Gluten Free Afternoon Teas ... other peoples blogs ....!

Gluten free Afternoon Tea is something I've been looking into recently as a few friends and relatives have been asking - and in one day I've had two recommendations - one from this blog post I found when looking for a ideas for men's Christmas presents (great blog post Elle http://www.theellenextdoor.com/2015/12/GiftGuideForMen.html)  and the other from a work colleague I was sharing an Ethiopian meal with this evening. 

First of all check out Elle's Blog entry if you are after a festive gluten free treat: 
the Elle next door: FESTIVE AFTERNOON TEA AT THE PARK TOWER, KNIGHTSBRIDGE

And then the recommendation from my friend was to try Fortnum amd Mason's tea - and I found  another interesting blog about that :

https://glutenfreefortea.wordpress.com/2014/02/23/fortnum-and-mason-gluten-free-afternoon-tea/ 

Has anyone else recommendations for a Gluten free tea or indeed any other sort of dietary need tea?   

Prêt-à-Portea Afternoon Tea in the Caramel Room

The Berkeley
Wilton Place, Knightsbridge
London SW1X 7RL

December 2015

It’s been a lean few months as far at ATs have been concerned but Christmas and several birthdays are going to keep the AT ladies very well fed and watered for the next couple of months!

We kicked off our Christmas season with a long awaited visit to the Prêt-à-Portea Afternoon Tea at the 5* Berkley hotel – a Christmas present to each other for my friend and I,  and taken on a wet December Sunday. 

The tea is advertised as:

“Mouth-watering Afternoon tea delicacies with a fashionista twist. The Berkeley’s designer afternoon tea, Prêt-à-Portea, is inspired by the themes and colours of the fashion world. The menu is transformed every six months to follow the changing seasons in fashion.  Prêt-à-Portea is served in the Caramel Room daily from 1pm – 6pm. All served on a bespoke fine-bone china by Wedgwood”

Being December it was a Christmas theme and the first thing we came upon was the absolutely stunning fireplace display – in fact the hotel corridors were all beautifully decorated in silver and white.

We were instantly whisked to our seats and our coats taken to the cloakroom, the table was very nicely set – the Wedgewood crockery was gorgeous, with Sarah’s name written on a little shoe, the menus in bright themed colours, very comfy chairs and space around us to put our shopping bags.

Our charming waitress Ana explained what our experience would be. We opted for a glass of champagne with our tea as it is nearly Christmas and were given a choice of Laurent Perrier champagnes.

So after a few sips of our very delicious champagne our savoury course arrived.

From top left : sundried tomato bread but can't recall filling , Egg and Mayo roll, ham and mustard, turkey and cranberry, smoked salmon with a salmony mousse 

Mozarrella and pesto on pesto bread, cream cheese and cucumber, hummus and sundried tomato, smoked salmon,  egg roll 

Carrot and Coriander puree? with cauliflower, mini cheese and chive scone, smoked salmon with delicious forgotten name of topping 

There was also a very nice carrot and coriander savoury in a glass  – texture of baby food but delicious, with a mini scone and some smoked salmon.

As my friend doesn’t eat meat we had requested a non meat option which we were very impressed with – not just a substitute cheese or egg but actually a completely different and very well thought out selection – in fact so much so that we had an extra plate each (greedy - us?! ) and I asked to try a plate of the non meat ones as they were so interesting. The sandwiches were very generously filled and there was a variety of breads to add interest and texture.

I asked for a tea recommendation and a very nice Dragonwood ? green tea was suggested to go with the savouries. Really light with a citrusssy tone, a great choice to balance the carbs! Sarah had coffee which came in a lovely pot, but she did feel it could have been hotter.

To be fair we were fairly full up by the time the sweets came but oh my how amazing did they look – all of them themed to a fashion designer autumn/winter collection.

I think the pictures speak for themselves - there was two of everything except the top layer of biscuits and the pannacotta and bavarois - we could have asked for more but think there would have  been a similar scene to the Monty Python waffer thin mint scenario ! 

We worked our way gleefully through all of it,  bar 2 tiny mince pies – every mouthful was full of flavour and so so exquisitely designed – can’t even begin to imagine how long it must take to create such things.

There was no hint of rushing us off even though they were very busy , and at the end we were presented with a mini Prêt-à-Portea handbag each with a few mini cakes in to take home – very nice touch as we had eaten everything this wasn’t just our leftovers . 

