Gillian Wesley And The Catwalk Cafe

I was a little disappointed as I booked online for afternoon tea with my daughter and stated we were vegetarian. On arrival we were given a cake stand with both chicken and salmon sandwiches on. When I said we were vegetarian the waitress offered to remove them and took away our stand. However when she brought it back it just had gaps where those sandwiches had been they hadn't been replaced with any non meat sandwiches. Since our afternoon tea cost the same as everyone else's I would have expected the same number of sandwiches. However the scones were delicious, as were the selection of mini cakes and the tea.

Where do I start? The décor is very much fashion orientated with dressed manakins and even a red carpet walkway to the tables. The waitresses are dressed traditionally in black and white and the service is exceptionally good, friendly and polite. As for the afternoon tea, well this was sufficient to guarantee you will not be leaving hungry and was of a very high quality. An assortment of mini sandwiches, scones with jam and cream plus a range of delicious cake bites combined with as much fresh tea as we could have wanted. The whole experience of a traditional English afternoon tea in comfortable and interesting surroundings makes this a real treat and a perfect addition to the historic charms of Knowle village. There is 3 hour free car parking nearby the church which means only a short walk through the churchyard to the Catwalk. I would recommend booking a table in advance to ensure you're not disappointed as this is a very popular location and deservedly so.

Booking online was straightforward, and I was pleased that the cafe was able to accommodate my food intolerance. Staff were friendly and welcoming, service attentive but not intrusive. A good selection of sandwiches and cakes, and a good balance between sweet and savoury I find that many afternoon teas major on sweets and are short on sandwiches but not the case here. Loved the French songs in the background and the decor great ambience and very different from most venues. Altogether a very enjoyable experience definitely one to repeat!

I invited friends to meet up at the catwalk on our journey to Glouester for a 50th birthday party. We were all overwhelmed by the excellent quality of food and drink we had for our afternoon tea. The staff were great they even packed the remains up for us to take away. That raspberry mousse was to die for beautiful. Brilliant I recommend you check it out.

We did enjoy the afternoon tea...it was my friends first visit...and she was impressed.