“RATHER elaborate isn’t it?” Confidential said.
“We told the designer to go for poncey and glam. Then let her run with it,” replied Will Hannah (tongue firmly in cheek), the wonderfully hospitable co-owner of Northern Quarter’s latest food and drink venture. Mightily poncey and glam it is too.
And to prove that taste is no casualty, the sneaky buggers fed everyone at the launch gluten-free grub without telling them. The audacity.
A tea-room with a difference, boasting nearly 30 speciality teas (all £3.55) including the Detox Bang Bang and Storm in a D Cup, Tea 42 (presumably pronounced tea-for-two but actually pronounced tea-forty-two) also has a surprisingly expansive and impressive looking 60-dish menu, hearty smoked fish chowder (£10.50) and a ham, pea and tea pie (£10.95) are currently making our mouths get wet.
Starters and light bites start at £4.50, sandwiches and soups sit around the £6 mark, sharing platters are £15 and afternoon teas range from £18.95 to £28 for the champagne option.
This High Street-based tea/bar/food venture, occupying the former spot of the city’s worst menswear store, OSKA - next door to the English Lounge pub – is a joint venture from business partners Will Hannah and Jason Abbott, who each left their previous jobs to set-up Blue Rainbow Aparthotels (Manchester and Edinburgh).
Business partners Jason Abbott and Will Hannah in a "sit there and look casual" shot
“We’re looking to roll out twenty of these nationally,” said Will, “We’re putting seven million of our own money into this. Each unit will cost around the £350k mark.”
Eyebrows raised. “That’s a big commitment”, Confidential said.
“Well it is,” replied Will, “But we think it works. It’s a great product, we’ve worked hard and we’re ready for it. We wanted to stand out from the crowd and offer something different from the usual haunts that you’d find across the country.”
So what’s Tea 42’s point of difference? Apart from the super-glam. Well, it’s gluten. Or the lack of it.
Fed up with the lack of gluten-free options around the city, the pair were determined to offer the city’s first (that we know of) entirely gluten-free menu. All dishes have a with/or without option. It’s up to you.
Will told us: "As someone who is gluten intolerant, I wanted to show people that these foods aren’t ‘weird’ and they taste just as good as their regular counterparts."
And to prove that taste is no casualty, the sneaky buggers fed everyone at the launch gluten-free grub without telling them. The audacity.
Tea 42 on twitter here @tea42uk