I had decided to go with a pomelo and mango tea to pair with my sweet course – this turned out to be a selection of dried fruits which they poured hot water over – I wasn’t sure at first but it was very pleasant, a bit like drinking a hot fruit squash very refreshing.

Ana also brought me a little packet of the fruit tea which I thought was very kind.

This really was a special tea and at £59 each including champagne and 12½ % service (well deserved by the way and I do hope the staff actually get it – I meant to ask) not in the cheaper range of teas but as our Christmas gift to each other it felt worth it. There was a lot of food and you could have had extra of anything – It was all I ate all day except for a cereal bar in the morning, and I’m still feeling full this morning !

Afternoon tea at Hampton Court Palace - an unexpected delight !

We booked this tea as part of a package from BuyaGift.com - Hampton Court Palace and afternoon tea in the Fountain Court restaurant - and off we trotted one sunny October day. 

Being the sensible ladies we are we started with checking out where would be having our tea and after much wandering about (honestly the inside of the palace is just as much of a maze as the outside one is !!)  we found the Fountain Restaurant ..... and it was closed for the season. 

So we trotted off to the cafe , The Privy kitchen, to ask what we were to do - they didn't do afternoon tea and , we were told neither did the Tiltyard Cafe - it was a seasonal thing. 

Not to be deterred, clutching my voucher,  we went to the Tiltyard - which was a light airy self service cafe and asked what we should do with our voucher . After much conferring they said they would make us a tea but would need to let them know when as it would need preparing - we opted for a time later on and went off to enjoy our visit. It's a great place to go and the good thing about it being October and a Saturday wasn't many visitors and no school parties, so we had a great day wandering around the exhibits and rooms. Would thoroughly recommend it if you've never been !  

And then we went for our tea - The Cafe was super busy but they had prepared a lovely spread, really fresh sandwiches - no balking when we told them sorry we had forgotten to say one of us was veggie, brought different sandwiches,  changed one of the pots of tea for coffee, and really made the effort to make it feel like it was a proper afternoon tea , serving us at our table while everyone else was queueing up for  food, offering to top up drinks, checking our food was ok etc.

 

The food came on a super cute stand, and although not huge amounts of food was plenty for us. We saw several people staring and pointing and asking at the counter if they could have afternoon tea too ! (they were told no!) 

The sandwiches were really generously filled and very fresh - chicken, cheese and pickle, egg mayonnaise, cheese and ham. 

We had one huge scone each (they were forgiven for the plastic pot of cream and the jar of jam as the scone was so delicious and fluffy ) 

Finished with a very rich gooey brownie and a lemony tart (think it might have a been a Hampton Court speciality Queen of tarts which involves potato in his ingredients but not sure) 

The tea came in white china pots and milk jug so I was happy !

All in all I was very impressed that they pulled this out of the hat and really tried to make it an experience - certainly much more effort put in than other recent teas. I'm not sure about cost as it came as part of a package but considering its wasn't actually on their menu or expected it was very well done.

Thanks Tiltyard cafe - a great effort  and a very nice end to our day.

The Grove Hotel: Gail's best afternoon tea so far !

THE GROVE

Chandler's Cross
Hertfordshire
WD3 4TG

Guest Blogger Gail Howe on her "Best afternoon tea so far!" 

We were welcomed on arrival and shown to our table.We were told that we could have the table as long as we liked.

If we wanted to go for a walk or outside to have a drink that was fine.

They laid the table inside because of the wasps.

We had a whole menu of different teas with many varieties. Some chose

green tea, rooibos and others.

We chose the champagne afternoon tea as the champagne was £7 a glass.

Without the tea it would have been £14.

Sandwiches were excellent and more were brought without any extra cost.

We all had a plate each and they gave me mine without any salmon as I'm

allergic to fish and substituted the sandwich for a vegetarian one.

We also had a plate of cakes each which were delicious.

We decided to walk round the grounds before the scones and this was no problem.

The grounds were lovely and we sat outside and had a glass of prosecco.

The scones were freshly baked and served with jam and clotted cream.

More tea was served and cold drinks at no extra cost.

There were beautiful flowers everywhere.

We all had an amazing day and would go there again ! It was a real treat.

Gail

For Afternoon Tea Week - Top 5 Teas IMO

Especially for Afternoon Tea Week and after saying that the Scoff & Banter Tea was in my top three,  I've since been asked what are my top five teas - obviously I haven't yet been to every Afternoon Tea there is but I'm working on it ...

