If you cast your mind back just a couple of summers ago, you’ll recall the uptick in socially distanced, makeshift eateries popping up across the region - a creative solution devised by food and drink operators as they grappled with Covid-19. The shift to outdoor dining, which was readily welcomed by the public, saw a major shift to pavement dining and the proliferation of creative spaces from yurts and greenhouses to pods outfitted with heaters, fairy lights and trendy garden furniture.
While this trend could have easily been a flash in the pan, it appears that public appetite for al fresco dining concepts is here to stay, which is good news for Heaton Park and its new summer Lakeside Dining Domes, where you can book in for a unique afternoon tea experience. With stunning views of the lake, their new offer is designed to be the ultimate treat and may even rival afternoon tea served in Manchester’s very best hotels.
The domes first popped up over by The Stables Cafe in November 2021, as part of a 'Afternoon Tea beneath the Trees' dining concept. In March this year, the park then opened the pods by the lakeside, though just a few weeks later they were vandalised, with plants strewn on the floor and tables and chairs flipped over. They reopened to the public last month, just in time for summer.
