Afternoon tea at the Park Lane Hotel

The Park Lane Hotel - sounds very glamorous doesn't it? Sad to say, but the outside doesn't look very glam at the moment.There's a lot of building work going on. It didn't help that we took the Web's advice and entered via the Brick St entrance. Do not do this - enter via Piccadilly. Your entrance will feel more special. After all that Park Lane Hotel is not actually on Park Lane!
So upon entering the afternoon tea lounge  you get a rather relaxed cosy feeling, with fairly low lighting and comfy sofas. There was also a harpist adding to the sleepy feeling. My guest and I felt very comfortable and not obliged to display airs and graces.
It had a good tea selection and a strange tea strainer contraption which we needed to seek assistance for. This is probably a good juncture to talk about the service which wasn't overly attentive, but matched the atmosphere of the place. Though the person serving us changed 3-4 times during the time we were there.
You probably want to hear about the food? The sandwiches were fresh and tasty enough, but nothing mind blowing here, also nothing to criticise. Extras available. The scones were pretty good and I really enjoyed having the extra choice of lemon curd and plum jam. The pattiseries were very nice, though I do have a bug bear of having a selection that needs to be shared with your guest. There's bound to be one or two you both want to try. Fortunately I'd known my guest for many years so we shared.
All in all, an excellent place for a catch up with old friends or family, not so good if you're trying to impress someone. And sorry I have to mention it,  the loos were very ordinary. I understand the place is going through an internal refurb in August and in places, I'd agree it needs it. Would I return? I loved the style of the lounge and its atmosphere. Yes, maybe.

Afternoon tea at the Essex Rose tearoom, Dedham

On the hunt for a special last minute afternoon tea fix, my parents and I headed to Dedham in Essex, Constable country.
The Essex Rose is in a quaint old english beamed building and typical of tearooms around the country. But what makes this one special is that you can have a traditional tiered afternoon tea without booking ahead and it wasn't bad at all...
Between the two of you there are a choice of two sandwich flavours (you end up with half a sandwich of each). The choices are pretty ordinary cheese with pickle, ham and mustard, tuna etc. But what's nice about this is the sauce/ accompaniment is in its own little pot.  This may be frustrating for some, but if you have a fussy eater with you, it's actually a godsend.  All the sauces and jams were by local manufacturer Tiptree and were delicious. The bread was very fresh.
The scones were everything a scone should be: large, crisp on the outside and soft and crumbly inside.  The Tiptree raspberry jam and Rhoda clotted cream topped it off nicely.
The top layer consisted of some little patisseries - cheesecake, profiteroles, fruit tart and coffee walnut cake. All delicious,  but a little bugbear of mine is when these pretty morsels have to be split between two people.  I would prefer less choice and one each, so we can savour the same ones at the same time.
I'd definitely go back here. Not an extortionate price at £14 each, but two need to share.

Afternoon tea at Maison Talbooth, nr Colchester

Two friends treated me to an afternoon at this well respected local venue and I was curious to see how a country afternoon tea would stack up against London hotels.
We were greeted warmly by the host and also by the fire that greeted us in the lounge. Furnishings looked comfy and a promising afternoon of girly catch-up awaited.
A nice selection of teas were on the menu, herbal varieties as well as black and green tea. When tea arrived it was accompanied by a tea timer so that your tea was brewed to perfection. The only downside to this was that you had to remove your own insert which was hot. I would have preferred the staff to have done that.
When the food arrived I was impressed.  There was all the essential ingredients of an afternoon tea: dainty sandwiches, scones, cakes and pattiseries. Sandwiches upon tasting could have been a little more inventive. I had cooked salmon, ham and cream cheese and tomato.  There was also egg.
The scones were delightful and had a lovely crunch to the outside but soft the middle. For the sweet course there was: chocolate muffin, banana eclair, chicory and liquorice macaroon, lemon cake and bakewell tart. All of them were pretty good, but for me the star was the bakewell. Once again the pastry was perfect and there was a super-soft sponge in the middle with jam.
So, did it stack up to London? Do you know what I think it did. This could be a whole new direction in afternoon tea for me- English country hotels!

Afternoon tea at The Savoy

I've been dying to post that title for ages "afternoon tea at the Savoy" and it didn't disappoint.
We were seated in the Beauford Bar area, adjacent to the Thames Foyer,  decorated in a stunning art deco style - black and gold. Absolutely loved it. From where we were seated we could still hear the tinkling of the piano and see the goings on in the main tea area.
The tea selection was good. B really liked the lemon verbana, which had a slight peppermint taste too. After my most recent escapade I was pleased to see tea strainers and attentive tea waitresses.
It was able to cater for dietary requests, but the selection didn't look as tasty as the standard afternoon tea - B wished that she'd blown her special diet. The standard sandwiches were good, but not amazingly special.  It did however excel with the patisseries which were very cute and tasty. The scones were nice and were accompanied by the best jam I've ever had!
All in all - I was blown away with the decor, tea was very pleasant and given half a chance, I'd be very pleased to return.

More festive delights

The Langham Hotel has launched its Festive afternoon tea menu.  Fully themed including reindeer biscuits and eggnog panacotta.

Afternoon tea at Marconi lounge ME Hotel

This is a newly built 5 star hotel in The Strand, London. It recently started offering afternoon tea and its first theme was "buildings of London".
The decor of this place is mind blowing. Really stylish with art deco modern twist.
Despite being 5 star this place was very relaxed and chilled.
The tea selection was good. I chose Chai because I hadn't had it before. The aroma coming from it was delightful, but teabags? I suppose it saves the hassel of a tea strainer, but not what I expected. The waiter poured the first cup but thereafter it was left to us. I suspect this is part of their relaxed style than lack of attentiveness, because we were the only people there. However, we needed to request another pot as it had gone cold.
When the food came out the patisseries looked impressive, but I was quick to notice there wasn't the expected Shard on the plate. Instead we had Big Ben, which was very tasty, though perhaps slightly too nutella-esq.
The sandwiches though tasty had dry bread as if they'd been prepared well in advance.
The scones smelt deliciously buttery and were good. No additional cake trays were offered, but to be honest this was enough because unlike some places you go to, each of us received our own patisserie selection. No having to cut a thing of beauty in half. Our fav was the chocolate macaroon.
All in all we had a very pleasant afternoon. Just a couple of niggles, when the door if the hotel opens a really cold breeze came through and being on the ground floor not an amazing view, except for the walkers by looking in.

Christmas crackers

Two hotels are providing festive afternoon tea.

Intercontinental Westminster
Is offering unlimited Laurent Perrier champagne with its festive afternoon tea menu. Carol singers will also be present during the weekend.

The Mandeville Hotel
Is having a Christmas afternoon tea, where the whole menu is themed from turkey sandwich fillings to cranberry scones.