So what do I consider an Exceptional Afternoon Tea ? For me of course it's partly the food-  both taste and how it looks and a good choice of teas but that's really not enough to make it special. It also needs to include service that shows an understanding of the tea experience, the surroundings - the room, maybe a view, the furniture and also the crockery and cutlery really score with me, as a does a nice crisp white table cloth. Value counts too but I also don't mind paying if it really is outstanding.  
A place can lose points for jam in pots, cold scones, curly sandwiches, teabags or packets of sugar. They also need to have endless tea (and the offer to change blends if required) or coffee offered and the venue needs to have pleasant toilets - even better if there's quality scented handwash and hand lotion in there !! 

So after much debate with  myself and making myself hungry looking at old pictures, here are my top five, so far!

At 5…. Conrad St James (was the Intercontinental Westminster)

The Silverware 

Alice in Wonderland Tea 

Chelsea Flower Show Tea

Having been there five times, I couldn’t really leave it off my list. The fact that you can have unlimited champagne also helps but I’ve had that at other places and they don’t always concentrate on the other details whist topping you up. The room is beautiful and has a relaxed feel with comfy plump sofas and chairs, and the times we have been have never felt rushed out or hurried. The food is always exquisitely presented, plentiful and delicious. What’s also great is how they change the menu often according to seasons and events. It won’t be my last visit as its perfect place to take a group of girls for an early evening tea and drinks – £35 without champagne or £49 with - if you have ever ordered a bottle of prosecco or champers in London you will know what good value this is !

http://yummyandscrummy.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/alice-in-wonderland-tea-conrad-st-james.html



At 4..The Hotel Café Royal, Regent Street, London 

admiring the savouries!

This was my last birthday treat and was hard to beat for the sheer opulence of the room –the service which was outstanding and the food which was beautiful and delicious. The savoury selection of not just sandwiches but goats cheese puffs, smoked salmon bagel, wild boar and crackling bun among the delights on offer – we also liked that the different “courses” were brought separately, with an amuse bouche and explanation of each tray brought out. Plus of course were served on gorgeous crockery with shiny cutlery. A glass of champagne finished off the feast.

Check out our experience here

http://yummyandscrummy.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/amazing-afternoon-tea-for-birthday.html



At 3… Scoff & Banter Tea Room, Oxford Street, London 

We are both still reeling from the gorgeousness of this recent tea which totally epitomises what a tea experience should be about – it’s not super expensive but the attention to detail in the food , the Tea Room and the service is very special.

http://yummyandscrummy.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/high-tea-time-how-very-british-scoff.html



At 2 BG Restaurant, Bergdorf Goodman, New York 

This is one that was special for lots of reasons, it was part of a fabulous girls trip to New York , but also was in a stunning room overlooking Central Park, again with fantastic attention to detail and a real desire to create an “Authentic” British Tea, sandwiches and savouries were great (we ordered extra platefuls so good were they) and a great choice of teas all served on duck egg blue crockery that toned with the room, and served by white coated but friendly staff

Read and enjoy the pictures here ! http://yummyandscrummy.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/afternoon-tea-at-bergdorf-goodman-5th.html



At 1 The Savoy, London 

This still remains my top tea – have been to the hotel a few times for drinks, we go for an annual black tie event and even stayed there once, but not since 2011 for tea. Really must get back there. Its pricey , even without a champagne option, but it is beautiful, very traditional, superb service and you really can sit there for hours and keep ordering more sandwiches cakes, tea (or at least we could in 2011)

Our last experience is here http://yummyandscrummy.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/savoy-hotel-thames-foyer-afternoon-tea_14.html

So readers, what are your top five teas ?

We would be especially interested about out of London ones! 
And what do you think makes a good tea turn into a great afternoon tea?

I suspect that my next visit to Brighton and intentions of having tea at the Brighton Grand, may well push one of the above off the list but who knows? 

Schmootiful Treatments in the spa – Tea not so schmootiful

Waterhouse Restaurant, 

HILTON BRIGHTON METROPOLE

KINGS ROAD, BRIGHTON, BN1 2FU

This was our Afternoon Tea week treat -  a trip to Brighton with treatments in Scmoo by the sea followed by an Afternoon Tea in the Waterside Restaurant. Both of us have had great Afternoon Teas in Hilton hotels before so were really confident before we went that it would be great – and having looked at the menu were really looking forward to it . This was a deal for £99 for two so was a bargain, and we were aware that our treatments were mini ones but perfect as a precursor to Tea and walk in the bracing Brighton air along the pier.

