Old friends catch up over afternoon tea at Butler House and Gardens

The Lady Eleanor restaurant in Butler House has just launched their summer offering of afternoon tea. The quintessential Butler House afternoon tea is packed with dainty savoury and sweet treats, made freshly in-house by their new chef Murty Corcoran.

Afternoon Tea at Butler House & Gardens

An experience so sumptuous deserves to be savoured in the most fitting of surroundings, so I was thrilled to savour a catch up over afternoon tea with one of Kilkenny’s beloved chefs Anne Neary. It’s only the beginning of summer but we had lots of discuss about this year’s upcoming Savour Food Festival taking place over the October Bank Holiday weekend. After all, Savour Kilkenny is our All-Ireland, and Kilkenny wins every year!

Kilkenny People's Siobhan Donohoe, Butler House Head Chef Murty Corcoran and celebrity chef Anne Neary

I highly recommend the Butler House afternoon tea package for catching up with friends and family. It is set in the beautiful 18th century dining room of the Lady Helen Restaurant in Butler House. They served us a selection of savoury bits, which I devoured, especially the homemade caramelised onion and sausage roll and the chicken Caesar tortilla basket. 

You can’t have afternoon tea without the traditional sandwiches – baked ham served with mature cheddar and egg mayo, tomato with red onion.

Kilkenny People's Siobhan Donohoe enjoying a nice treat of afternoon tea at Butler House

The freshly baked scones served with homemade strawberry preserve, lemon curd and fresh cream got the thumbs up from chef Anne Neary and she knows what she is talking about. Whereas I couldn't wait to polish off my glass of prosecco with the sweet treats of white chocolate ganache macaron and the Baileys and dark chocolate truffle. Anne’s favourite was the lemon meringue shortbread but we both were blown away with the mouth-watering vanilla custard choux bun.

If I have your taste buds watering after all that, you can enjoy the whole experience yourself on selected Saturdays throughout summer from 1pm – 3pm in the Lady Eleanor Room overlooking the walled gardens.  

Diners can enjoy a stroll around the charming Georgian Garden of Butler House, which has the most beautiful photo opportunities adoring Kilkenny Castle in the background.  

Pre booking is essential, contact them on res@butler.ie or phone 056 7722828. Tell them Siobhan sent you!