Afternoon tea at The Birdcage in Harborne was a present from my girlfriend’s mom for my birthday. So, to be clear, I did not pay for this experience but I was not asked to review it and I am not affiliated with The Birdcage.
From what I can tell from The Birdcage’s website, the afternoon tea was around £15 per person.
Vibes and Aesthetics
As soon as we walked in, the vibes were immaculate. The whole place was very aesthetic and pretty, and even the bathrooms were decorated nicely. We chose to sit at a booth with some nice silver balloon decorations but there was also some tables that were designed to look like they were in a birdcage which was cool and I would definitely want to sit there next time.
The afternoon tea itself was also presented in a birdcage stand which looked amazing.
Afternoon Tea
The afternoon tea itself was a selection of sandwiches, mini sausage rolls, some pork pies, scones and cakes. We each got a hot drink with it, I had hot chocolate and my girlfriend had tea and they were both very nice.
Firstly, I loved the sausage rolls and also the scones. The scones came with some clotted cream and a small pot of jam and the scones themselves were still slightly warm so they were delicious. I ate this first and they did not last long at all.
I did want to eat the sandwiches, but after asking the waitress about the ingredients, I realised they all included mayo. other afternoon tea’s I have been to have had some sandwiches with mayo, but not all and I expected that this time but instead, they were all mayo. She did quickly fix this for us and bought over some sandwiches with no mayo. I loved the chicken and bacon wrap and honestly, I could have eaten ten of them.
The cakes were mostly chocolate based. There was a coffee type cake, a dark chocolate brownie one and a plain chocolate cake with icing. I loved the brownie and both my girlfriend and I loved the chocolate cake. I do wish there had been some variety in cakes though since they were all very chocolate based. Even just a slice of Victoria sponge cake would have been nice.
Everything we ate was delicious and even though the sandwiches were mayo based, I was very happy with the alternatives provided, which I wasn’t charged for which was nice.
Allergies and Intolerances
When this was booked for us, there was a section to include allergies. From looking at their website, it isn’t clear if alternative options are available for vegetarians or vegans, though it seems that it would be easy to offer a vegetarian version based on the food we got.
As stated earlier, the waitress was very kind when I said that I don’t like mayo and bought over alternative sandwich options. If you don’t like mayo or have allergies, it would be worth mentioning this.
Service
The service at The Birdcage was amazing. The waitress serving my girlfriend and I was super nice. The food was quick and when I asked about the sandwiches, she knew the ingredients and when I realised they were all mayo based, she was quick to try to resolve my sandwich issue.
Overall Review of the Afternoon Tea
Overall, I really enjoyed the afternoon tea. As a sapphic couple, we felt very comfortable and safe there and it was generally just a really nice time and experience. I would happily go back and pay the £15 each for my girlfriend and I to go there again, maybe on a date. If you don’t have any particular dietary restrictions, it seems like a good choice.
Interested in The Birdcage? Check them out here. Want to read my last review? Check out my review of the Dracula’s Castle Escape Room in Merry Hill here.