First of all our Treatments in Schmoo by the sea (also in the Hilton) were great – a mini facial and paint and file of toes for me and a massage and fingers filed and painted for my friend. Lovely little spa, charming therapists, gorgeous sofas and chairs and really exquisite treatments with their own organic products which smell and feel divine. Definitely will be going back there for longer and can thoroughly recommend their treatments. We had entered the spa with some trepidation as there is quite a lot of renovations going on in the basement but once inside it was lovely. I believe we could have used the pool in the Living Well area of the hotel too but no time for that yesterday.

So we floated upstairs for our tea to the Waterhouse Restaurant – and after a good few minutes of being ignored (not very busy and quite a few staff milling about) were greeted, our no pork dietary requirement noted and were shown to our table which wasn’t very big but did have nice comfy chairs. We were given an Afternoon Tea menu and told to “choose” by the rather abrupt if efficient waitress. We weren’t entirely sure about what we were supposed to be choosing but looked at the two choices of afternoon tea menu and only THREE teas on offer – english breakfast, assam and another I can’t remember and chose one of each tea menu and a tea each. We also requested not to have pork in either tea then it’s easier to share.

Jam Stand and Sugar bowl

Chrome teapots containing TEABAGS 

My heart was already sinking at the cups on the table which are the sort you drink out of in hotel rooms, and the jam in jars (although the stand for them was quite cute) and the pot of sugar and sweetener packs on the table, paper napkins, it kind of felt like a buffet breakfast was about to be introduced.

So our tea came and was plonked in front of us in metal tea pots rather unceremoniously (although actually was a very nice cuppa) and was made with teabags. Oh dear. 

After about 15 minutes our cupboard of food arrived.

http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/hilton-brighton-metropole-BSHMETW/dining/index.html 

Above is the picture on the hotel website of the tea by the sea – this is what we got .

We had ordered one traditional and one Tea by the Sea - when it was put down were told – “there’s no pork on that side” and there seemed to be bits missing – where was the lamb burger? the Sussex quiche ? Hummus and grilled peppers finger sandwich ?

My friend went to get a menu to check and sure enough we hadn't dreamt these items-  so we queried it and were told that as we were on a spa offer we didn't get the full tea and in fact we’d been “given more than people normally got” on the spa deal.  I should point that at NO point had that been explained to us – even when we ordered our food. I get that it’s an offer but I go on lots of offers and you either get the food as advertised in the hope you will spread the word, a specific menu for that offer or at least should be told ! Why would you hand us that menu, ask us to choose and then not give us what we chose? 

So accepting it was what we were getting, we settled to eat as hadn't had lunch. Sandwiches were fine, obviously freshly made.

We did have a bit of an issue with the scones – for a start there was only one each (see above picture of advertised tea) and it did say scones plural on the menu. 

I can’t be sure of the two next things but as an experienced eater of scones (and a waistline to prove it) I think they were out of a packet as were a bit too uniform to be homemade, and although warm, they were soggy. So either they were microwaved or had sat for a while. Either way they tasted fine but weren't the crispy outside fluffy inside they should be. Very generous pots of jam and cream – sadly not enough scone to put it on !

Cakes were very mixed – a very alarming bright blue cheesecake that tasted soapy, an apple? cake that was already in pieces on the tray , mini doughnuts (delicious), macaroons (not home-made) and other bits. We hadn't had the food explained to us - which is a really important part of the tea experience - so didn't really know what we were eating.

By this time I was needing another cuppa, so found another menu on a table where they had other interesting teas like Twinings Russian Caravan – I asked for it (the waiter had never heard of it – Waiters MUST know their teas at an afternoon tea surely !) but gamely offered to go and find one . 

Didn't manage to but did bring me a pot (much nicer than the first pot) of hot water and a tea bag – although was this Golden Darjeeling (quite pleasant but rather weak so shouldn't be drunk with milk) and nothing Russian about it at all. The tea pot of hot water was missing its knob on the lid if you look closely- my friend did go and tell the waiter who couldn't see the problem and demoed how you could prise the lid open with your fingers! 

They also brought us some fresh cups - which bizarrely had a packet of biscuits tucked into each cup ! I must admit by this time we were nearly hysterical with laughter. The waiters were very sweet and willing but we could see were totally untrained about afternoon tea and how to serve it.

