I’m not usually a traditional afternoon tea kinda gal. But if there’s some kind of quirk or novelty involved, like the Chilli Afternoon Tea I went to recently, I’m all in. So I was very excited to attend a Game Of Thrones afternoon tea at Ballygally Castle as part of my trip to Northern Ireland.
Ballygally Castle is from the 17th century but actually most of it looks quite modern. So don’t go expecting Winterfell or anything. But the location is really beautiful. It’s right on the Causeway Coast, with gorgeous views of Ballygally bay and the Irish sea.
Although Ballygally Castle isn’t directly tied to the show, there are a lot of Game Of Thrones filming locations nearby such as Cushendun Caves and Cairncastle (but more on that in another post!). They also host one of the Game Of Thrones doors.
Y’see, two of the trees at the Dark Hedges (an iconic GOT filming location in Northern Ireland), fell down in a storm a few years ago. And they decided to use the wood to carve 10 ornate doors depicting scenes from season 6.
You’ll find door 9 at the Ballygally with a carving of the battle of the bastards!
Anyway, let’s talk about this afternoon tea, because it was the main reason I stopped at Ballygally castle on my Northern Ireland trip.
The menu is inspired by Game Of Thrones with some really cool nods to the show. Direct references feature, such as Sansa’s lemon cakes! But most of it is just fun aliteration and word play. Y’know like Little Finger Sandwiches and Baratheon Bread (fruit toast). But I thought it was all really charming.
You get a selection of the savoury items and sweet treats served to you on your own wooden board (so there’s no snatching the best ones off of a cake stand!), along with your choice of freshly brewed tea or coffee.
And it also comes with an ornamental duck!
I know, it’s kinda weird, but ducks seem to be their thing at the Ballygally so this one is called ‘Duck Of Thrones’ and is masquerading as a dragon. Pretty quirky little touch!
I really enjoyed the food here. Hodor’s Pulled Pork Brioche was really tender and full of flavour. And the Kingslayer Cupcake was a winner with everyone in our group. Oh and the ‘dragon’s egg’ in the Dothraki trifle was a cute touch too! (It’s a mini egg…)
I thought the whole afternoon tea experience was really lovely and was the perfect way to kickstart my trip in Northern Ireland, exploring the filming locations of Game Of Thrones. It definitely set the mood!
Especially as the bathrooms even had wooden ‘thrones’ in there!
The Game Of Thrones afternoon tea costs £24 per person and there was plenty of food. I couldn’t actually finish my platter, so I think it’s pretty good value. You can read more about it and book your spot over here on the Ballygally website.
Would you try out the Game Of Thrones afternoon tea?
Let me know what you think in the comments below, tweet me, or find me over on Insta!
Total Blogger Transparancy: I enjoyed a complimentary afternoon tea but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I wouldn’t play you like that, shorty.