Festive afternoon tea at Turnberry Hotel, Ayrshire

Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea

Tea for 2 at Turnberry Hotel this Christmas

The quest for the best afternoon tea in Scotland has taken us far and wide, we do also love a themed afternoon tea, and so with Christmas around the corner we couldn’t complete our recent stay at the Turnberry hotel in Ayrshire without sampling their festive variation on the afternoon tea.

trump turnberry Afternoon tea

Even on a cold December afternoon, Turnberry looks great. Suitably windswept, we retreated into the lounge for our festive afternoon tea. You can just about make out the domed shape of Ailsa Craig on the left of the photo, and on a clear day you’ll see Goat Fell and Arran to the right as well.

trump turnberry Afternoon tea

Relax into the leather seats and be fussed over by the attentive staff in the luxurious surroundings.  After a £150m investment, this old lady is looking good.  Bright and plush carpets, smooth as silk paintwork and glistening chandeliers.

Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea

Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea

The Grand Tea Lounge & Bar Menu

Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea
Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea
trump turnberry afternoon tea menu

trump turnberry afternoon tea menu

trump turnberry afternoon tea menu

The first decision, what tea to have?

Our server arrived at the table with a vintage tea trolley topped with a glistening samovar and drawers of loose leaf tea – 24 in total including various white, black, green, chair, rooibos (red bush), flowering…and well, if you don’t actually like tea you can order coffee instead!  I picked my usual Earl Grey, feeling that I needed some bergamot to pick me up with the dull weather, whilst Mr Foodie picked the Nutty Chocolate Assam.

Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea
A timer is also provided to get your brew right, as white, green and black all infuse at different times!

Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea

Our goodies (part 1) soon arrived, see further below for part 2!

Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea

A closer look at the sandwiches and dinky rolls.Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea
A tier full of sandwiches included
butter-roasted bronze turkey, sage & onion stuffing, and cranberry jelly;

Peppered Roast Sirloin of Beef, Wild Rocket & Wasabi Mayonnaise;❤️

Hot Smoked Salmon Rilette with Katy Rogers Creme Fraiche & Watercress;

Cucumber with “spice of angels” * & Whipped Crowd; ❤️

Truffled Egg & Cress;

Prawn & Avocado Roll;

and Spiced Pork & Apple Sausage Rolls ❤️

* includes fennel pollen

Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea

Once we’d tackled the cakes, two types of scone soon replaced them (part 2!)

Golden Syrup & Walnut Scones plus Cranberry & Orange Scones served with Clotted Cream and strawberry & cranberry jam.  Both scones were delicious, fluffy and warm, I think the cranberry and orange were the better of the two for that Christmassy feel.

Once we had eaten the scones, it was time to tackle the daintier cakes…

Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea

Christmas Pudding Truffle;  Chocolate Yule Log and Winter Spiced Chocolate Orange Choux Bun. 😍 Don’t they just look the part? But that’s not all.  Above this plate there’s more!

Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea

Traditional Aged Christmas Cake and Iced Ginger Bread.   We were struggling by now.  Even professional gannets like us decided to fly the white flag.  We admitted defeat and got the cakes boxed up for later. Yes, there’s absolutely no shame in asking for a ‘doggy bag’ at the 5-star Turnberry Hotel!

Overall

A very filling afternoon tea – you can skip breakfast when you come in for this one! All the sandwiches were freshly prepared and the scones were top-notch. A relaxing feast with chilled ambient music playing. Toilets are not far, on the same floor and very swish! Our only gripe was that it took a long time for us to get our bill.

Festive afternoon tea is served from 12 noon – 5pm until the end of the year, priced at £30 per person. If you go, don’t forget to share a picture on social Media of yourself enjoying it with the hashtag #TurnberryFestiveTea to be in with a chance of winning afternoon tea for 4 people.

TL;DR

+ Great sea view
+ Superb sandwiches
+ Warm scones
+ Clean and impressive toilets

– Service was a little slow to get our bill

Where

Turnberry Hotel, Turnberry, Girvan KA26 9LT

https://www.turnberry.co.uk/cuisine

Book

Email: trumpreservations@trumpturnberry.com
Telephone: 01655 334115

Trump Turnberry hotel festive afternoon tea

Disclaimer: we received a complimentary afternoon tea but we also ordered additional drinks which we paid for.

fred purr of honour

Emma

Emma

Hello!

I am Emma and with my husband Mark write Foodie Explorers, which is a food and travel website.

I am a member of the Guild of Food Writers and British Guild of Travel Writers.

We have a wide range of judging experience covering products, hotels and have judged, for example, for Great Taste Awards and Scottish Baker of the Year.

Along the way Mark gained WSET Level 2 in Wine and I have WSET Level 2 in Spirits as well as picking up an award with The Scotsman Food and Drink Awards.    

Usually I can be found sleeping beside a cat.

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