susan earlam ~ horror author

Just recently I entered a competition on Twitter, to enter I had to retweet and follow Bistro 1847, a vegetarian restaurant I’d visited around Christmas time for a Tweet up with two lovely vintage pals. I really didn’t think I’d win but I DID! The Bistro is in city centre Manchester close to Manchester Art Gallery and five minutes from St Peters tram stop.

The prize was afternoon tea for two, normally around £15 each, and you can choose a vegetarian or vegan option. As many of you regular readers know I’m not vegan but due to allergies vegan cakes are my “go to” baked goods. My date for the afternoon tea was Kalandra who is a fantastic milliner and a proper vegan- an expert if you will! She blogs to at Millinery & Musings.

On arrival we were given a glass of refreshing Pimms- which was most appreciated as it was so muggy in the city centre. Stupidly I kind of thought this was iced tea at first as its been ages since I’ve had Pimms!

And when the afternoon tea arrived our mouths were watering as it looked amazingly delicious! We had booked in for lunchtime so neither of us had eaten much since breakfast- its fair to say we couldn’t wait to dig in!

I apologise for the shocking quality of the photograph below- I think I was too hungry and excited to check it after I’d taken it!

The sandwiches were on lovely, light bread and were a combination of avocado salsa, vegan pesto with tomato and a flavoursome tomatoey type spread almost like a tomato pate or hummus. The scones were accompanied by a intense raspberry conserve that just tasted of summer. There were two types of cake a rhubarb one and, I think, a hazelnut sponge one, alongside a strudel type of pastry. All in all it was a brilliant experience with outstanding food, I’d definitely go again.

We absolutely demolished everything on the plates- I managed to snap this picture just before we cleared the lot! Its fair to say we both enjoyed ourselves and I can see Kalandra and I going on future vegan cake adventures in Manchester. Stay tuned!