It didn't take long for The Rabbit Hole in Stoke On Trent to be suggested, multiple times, so I contacted them and we were booked for a few days later (weekends are booked up months in advance but weekdays has some availability to squeeze into).
I did double check with them when I contacted that they could cater and was assured that they could, one of the owners parents is actually Coeliac so they have a good understanding.
The Rabbit Hole is completely Alice In Wonderland themed and the whole place looks amazing, just as if you have gone down the rabbit hole.
When we walked in we saw all these amazing afternoon teas people were having and thought, there is no way ours will look like that, gluten free never seen to be as appealing as normal, but we were about to be proven wrong.
A choice? OF SCONES? I can't ever remember being asked what scone I wanted, it is usually get what you've given, but not here, plain, fruit OR CHERRY! I had to have cherry, I haven't had a cherry scone since way before Coeliac. "Gluten free scones are cooked fresh so they will come out after the rest of your afternoon tea" we were told, which was absolutely fine by us!
There was a little bit of a wait for the afternoon tea to come out but since everything is made fresh and they were busy it was only to be expected, absolutely worth the wait though.
The bottom tier, contained sandwiches with loads of salad and looked spectacular, I've never actually seen an afternoon tea with salad on before, it made it look so much more appealing and added an extra something to it.
The middle contained cake, the gluten free cake option was victoria sponge on this particular day but it does change, the other side of the tier held jam and cream ready for the scones which would arrive later on.
Finally the top tier held 3 mini bites, a chocolate covered strawberry, a flapjack type cake with a jam layer and a millionaires shortbread style cake. As well as those it also had a mini drink which tasted like blue raspberry, all that was missing from it was a tag reading "drink me" to go with the Alice in Wonderland theme!
The whole thing looked amazing and we couldn't wait to tuck in, we soon munched our way through it! The sandwiches were all basic fillings but really lovely, the cake was super soft and moist and we were going to bring the petit fours home but no we chomped through those too!
As we ate through those the scones arrived, hot out the oven. Despite how much we'd eaten we managed to eat that too, even though we were sure we'd take it home for later. We just couldn't resist though, so down the hatch it went to, and lovely it was too, a little too sugary (and coming from me it must be sugary as I have a super sweet tooth) but still really good all the same! If you can't eat it all like we did, they will put you a doggy bag together so you don't have to stuff it all in.
Overall the afternoon tea was spectacular and I would go back in a heartbeat for another, the food was outstanding (and reasonably priced at £16 per person, same as normal afternoon tea), the staff were friendly and knowledgeable and the place looked stunning with all the theming. Absolutely amazing, a definite must visit if you are in the area (or even worth the drive if you are a bit further out).