I ate like a king during afternoon tea in Bristol’s poshest restaurant

With walls as golden as the royal carriage, and delicate macarons coloured red, white and blue, the Coronation afternoon tea at Bristol’s Harvey Nichols certainly pulls out all the stops when it comes to tradition.

And so does the glass of vintage English fizz - Chapel Down Three Graces sparkling wine from Kent - handed to me the moment I arrived at the second floor restaurant in Cabot Circus.

This limited edition Coronation afternoon tea was launched last week in time for the big event and it runs until Sunday, June 4. It costs £35 or £45 if you go for the additional glass of fizz.

Harvey Nichols is now one of the few places left in Bristol where you can indulge with a full-blown afternoon tea, which is a shame.

Bath has loads of them and they always do well. But then the additional work required to serve afternoon tea properly is probably too much for many restaurants at a time when trying to find staff in the first place is proving so tricky.

When we arrived at 3.30pm, a few people were still finishing their lunch so the kitchen team clearly have to juggle the usual Harvey Nichols menus as well as afternoon tea, but you really can’t spot the join. It was a seamless transition and front of house staff were welcoming and professional.

There’s something quite naughty about stopping for afternoon tea, especially if it’s a day when you really should be working. It feels wonderfully decadent and in such gloomy times, we all need a bit of that.

Served on a three-tier silver stand, the selection of sweet and savoury treats looks quite overwhelming when it arrives at the white linen-covered table.

The bottom layer of savouries includes three types of finger sandwich and they all impressed. The lightly curried Coronation chicken sandwich on brown bread was creamy and delicately flavoured.

The free-range egg and chive mayonnaise sandwich was a twist on the old-school picnic staple of egg and cress sarnies and the refreshing cucumber and cream cheese sandwich was a well-executed classic.

Also on the savoury tier was a delicious savoury cheese scone with slices of Wife of Bath cheese and apple chutney.

For a sweet finish, the Second Floor team at Harvey Nichols Bristol has created a selection of traditional firm favourites with a twist.

A Bakewell tart was given a seasonal flavour with a jammy centre of Wye Valley rhubarb, the sharpness of which countered the buttery pastry.

Roasted pistachio Valrhona dark chocolate delice was as rich and luxurious as it sounds and an Earl Grey macaron (made by Edible Art Patisserie which has a ‘boutique’ on the ground floor) in red, white and blue was as light as a feather.

A crunchy, soft-centred meringue topped with fresh strawberries and green-hued dices of summery elderflower jelly was a playful twist on Eton Mess.

We washed it all down with pots of English breakfast tea, although were surprised they were made from commonplace Twinings tea bags rather than the posh Harvey Nichols ones we spotted in the store’s food hall.

Surely it would make more sense to serve your own-brand tea so people are tempted to buy a box on the way out? And how about loose leaf rather than tea bags for even more theatre?

By now, we were starting to feel very full but still managed to polish off the still-warm scones with dollops of clotted cream and strawberry jam. The scones were well made, light and airy, all the better for being served straight from the oven.

As we left the sumptuous, gold-covered restaurant and back into Cabot Circus, it felt like returning to normality after stealing 90 minutes of luxurious escape from the real world.

You could say this limited edition treat is just the ticket, especially if you want to feast like a king or queen.

Harvey Nichols Coronation Afternoon Tea is available at The Second Floor Restaurant, Harvey Nichols Bristol until Sunday, June 4. To book, click here.