A Fabulous Children's Afternoon Tea in the North East at Sorella Sorella

*This is a collaborative post

One of the questions I am asked most often is 'Where in the North East serves children's afternoon tea?'. Until now, the only places I have been able to recommend are The Running Fox Bakery which is £6 for a sandwich, cake, crisps and juice so although very tasty and good value, I'm not sure it's the most authentic of experiences. Wynyard Hall also offer a children's afternoon tea but it is only available during set times and during our visit over Christmas last year, it wasn't available. There are a few other offerings with various pop-up events but there doesn't seem to be anywhere that specialises in this treat all year round. 

There is a clear gap in the market I think and this has been filled by Sorella Sorella in Sunniside, Gateshead.

Children's Afternoon Tea at Sorella Sorella

Children's afternoon tea should be pre-booked and is priced at £8 per child. This includes not one but two drinks from a choice of hot chocolate, raspberry or strawberry lemonade, vanilla milkshake or tea. As you can see, the drinks are anything but ordinary.......

Children's afternoon tea is served on a wooden platter and is packed with lots of child-friendly treats. To start with there are ham and cheese sandwiches and this is followed by lots of homemade delights including a chocolate and cherry brownie, vanilla cupcake with raspberry cream, strawberry jelly with lemon, cream and sprinkles and a delicious chocolate chip cookie. There are also a couple of fruit kebabs for good measure which I was surprised my three picked up first! Considering kids are also provided with 2 drinks, I think this afternoon tea offers superb value indeed.

H, H and J thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon tea and did not have any complaints at all. They loved being able to order a fantastic hot chocolate on arrival as well as a vanilla milkshake or lemonade too. Obviously, afternoon teas are never going to be healthy and it was sugar-overload but as a treat, we all thought it was fantastic. 

Grown-up Italian Style Afternoon Tea

Of course, Steve and I couldn't miss out on all the afternoon tea action and as Sorella Sorella is a family-owned Italian restaurant, they offer a quirky Italian style afternoon tea to grown ups. Again, this should be pre-booked and it will set you back a reasonable £16 pp. 

Again, served on a wooden board, everything is homemade and it really is an Italian feast. The platter features a range of sandwiches with our favourite being the Spianatta salami, rocket and parmesan. I'd love to hear where Sorella Sorella source their rocket from as it is the most peppery rocket I've ever tasted - delish!

I loved that our hot drinks were served in traditional Denby pottery - it really added to the sense of occasion! Tea is served properly and there is a wide selection to choose from and my Americano was nice and strong.

There are lots of cute treats included - it's really tough for me to choose a favourite but it's a close call between the Limoncella Cheesecake which reminded me of the cheesecake my mam used to make for Sunday tea and the chocolate and raspberry mousse cake which was unctuous and rich with two of my all time favourite flavours.

A special mention has to go to the scones too - A classic scone served with a big pot of Nutella and clotted cream and a savoury Sun-dried tomato, parmesan and rosemary scone served with butter. The savoury scone was particularly divine and I could easily eat these every day.

There's a bit of fun too and I loved the mini milkshake - they're definitely not just for kids. You can add a glass of Prosecco to your tea for just £4 too.

Parties at Sorella Sorella

During our visit to Sorella Sorella, the back part of the restaurant was hosting a party and I honestly can't think of many places better for a big family gathering. Children's birthday parties with afternoon tea, christenings, weddings, family gatherings......the family atmosphere and Italian style food served at Sorella Sorella really lends itself to a perfect party atmosphere. 

Overall thoughts on Sorella Sorella

There were a couple of niggles - we visited on a very busy Saturday afternoon and we had to wait for a parking space as the car park was full. It was also fairly noisy inside so if you're looking for a sophisticated afternoon tea where you can have a conversation with everyone around you, this may not be the place for you. I had to raise my voice to talk with Steve across the table from me. I also have a general niggle with afternoon teas and always think you should be provided with two serving plates as I always end up with my cake being mixed into sandwich and scone crumbs! I haven't found anywhere that does this though so it's not just an issue with Sorella Sorella. 

These really are teeny tiny niggle though and overall, our experience at Sorella Sorella was a very good one. The atmosphere was perfect for families (no one would raise an eyebrow if a toddler squashed a cake in their highchair or a child spilt their milkshake or dropped a fork) and the service was exceptional - the staff are a real credit to Roya and her team and nothing was too much trouble at all. Lastly though, the food was gorgeous and lots of fun and I just know that Sorella Sorella will be a place I am recommending to families who are looking for a place to enjoy afternoon tea time and time again. If you'd like to take a peek at what the atmosphere is like, our trip to Sorella Sorella features in our video below:

Afternoon Tea is available at Sorella Sorella from 12noon - 4pm Monday-Saturday 12noon-4pm and should be pre-booked. 

You can find out more, book and check out various menus via the Sorella Sorella website here.