Edinburgh is by far, one of my favourite places to visit, especially because it’s just fantastic for us gluten free gang who want to find somewhere lovely to eat.
Shortly after James and I had booked our most recent trip, a news article popped up on my Facebook saying that the Tower restaurant had added a gluten free option for their afternoon tea. I’ve never had afternoon tea before, even before going gluten free, so off we went and booked it. And I’m so glad we did.
The Tower Restaurant is Scotland’s first rooftop restaurant, situated at the top of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. With a luxurious feel, it also offers a beautiful view over the city whilst you enjoy Brunch, lunch and dinner as well as afternoon tea, which is served 12-6pm every day.
The afternoon tea comes with a selection of teas to choose from. We decided on their own ‘Tower blend’ for a more authentic feel, and to go with what was to follow.
I’ve been on gluten free social media groups since my diagnosis and I’ve seen some great gluten free afternoon tea’s and some dreadful excuses as well. So I was absolutely delighted when I saw the cake stand come with everything laid out.
Three layers of gluten free goodness came out on a cake stand, sandwiches, scones, and even better, a selection of cake!
On the sandwich front, we had:
– Ham & Cheese
– Egg mayonnaise and cress
– Cucumber and dill butter
– And some slices of toasted GF bread, one with cheese, and one with a smoked salmon mousse
Yes, these were only sandwiches, but they were on bread that didn’t fall apart, and the flavours went together really well.
Then for the scones layer, we had cinnamon and fruit scones, with fresh clotted cream and strawberry jam. Along with some pieces of banana and pecan loaf, which was moist as ever. The scones were tasty, and the cream and jam was perfect! However they were a little bit crumbly, but it didn’t put us off them. We still scoffed the lot. James isn’t gluten free and he really enjoyed them.
For the cakes we each had a chocolate and raspberry cake, a carrot cake, some pink macaroons, and each bite was just as delicious as the next.
The staff who were on shift at the time of our booking were so friendly and welcoming, and they treated us very well, and allowed us to take our time, creating a very relaxed dining experience. I can’t fault anything about our visit. I was very impressed with the amount of effort and time it must have taken to create an afternoon tea with such a fantastic variety on it. I almost felt like it wasn’t a gluten free afternoon tea, and just a regular one. Our afternoon tea was all gluten free to avoid cross contamination, and though James isn’t gluten free himself, he absolutely loved it.
I definitely recommend this place if you want to make your visit to Edinburgh special and the view is just lovely. The weather wasn’t great when we came, but I can imagine it’s much more beautiful in the summer.
So to have a look, and book, head to their website at www.tower-restaurant.com
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Thanks for reading,
Georgina x
This blog post was correct from date of publishing (February 2020). Please double check with the restaurant before booking in case the menu and kitchen procedures have changed.
The Coeliac Sloth 