Last year I made a debut to a very British customs ‘Afternoon Tea’. The concept of it is similar to Cream Tea that I occasionally have, however, they are a little different. Basically Afternoon Tea is a mixture of lunch and tea time together which serves tea with some sandwiches and dessert. By knowing it is a traditional custom for upper class people, it is a little intimidating experience but it is becoming more popular among wider range of people these days.
I had another opportunity to try this high end custom (at a reasonable price) the other day. It was a farewell occasion with somebody who helped me out and is leaving the UK soon.
Afternoon Tea
To be honest it is quite difficult to choose the venue. Of course if you want to spend lots of money for the best experience there is no problem. The top quality afternoon tea costs over £100 per head. However, if you want to find a venue for a great experience but reasonably priced, you have to do a lot of research.
I finally booked a table in a hotel, but I was worried if it was not as good as I hoped it would be. However, once we arrived at the hotel I got a good feeling. Although the restaurant is located on the ground floor, we were led to the Executive Lounge which is on their 14th floor. There were some other people having tea already but tables were placed with some distance so our conversation was not disturbed at all.
We settled at the table and not waiting that long, our tea arrived, followed by a three tiered cake stand.
We started munching from the bottom tier which had four types of sandwiches, Egg mayonnaise and cress, Smoked salmon, Cucumber & peppered Crème Fraiche and Ham and Pommery mustard.
I don’t know why but traditionally the poshest sandwich filling is cucumber and our sandwiches were not the exception to that. You may think that none of the fillings sounds anything special but I tell you the bread was fresh and soft and all the filling was very tasty. It was the good start.
When we finished the sandwiches two flutes of strawberry champagne were brought to us. It was a fruity cocktail but not too sweet to fight with the sweetness of the dessert to come.
We moved onto the second tier. The sweets on the middle tier were Chocolate & Walnut Brownie, Sachertorte, Fruits Tart, Pannacotta with Berry compote and Red Velvet cake.
We moved on to the third and the last tier with fruits scone.
I put some clotted cream first on the scone and strawberry jam on top. I love clotted cream and normally put more on my scone. However, I was starting to feel full up by this time and used less cream.
Then I felt my only criticism of this whole experience. The scone was a bit dry. Maybe it was toasted too long? It was such a shame because I was looking forward to having a scone with clotted cream and also it was a perfect Afternoon Tea until that moment.
So, that was it. It was great! I will do Afternoon Tea again whenever another opportunity arises.
We used a voucher for this venue and that was a super value for this great experience.
Sparkling Cocktail Afternoon Tea at ‘Hilton, London Canary Wharf‘
I love Afternoon Tea and agree it’s difficult to find a good location what is reasonable priced
Would love to try Brown’s or Claridges but have to save it up for a special occasion! I do also prefer it when they serve traditional sandwiches opposed to what I call faffing around with exotic breads and fillings although I do like a bit of faffing with cakes 😊. But the quality of each Afternoon Tea stands and falls with their scones! Toasted scones are a big NO-NO for me, a freshly baked scone would never need it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. Yes, love to try Craridges’.😋 Would be great in a nice surrounding! Although I like just baked scones too, I still prefer giving a little toast on the cut side. It was really a shame to end this Tea with dried scone …
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, it’s difficult to find the “right” place….. I subscribe to afternoontea.co.uk newsletters for UK visits but cannot decide… cos too many to choose from and above all, I don’t want to be disappointed!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly that!! Oh yes, I have checked the site as well. It is easy to have extravagant one IF you spend fortune. I just wanted to have a decently priced one but still good & memorable. I was the person choosing the venue and it sooo stressful. As you said I was worried about the possibility of disappointment, not to me but to the other person. I was glad it seems like she also enjoyed the occasion. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Decently priced but nice one – yup, same here! This is rather casual and smaller with Austrian taste, and not sure if they still serve afternoon tea but I enjoyed it at 10-15 quids some years ago: https://www.thecounter.co.uk/
Looking forward to your next afternoon tea post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the great info. Actually I have been to this restaurant before. It was for a meal not for tea but I remember they had a wonderful display of beautiful small cakes near the entrance. I should consider here for the next one. I also found an article says this next one serves good Afternoon Tea with a great deal.
http://robarestaurant.co.uk/menus/#signatureafternoontea
It seems it’s about £16 at the moment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have you????? Roba’s looks good! and reasonable! Looking forward to your review for my next visit! Thank you for the link!
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I used a voucher for this time’s Afternoon Tea and I think many (or all?) people must be using it too. What I wonder is that if the Food & Drink + service is really set for the original full price or the discounted price. During the research I noticed there are many vouchers around these days. I was quite satisfied with the experience this time but if I was paying the full price I probably would’ve not?!
LikeLike
I love the idea of a Hight Tea, but never tried! Thanks for sharing the experience, perhaps next time I travel to London I will find the occasion and the right place!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome! Until I tried last year I was thinking that Afternoon Tea was something too posh thing to do for me but once I had it the barrier was taken away from my mind?! It is worth trying for a right occasion and at the right place as you said. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks divine! Canary wharf is great though, I love how smart everything is over there. I also like to see that you are enjoying a cocktail with your afternoon tea… Thank you for sharing. 🙂
If you have time, please check out my latest post about Brick &Liquor Cocktail bar – https://tootinghustle.wordpress.com/2017/05/24/brick-and-liquor-in-review/ and let me know what you think!
Happy blogging! x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks you! Canary Wharf is a strange place. It is lively & fashionable now but once it was almost a ghost town which was with lots of tall buildings but nobody was existing… Big difference!
Anyway, your Blog looks great. Sorry your Valentine’s Day was ruined but the story was funny… 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, I like to see the funny side of things 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
😀
LikeLiked by 1 person