Emma 
Afternoon tea at Hilton Garden Inn, Glasgow
Handily located for the SECC, SSE Hydro as well as the Glasgow Science Centre, Hilton Garden Inn Glasgow City Centre offers an afternoon tea with views across the River Clyde.
Heading to the Hydro for a concert? Start off your day out with afternoon tea, then dinner, drinks and fun.
The bar is located just off the reception, which means it can get busy with people checking in and out. Grab a seat and admire the Rotunda and the Squinty Bridge. If you are lucky and it’s that one day in Glasgow when it is warm, you can sit outside. Unfortunately, Glasgow was being a bit dull when we visited, so we stayed inside for some coziness.
No floofy tiered cake stand here, rather a more modernist display instead. We almost wanted to add it to our wall at home! A selection of sandwiches and cakes with butter, whipped cream and pots of jam. With a glass of fizz of course too!
A choice of 3 sandwiches and 3 cakes each however a fight would be on for the scones, 3 scones between 2 people. The sandwiches were Salmon, cream cheese, cucumber on brown bread, old school ham, lettuce and tomato on white bread and cheese and pickle on white bread. Lovely, some more please!
After munching the sandwiches, it was time to taste the cakes. Bakewell tart, Chocolate tart and a Lemon tart was lovely and zingy with a tart raspberry on top.
The scones were fluffy and nearly as good as mine. They were also served slightly warmed.
Tea was Twinnings Breakfast Tea which was a bit weak. The coffee was a pleasant filter-style coffee.
Overall, an enjoyable afternoon tea though the restaurant would make for a nicer setting but the view and the cakes (as well as the old school ham salad sandwich) still hit the spot. Toilets clean and the no.100 bus to the Riverside museum stops outside. Buses to the new “Southern General” also stop nearby, a bit further away but within walking distance is Exhibition Centre train station and the buses which go along Argyle St in Finnieston. There’s plenty of car parking nearby but you probably need to pay for all of it.
TL;DR
+ nicely presented sandwiches, cakes and scones
+ handy for Hydro/SECC/Finnieston wanderings
+ view of redeveloped Clyde waterfront
+ toilet clean
– bar setting busy and not ideal for an afternoon tea however they are listening to feedback
Finnieston Quay, Glasgow, G3 8HN, United Kingdom
TEL: +44-141-240 1002 FAX: +44-141-227 1036