We were left feeling very glad that we hadn't paid £17.50 for the tea – in fact with the treatment deal we had it was almost free, but not what we would expect from a Hilton hotel and isn't really the point.  There was a couple of ladies having the full price tea on a table next to us and sure enough they did seem to have more choice of cake but the service and presentation was still the same.

On the www.afternoontea.co.uk website there is also a picture of the Twining’s tea selection (on the shelf under the picture ) and the special teapots

and timers like they have at Green Park (Click here to read about it) there was no evidence of those in use.  I have honestly had better food and service in a garden centre (see here)

When we left it was raining so we dived into the Grand Hotel next door for a drink. We lucked out with happy hour cocktails being served but also ended up with Extreme Tea Envy. For £23.50 ( £6 more) one could get a proper tea, served in proper teapots, on a handsome teastand, with white napkins, your choice of tea and food explained to you in a beautiful conservatory. 

The food was acceptable (except the blue cake)  but there is no sense of occasion which is a shame as your setting is great - comfy chairs, a lovely seaview, really nice dining room with pretty floor and walls, it just didn't work as a venue for tea as it was served up like a buffet breakfast. We have, between us, been for tea at Hilton Deansgate Manchester, Hilton on Park Lane and Hilton Green Park and were thoroughly impressed by them, so feel you are letting the brand down. 

As it's afternoon tea week I had high hopes for the one tea we had time to take this week and it wasn't great.

Please Waterhouse Restaurant – send your waiters next door with £5 note each (happy hour starts at 5pm) they can sit in the conservatory with a drink and see how it should be done.

Guest Blog from Helen Wignall - Afternoon tea at the Crazy Bear in Beaconsfield

The Crazy Bear, 

Old Town, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire HP9 1LX 

http://www.crazybeargroup.co.uk/beaconsfield/menus/afternoon-tea/

Having enjoyed the Chinese Dim Sum afternoon tea in the Fitzrovia Branch I had been intending to get to Beaconsfield to try their offering there. 

Helen beat me to it and has shared her thoughts here : 

Afternoon tea at Crazy Bear was an amazing experience. I'm not sure if the food or decor comes out tops but I'll start with the food. There is a choice of traditional afternoon tea for £29.50 champagne tea for £39.50 or Chinese afternoon tea, with 12 dim sum pieces, for £29.50. 

We opted for the traditional tea with a glass of Prosecco. 

There is a choice of 16 teas including flowering amaranth and lemon verbena but we opted for Earl Grey and fresh mint leaves.

This was served In a glass infusion tea pot. There was enough for at least 2 cups and we were offered more. The coffee drinkers did have to ask for a refill but no extra charge was made for this. 

We were offered a vegetarian sandwich  selection as well and opted for one of each. Everything was beautifully presented and we had a long discussion on how to make tear drop sandwiches! The fillings were delicious and included coronation chicken, ham hock and grain mustard Mayo, smoked salmon and herb mascarpone. All very tasty. Personally the vege fillings didn't wow me but the non meat eaters were happy. 

We had a plain and fruit scone each (not warm though) but with plenty of clotted cream and jam. The purists among you might object to jam in a jar! ( I would - Tea Lady_Rebz)

The cake selection covered all tastes and we're all scrummy.  My only suggestion would be to serve 1 each of a smaller selection as we had to either share or negotiate our favourites! We couldn't finish everything and the attentive waitress asked us which ones we each wanted before the left overs were wrapped for us to take home.

Now for the decor! If you haven't been to a Crazy Bear, put it on your bucket list. The decor and furnishings are beyond description and hard to photograph to full effect but these pics will give you an idea. 

Tea can be taken in the restaurant or on the terrace. As it was a sunny afternoon we were led through to the terrace which was like being transported to an exotic location.

Tables were set under a canopy beside the hotel pool (only residents of the hotel could enjoy a dip!) it was a beautiful setting for a girly afternoon. 

The decor had a Middle Eastern flavour with comfy colourful sofas. The atmosphere was enhanced by Frank Sinatra crooning in the background. 

A final mention must go to the toilets - no names on the door so use the one on the right! Everything inside was mirror mosaics. Take a seat in the armchair and you get an interesting view! 

Helen August 2015 

What do you think? Have you been there ? Are you tempted? I know I am ! Shame about the cold scones and jam in a mini jar (Tut Tut Crazy Bear) but I was inspired by Helen's guest blog entry and have managed to persuade him indoors to take me for lunch in a few weeks - he's still not quite convinced by Afternoon Tea !