At The Assembly House, we believe that everyone deserves a spectacular afternoon tea experience. That’s why we’ve developed a beautiful, delicious, and safe non-themed Allergen Afternoon Tea, designed to cater for multiple dietary needs while maintaining our high standards.

You can find the menu for our new Allergen Afternoon Tea which covers the 14 main allergen ingredients identified by the Food Standards Agency here.

We will continue to offer the following themed afternoon teas for the following diets:

✅ No allergens

✅ Vegetarian (with 24-hours’ notice)

✅ Dairy-free (with 24-hours’ notice)

✅ Vegan (with 24-hours’ notice)

✅ Gluten-free (with 24-hours’ notice)

✅ Vegetarian and gluten-free (with 48-hours’ notice)

✅ Vegetarian and dairy-free (with 48-hours’ notice)

✅ Dairy-free and gluten-free (with 48-hours’ notice)

However, due to the complexity and safety concerns of catering for multiple allergens within our themed teas, we are now introducing a dedicated option for guests with more complex dietary needs. This tea will not be themed.

PLEASE NOTE: Our kitchen is a place where nuts and ingredients linked to allergens and auto-immune diseases are present and airborne at all times. We cannot guarantee there is no cross-contamination, as there will always be an airborne cross-contamination issue when food is prepared in and served from an area where these ingredients are used daily. If you have an allergy, please let us know at least 48 hours before you visit and tell your server so we can provide you with allergy information in relation to the 14 legally-defined allergens.

For example: our gluten-free afternoon tea is prepared separately from gluten-containing foods, using dedicated utensils and separate ingredient storage. Our kitchen and front of house teams follow strict allergen protocols, including rigorous handwashing and sanitised surfaces, and gluten-containing ingredients are not used in our gluten-free dishes. HOWEVER, while we take every possible precaution, we do operate a mixed kitchen where gluten is present and, as outlined on our menus, website, and at the time of booking, we cannot guarantee any dish is entirely free from allergens due to the potential for airborne or microscopic cross-contact. This means our afternoon teas MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR COELIAC DINERS. Many coeliac guests dine with us safely and regularly, but we recognise that even with stringent procedures, there is always an element of risk.

Food law identifies and regulates the following 14 allergens as the most potent and prevalent: celery, cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, rye, barley and oats), crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters), eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs (such as mussels and oysters), mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (at a concentration of more than ten parts per million) and tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts).

This tea does not contain any of the 14 regulated allergen ingredients.

TO BE VERY CLEAR: Our kitchen is a place where nuts and ingredients linked to allergens and auto-immune diseases are present and airborne at all times. We cannot guarantee there is no cross-contamination, as there will always be an airborne cross-contamination issue when food is prepared in and served from an area where these ingredients are used daily. We can guarantee the INGREDIENTS are allergen free, but NOT the kitchen.

Our Non-Themed Allergen Afternoon Tea

Carefully crafted to cover all 14 of the regulated allergens, this tea is just as beautiful and indulgent as our other offerings. It includes:

A selection of superior wraps

• Red pepper, tomato and basil pâté wrap
• Wild mushroom and truffle pâté wrap
• Vegan cheese and onion chutney wrap
• Cucumber and vegan cream cheese wrap

Savouries

• Beetroot and guacamole tart
• Spinach tart with vegan cream cheese & crispy onions
• Gluten-free and vegan squashage roll
• Gluten-free and vegan cheese shortbread

Scone

• An allergen-friendly fruit scone served with dairy-free spread, cream and jam

Sweet treats

• Raspberry Ripple macaron
• Pineapple and mango cupcake
• Mixed berry and vanilla tartlet
• Jammy Dodger shortbread
• Carrot cake with vanilla frosting
• Strawberry trifle shot

Important Information

• Our Allergen Afternoon Tea is available by pre-order only (48 hours’ notice required)
• It is the same price as our other teas – we have absorbed the extra ingredient costs
• Due to the nature of our kitchen, we cannot 100% guarantee that food is free from airborne cross-contamination but the ingredients will be 100% allergen-free
• This tea will also be available if pre-booked on our private dining and wedding menus

We understand this may be a change for some of our guests, but this decision ensures we can continue to welcome as many people as possible while maintaining the highest levels of safety, quality, and service.

Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to welcoming you soon for a delicious and inclusive afternoon tea experience.