Last updated: March 04, 2024
For a lavish day out, treat mum to a gorgeous Afternoon Tea at one of the North East’s finest hotels! Steeped in history, The Principal York is a grand hotel dating back to the 1800s. You couldn’t be any closer to the railway station and this is quite deliberate with the hotel being built as part of the station and later fully renovated by William Peachey – an architect for Great Northern Railways as part of their plans to re-build the new look station.
Just a two hour train journey from London and one hour from Newcastle, you’ll find The Principal York literally a one minute walk from York train station. With several entrances, The Principal York’s most recent entrance is the one that brings you in straight from the carpark – a few steps up which take you into the beautiful lobby area with beautiful big windows and calming hues of colour.
It’s corridors are huge and even rumoured to have had jockeys running up and down them while the horse owners enjoyed a stiff drink or two long into the evenings.
Meanwhile, the Garden Room is perhaps the hotel’s most impressive communal space and it’s also where you’ll get to enjoy The Principal’s Afternoon Tea. Overlooking the carpark and gardens, it’s bathed in light and exudes a regality and elegance which feels almost palatial – Queen Victoria did actually visit the hotel in 1854 (a year after the original Station Hotel opened) leading to a name change to The Royal Station Hotel. It remained as this until 2015 when another huge multi-million pound renovation took place.
With the city of York being famed for its chocolate (it was once known as ‘the chocolate city’), The Principal has found the perfect way to celebrate both chocolate and mum with their Afternoon Tea experience which is served daily from 12 noon until 4pm. With over 14,000 people employed in the city’s famous chocolate factories (including Rowntrees which opened in 1890 and Terry’s Chocolate Works in 1926), it’s a match made in heaven with a mouth-watering menu curated by The Principal’s Executive Chef Aaron Craig.
With well-known classics and innovative twists, expect an Afternoon Tea menu which will surprise and delight mum as she enjoys a selection of deletable treats. A very special Afternoon Tea will be available on Sunday 10th March including a complimentary glass of fizz to celebrate.
For mum’s with a sweet tooth, there’s chocolate mousse and chocolate sponge with orange flavoured gel, freeze dried blackberry and orange pieces (no doubt as a nod to Terry!), as well as dark ch0colate brownie served with a mint infused mousse and a mini petit four. Decadent caramelised white chocolate cream choux comes covered in white chocolate with a delicious caramel glaze, while there’s truly something for everyone with ginger bread cupcakes and classic macaroons.
Savoury fans will love the traditional classic cut finger sandwiches with smoked salmon and lemon butter on the menu, as well as Wensleydale egg and cress and honey glazed ham. And not forgetting plain and white scones of course which are served with strawberry jam and Cornish clotted cream.
With all of York’s historic sites and cobbled streets, mum will no doubt love a stroll into town after The Principal’s elegant Afternoon Tea, to really take in all the city has to offer.
Afternoon Tea at The Principal York is available daily with special Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea available on Sunday 10th March priced at £32pp with a complimentary glass of fizz for mum. Check out all the details here.
Fancy making a weekend of it? The Principal York has a range of standard, premium rooms and suites, as well as a gym, steam room, sauna, jacuzzi and steam. Enjoy dinner at The Refectory Kitchen & Terrace serving up the finest Yorkshire produce, with a pre or post drink at The Principal’s Chapter House bar.
