Afternoon Tea at Vertigo42 (Tower 42)

Never had tea in the city before, but a special offer came through for Tower 42's Vertigo bar and I thought it'd be rude not to :-p , considering I wanted to catch up with a friend that had just returned from her honeymoon.
Getting up to the venue on the 42nd floor felt like mission impossible- three reception desks, one security check, two esclators and one lift later we arrived to some stunning views.
We were seated by the window with  views across to Mansion House, the London Eye and beyond. We were soon served with a glass of champagne and were enjoying chatting when we realised we hadn't been served any food 25mins after arriving.
Just a I began getting twitchy that I was going to be late back from lunch, a charming man with a tiered cake stand arrived. My initial opinion was slightly disappointed as there were no traditional sandwiches to be seen, only two tiny morsels of toasted bread with smoked salmon and a piece of quiche (non refillable). Tier two contained two tarts; chocolate and passionfruit (zingy) and tier 3 tiny blueberry scone and a plain traditional scone (cream tasted like it was soured or with yoghurt, unusual! )
At this point I had to ask for the tea to be served (not loose leaf-teabag). It began losing points on service at this point. I asked for a clean plate after the quiche as it left savoury squigginess on the plate, which I didn't fancy with the sweet tarts - an unusual request it seems.
Pretty much as soon as we'd finished we needed to leave. No waiters to be seen, so I return to the reception desk to enquire if we could leave because I had pre-paid. I couldn't believe that they asked me to pay a service charge - voluntary of course!
To sum up. The place had really nice views, but had a long way to go to match up to proper afternoon tea.  Was more heavily weighted on dessert and not much savoury.  At full price £32 - way overpriced.

Afternoon tea at the Langham

I have a certain fondness for the Langham Hotel, London. I've been there twice now and was disappointed not to win a 7p ticket to go back for its anniversary a couple of weeks ago.
What is it I like about it? The decor is art deco - black and shiny mirrors with fantastic chandeliers. The service and food is second to none.
The first time I went there for tea I also had the privilege of staying at the hotel. My sister in law was doing a stint on the plinth at Trafalgar Square. The trouble was, we hadn't thought about how we were going to broadcast the music in a public place. The concierge of the hotel ended up looking around for an amplifier for us. Such service!
Last year I returned for a Hen Party. The staff coped perfectly well with a large group. They also brought out a special cake for her off-the-cuff, no prompting.
May I also add that the cocktail bar is fantastic and well worth a try ;-)
It has released this week a new afternoon tea menu - a good reason to return?www.cntraveller.com/recommended/food/best-afternoon-tea-in-london/langham-hotel-london-afternoon-tea

Orient Express

For a landmark birthday I was treated to a trip on the Orient Express, murder mystery event. This appeals to me on several levels which you will get to know: I love the 20's|30's era decor and clothing wise and I like a bit of drama.
Needless to say I was thoroughly looking forward to the day. S & I were togged fitting the occasion and travelled 1st class to Victoria where we would pick up the OE.
At Victoria there was a special check-in area, where the attendant told us which carriage we'd be seated and where complimentary tea was supplied (in a plastic cup!!!). There was also a member of staff that was willing to take pictures.  However a professional photographer might have been nice - would have been willing to pay....and we made our way to the train.
We were allocated to the Perseus carriage where Bob our attendant made us very welcome. The table was set nicely for dinner and it began to feel special. As champagne was served we got to know the others in the carriage. As the train departed, outside the window I was brought back to reality  and back to today seeing the graffiti and ugly buildings.
As dinner was served the mystery unfolded and we got a chance to interrogate the suspects. Dinner exceeded my expectations.  It was truly 1st class - all five courses of it!
We never won the carriage prize for solving the who done it, but we had great fun trying.