Luxury floating hotel, Fingal, has announced its first expert sommelier to elevate Edinburgh’s ultimate afternoon tea experience.

Fingal’s Restaurant Manager, Judit Toomey-Kovacs, has sailed into her new role as the ship’s official tea guru to help diners find the perfect blend this spring.

Permanently berthed in Edinburgh’s historic Port of Leith, Fingal has quickly established itself as a world-class foodie destination with all the glamour and style of a superyacht, but with an air of old-world Art Deco ocean liner elegance.

Fingal provides a classic setting to indulge in the ship’s new Spring Afternoon Tea menu, which is being launched in time for Mother’s Day on Sunday 30^th March.

Available daily from 12pm until 3.30pm in The Lighthouse Restaurant, Fingal’s Galley Team have created the new Spring Afternoon Tea menu to offer guests and non-residents one of the most decadent of British traditions.

Fingal’s tea expert Judit Toomey-Kovacs has personally selected two unique varieties as part of the new Spring Afternoon Tea menu, including Yunnan Moonlight White Tea and Jasmine Yin Hao Green Tea.  Both varieties are supplied by Edinburgh’s loose leaf tea specialists, PekoeTea.

Yunnan Moonlight White Tea is made from the early harvest buds and leaves of the ancient tea plant and gets its name from the process of withering the leaves under moonlight. This variety is a superb example of Chinese white tea from the Yunnan Province, with a light, floral and stone fruit flavour.

Jasmine Yin Hao Green Tea has fresh, heady aromas and a gentle floral taste, which makes it one of the finest Jasmine teas available. This variety is scented using a traditional process, which involves layering the tea leaves with jasmine petals.

Fingal’s Restaurant Manager and new tea sommelier, Judit Toomey-Kovacs, said:

“My passion for tea began whilst working and training with some of the world’s leading experts at top luxury hotels. I’m now looking forward to sharing my knowledge and enhancing Edinburgh’s ultimate afternoon tea experience onboard Fingal.

“During the afternoon tea, I always like to find out more about our guests’ personal tastes and what flavours they enjoy. I’m then able to recommend the perfect tea to pair with certain food and ingredients on the menu.”

Judit added:

“My favourite tea is our Fingal Blend, which is a balance of different Ceylon teas, combined with Assam Yunnan and First Flush Darjeeling to create a refreshing and uplifting afternoon tea. This variety is the perfect pairing with savoury food like fish, meat and eggs.

“There are lots of options to pair with desserts, but I would recommend our lovely Yunnan Moonlight White Tea. The lightness of Moonlight’s combination of flavours dances on the palate. It has a slightly woody, but clear scent, lifted with soft flavour and a light amber colour.”

Savoury highlights on Fingal’s new Spring Afternoon Tea menu include cured sea trout, nori and avocado purée with Katy Rodger’s crème fraîche; and Wye Valley asparagus and chorizo tart with sauce gribiche.

Freshly prepared sandwiches include chicken, spring onion and smoked bacon; roast beef and rocket with beetroot and horseradish; glazed ham with English mustard mayonnaise; and Belhaven crab Marie Rose with cucumber relish.

People with a sweet tooth can indulge with a choice of raspberry pâte de fruits with an almond sablé biscuit; Yorkshire rhubarb and ginger cheesecake; Valrhona chocolate moelleux with Glenmorangie Chantilly; and Pistachio, Amaretto macaron.

New for 2025, Fingal’s original Bridge is now being developed into a thoughtfully designed new private dining experience, offering a tailored and immersive gastronomic journey for guests, inspired by Fingal’s working life at sea.

Open to non-residents for Afternoon Tea, dinner and cocktails, Fingal’s Lighthouse Restaurant & Bar has two AA Rosettes for culinary excellence and offers a choice of private dining booths for small pre-booked groups.

Re-launched as a luxury hotel in 2019, the former Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) tender is owned and operated by the award-winning team at The Royal Yacht Britannia, which is located just 10 minutes away.

Fingal Hotel is located opposite the Port of Leith tram stop, which offers a direct and quick transport link between Leith, Edinburgh city centre and Edinburgh Airport.

Fingal’s Spring Afternoon Tea menu is priced from £65 per person. Advance reservation required.

For more information on Fingal and to make an advance reservation for the ship’s new Spring Afternoon Tea experience, go to www.fingal.co.uk/restaurant/afternoon-tea

Follow Fingal Hotel on social media, including Facebook www.facebook.com/fingaledinburgh and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fingaledinburgh

For more information on Edinburgh’s loose leaf tea specialists, PekoeTea, go to www.pekoetea.co.uk