restaurant & Bar.
Although the interior of the hotel is lovely, with a cosy yet luxurious feeling, I sat outside in the Roseate Garden as the sun was shining (a rare occurrence in Scotland that we need to take full advantage of!). Despite being located right next to a busy road, the garden area was calm and serene with all the gorgeous flowers blocking off the area — it almost felt like I had been transported out of the city centre!
To begin the afternoon tea, a slate consisting of two warm starters per person was brought over. One was a vegetarian spring roll, which was pretty close in taste to regular haggis, a wholegrain mustard aioli dip and an oatcake topped with mackerel pâté. This was such a fab way to start the meal while we waited for the main event to come.
For the actual afternoon tea, you will get a tiered stand packed with sandwiches and wraps on the bottom, homemade sweet treats in the middle and fluffy scones on the top. This was very much a classic afternoon tea including items such as cucumber/egg sandwiches, plain and fruit scones, and a range of sweet treats such as cake, macarons and brownies.
Each and every element was the perfect size, especially the scones — not too big or too small. However, as with every afternoon tea, in my opinion, there is always an abundance of food which usually means leftovers. Not to worry, if you don’t manage it all you can take it home to enjoy later.
And don’t let me forget the drinks. Of course, with your food, you get to choose a tea from the menu. Compared to other restaurants offering an afternoon tea menu, there wasn’t a huge list of teas to choose from. With that being said, the range on offer was still enough that you wouldn’t be struggling to find one you like. I personally chose the passionfruit tea which was fruity and perfect for a warm, summery day!
If you want to make it boozy, you can also order a cocktail. I believe there is a package deal where a drink will be included, but if you want to know how to claim a free cocktail then read on until the end. I will say these are a lot pricier than other cocktails from bars around Edinburgh, with prices from £14-£18 per drink.
I tried the Siesta and G&Tea and thought both were good cocktails. With that being said, I personally found them to be slightly overpriced when buying them alone.
Overall, it’s an incredibly beautiful hotel and restaurant in the centre of town with a great “classic” afternoon tea. Not only did all of the food taste extremely fresh, but that simple feeling of being tucked away from the buzzing street right outside was just bliss.
A total gem, perfect for small groups, families and/or special occasions. Oh, and they’re dog-friendly…bonus!
- The Roseate
- The Roseate, 4 W Coates, Edinburgh EH12 5JQ
- 0792 713 2696
- www.roseatehotels.com
- Reservation recommended
- £5pp+
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