Afternoon Tea at Rogano, Glasgow

My husband and I have recently been to Rogano (http://www.roganoglasgow.com) for their afternoon tea. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon and the streets were busy with Sunday shoppers and with outside tables where people were enjoying drinks and brunches under the sun.

We stepped inside the Rogano, suddenly the hustle and bustles outside seemed so unreal as it was so quiet and relaxing. The restaurant was established in 1935 with Art Deco ambience and inside of the restaurant is a replica of that of the Queen Mary which was built on River Clyde around the time the restaurant opened. It is the oldest surviving restaurant in Glasgow and the building itself is A-listed.

We were seated right away. Nice to have an afternoon tea in a very relaxed atmosphere where you get proper cutlery and crisply ironed serviettes.

Rogano's Afternoon Tea menu is quite traditional but you get freshly prepared sandwiches with tasty fillings. Even simple thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches taste really good. You get:

Selections of Sandwiches

Smoked Salmon

Roast Beef (We got Goats Cheese as we don't eat meat)

Cucumber

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Scones with fresh cream & strawberry jam

Rogano Shortbread

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Strawberry Tart

Chocolate Eclair

Meringue 

with pot of tea

Sorry, you can't see sandwich with smoked salmon filling which is hidden behind ....

You all know the story of afternoon tea ...?

In 1840, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, Anna, became hungry around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. In those days upper class people only ate 2 meals a day, breakfast and dinner and dinner was served fashionably late at 8 o'clock. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter (later on, the Earl of Sandwich came upon an idea of putting a filling between two slices of bread) and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. She then started inviting friends over to join her.

But why cucumber sandwich? So I have done the quick internet research. According to Wikipedia, cucumber sandwiches contain little protein, not sustaining for a proper meal. Upper classes could afford to eat foods with little nutritive value and cucumber sandwiches, which are also dainty prepared became part of the stereotypical finger food for afternoon tea. (By contract, lower working class were eating protein-filled sandwiches for supper.)

Apparently there are also some rules in how to prepare cucumber sandwich. 'The slices of bread are carefully buttered all the way to the edges in the thinnest coating, which is only to protect the bread from becoming damp with cucumber juice, and the slices of cucumber that have been dashed with salt and lemon juice are placed in the sandwich just before serving in order to prevent the sandwich from becoming damp enough to moisten the eater's fingers (Wikipedia).'  There are also some rules about what type of [white] bread to use and how it should be cut ....  however I shall not bore you with that.

Sandwiches are really delicious - even simple ingredients such as cucumber (hear, hear) or egg mayonnaise. I am not keen on goat cheese but that was nice, and the bread was so soft ...

We then move on to cakes, scones and shortbreads. They are delicious. We thought scones were really good.

We were not rushed and the atmosphere was very relaxing with courteous waiting service. Portion size was perfect. Excellent atmosphere, beautiful Art Deco surroundings, linen serviettes and table cloths, courteous service and delicious quality food. All is for £15 per person and does not break your bank, ha ha ha.  This traditional experience is what I like about Rogano's Afternoon Tea. I know it may be a bit old fashioned but I like it. They serve this between 3pm to 5pm.

Apparently, Rogano was originally founded as something of a 'men only' establishment in 1874 and few years later a guy called James Henry Roger assumed ownership with another guy a Mr Anderson. They then combined the first three letters of Roger and the first three letters of "another" to name the restaurant Rogano. An old story goes that James Henry Roger's son hanged himself in one of the cloakrooms and his ghost still haunts the restaurant .... (all from http://oldglasgow.tumblr.com/post/67578195529/oysters-ghost-stories-anonymous-of-probably).
Is this true ... or just an old story ...? Who knows, however this does not deter me going back to Rogano, and I am so glad that the restaurant is no longer men-only establishment.

That's all forks!