Time for tea?

Doncaster restaurant and coffee shop, The Glass Strawberry, is keeping good company of late having recently been voted one of the ‘Best 23 Places for Afternoon Tea’ by the Sunday Times. It’s quite the accolade given they’ve been ranked alongside the like of the Savoy, The Ritz and Yorkshire’s only other entrant, Betty’s of Harrogate.

Owner Beverley Georgiou takes great pride in the afternoon teas that are served at The Glass Strawberry and although she was delighted, she wasn’t too surprised that they had been listed.

“I’m over the moon,” she said. “Particularly to be the only other Yorkshire listing alongside Betty’s, but it’s testament to the hard work that the team put in. They love what they do and take great pride in every afternoon tea send out of the kitchen.”

The Glass Strawberry’s afternoon teas must be pre-booked and are priced from £25 per person. They cater for all dietary requirements so you’ll find vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairyfree and nut-free versions. Beverley will be launching a savoury version soon too.

They’re presented a little differently to how you might expect, there’s no tiered plates but a compartmentalised rack- the picture shown here can probably explain it much better than I can! All include finger sandwiches, hand-finished cakes, a fruit scone with jam and cream, a macaroon or eclair and a ‘glass strawberry’.

Such has been the popularity of the afternoon teas since they were launched, they even have their own dedicated website – www.theglassstrawberryafternoontea.com – so you can book well in advance.

The afternoon teas show pride and attention detail that transfers into everything else on offer at the Printing

Office Street venue. Since opening in 2019, Beverley, who has over 40 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, set out to create a community hub not just for the people of Doncaster but visitors to the area too.

The Glass Strawberry is open all day, from 9am-5pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-4pm on Sundays. It’s fully licensed and places a firm emphasis on catering for all dietary needs. That means if you are vegan, vegetarian or require a glutenfree diet, Beverley and her team can cater for all your needs. You’ll even find vegan and gluten-free wines and beers too.

Soon to be added to the menu will be a new mocktail menu, which will complement the existing cocktail menu. After a recent abstinence from alcohol, Beverley found her options really limited when eating out so set out to create something new.

“There’s so much choice with alcoholfree drinks these days but so many places seem slow to catch on,” said Beverley. “The choices tend to be Coke, J2O or a glass of water. Why can’t we offer something different and something better?”

The mocktails will be mixed and presented in exactly the same way as the regular cocktails, although Beverley is keeping the flavours under wraps – for now.

Breakfast and brunch at The Glass Strawberry is served all day and includes everything from porridge oats, topped with seeds and berries, to American pancakes and their famous ‘Rainbow Eggs’. For lunch you can tuck into light bites including soup, nachos, halloumi fries and salads or go for something more substantial from their burger, pizza or pasta menu.

We’d arrived to sample the latter and after choosing drinks – an iced mocha coffee (£4.80) for me and a Coke (£3) for my colleague – we tucked into two very different dishes.

I took inspiration from the specials menu opting for the potato rosti, avocado, poached egg and hollandaise sauce (£12). The shredded, sizeable rosti was crisp on the outside and paired well with accompaniments to deliver a delicious brunch-style dish. My colleague, Sam, chose the BBQ pulled pork (£12) sandwich which was paired with a good crunchy ‘slaw and sweet potato fries.

Both dishes were presented beautifully and definitely Instagram-worthy.

Beverley, who lives on a small farm holding, sources products locally where possible and even uses herbs or vegetables grown at home. She uses KD Davis for her fruit and veg, Plane and Armstrong Butchers for her meat, and Balmforth & Co for their sustainable coffee. Any milks used in the smoothies and shakes can be substituted for dairyfree alternatives at no extra cost.

With so much to try at The Glass Strawberry it’s hard to know where to start but the afternoon teas seem as good a place as any. We’ll have to return to try one next time.

The Glass Strawberry

48-50 Printing Office Street, Doncaster, DN1 1TR

Tel: 01302 365027 www.theglassstrawberry.co.uk

H Award-winning afternoon teas

H Huge menu

H Instagrammable dishes