I was lucky enough to sample the fabulous Festive Afternoon Tea at the new Hilton Garden Inn Doncaster Racecourse this week.
If you’ve not yet been to the Hilton Garden Inn, it is situated on the racecourse roundabout, with views over the racecourse itself. It’s in a fab location with plenty of parking (if you haven’t been before, note that on driving in to the car park the barrier lifts automatically on approach). I was driving in behind my Mum and this caused a bit of confusion, but it will open for you.
I have visited previously, however my Mum Kay and Sister Vanessa got a first glimpse of the new hotel and it’s wonderful lobby and the fabulous Garden Grille Restaurant.
The Trophy Room, which can be hired as a private party room
It is pretty swanky inside as you can see from the photos! We had a quick look at the Trophy Room at the rear of the restaurant, as it was being set up for a private party. Sectioned off with glass, this room can accommodate private parties of up to 40 people and it is a lovely space if you have a special birthday, baby shower etc to celebrate. It also looks out on to the racecourse, so a nice bright space. A bigger function room is available upstairs in the hotel for larger parties (it can seat up to 450 people!)
Our waiter seated us by the window, so we had a great view of the racecourse. We felt very festive with crackers on the table. My mum, sister and I rarely get the opportunity to talk for any length of time without the children, so it was lovely to have a girly catch up! We all love afternoon tea, so got very excited when the food arrived – it looked wonderful.
I have to say at this point that the booking process for the afternoon tea was great. I have quite a severe fish allergy and I was asked to confirm any dietary requirements or allergies the day before our visit by email. I mentioned my allergy and the waiter was careful to point out that one of the platters had salmon on it (for mum and Vanessa) and the other platter was completely fish free (with cheese and pickle sandwiches instead of salmon). I felt very confident that my allergy had been taken seriously. I know that things like this are very important for lots of people with allergies – so thought it worth a mention. The Hilton were very accommodating.
What can we say, we all loved the food and I had been particularly looking forward to the Brie and Cranberry Parcels – I wasn’t disappointed. They were amazing and for me were the best bit of the afternoon tea – I thought they were delicious.
We enjoyed some amazing scones with clotted cream too and the honey & mustard chipolatas were a nice surprise. Not necessarily something we’ve had with afternoon tea before, but they were lovely. We couldn’t finish the cakes, but the waiter was happy to box them up for us and the favourite for me, enjoyed with another cup of tea last night, was the Christmas Pudding Profiterole!
We stuck to tea, however you can upgrade to have a glass of Prosecco or mulled wine. Children are also welcome for afternoon tea at a reduced rate.
All in all, the Hilton is a lovely new venue for a meal in Doncaster and the afternoon tea, service, venue were all fabulous.
I would recommend a visit!
Head along for a festive afternoon tea (and if you’re feeling really Christmassy, get them to make you a cocktail too! Remember that we have a special Mumbler discount throughout December and you can get 2 cocktails for the price of 1 when you quote MUMBLER)!
Visit the Hilton Garden Inn Facebook page to see the festive afternoon tea menu
Call 01302 986888 to book or visit the website
Enjoy!
