Rubens Hotel, 39 Buckingham Palace Road,
London, SW1W 0PS
I was lucky enough to have
been bought this tea as a birthday gift by my son who was keen to find out what
this was all about, and wanted to join me for a proper posh tea. So we figured
sitting opposite the Royal mews would fit the bill, and on a sunny but cold February
Thursday, we met after work in Victoria station and trotted the few minutes’
walk to the hotel.
Unfortunately for them there
are huge roadworks going on outside which is such a shame as the restaurant does
indeed look over the entrance of the Royal Mews, we were shown to our window
seat and given our menus for choice of tea and drinks by the very charming
Maitress D, and if you could ignore the diggers and dumpers out of the window
it was a charming spot to take tea!
The tables were really well set
with white linen, silverware and ribbons, with comfortable armchairs and sofas
to choose from. There were a few others also having Afternoon Tea which did
cause a bit of delay in us ordering but we weren't in a rush and they were very
polite and apologetic. We ordered our tea – I went for a chocolate and hazelnut
blend and my son asked for green tea – we also decided as it was a late
birthday treat to ask for cocktails, so also ordered a Cosmopolitan and a Mai
Tai. The staff were, (unlike our last slightly disappointing afternoon tea hosts)
very concerned about whether we had the tea, cocktails or food first - we decided
on having tea first then cocktails, which were very delicious and very strong.
The Afternoon Tea stand was
brought along and explained - very traditional and beautifully presented.
The sandwiches were Egg
and Cress, Smoked Salmon, Ham and Mustard, Cucumber and Cream Cheese and a
Chicken and almond bridge roll. We were really impressed with the sandwiches –
very generous fillings, and very good quality fresh moist bread and to my delight
were offered more sandwiches without asking. We declined, as the scones were
calling and my son had lunch before he came (as he’d thought there wouldn't be much to eat!!) but I was tempted to ask for more of the chicken roll and the smoked salmon.
The scones were small but
very fresh with the requisite crispy outside and fluffy middle with plenty of
clotted cream and jam to spread.
I did then move to breakfast
tea with my pastries which were mostly delicious. The theme of the tea was "A Chocolate
Affair" and that was a key ingredient all of the choices, chocolate éclair with
coffee cream, orange and chocolate cupcake and so on. Although I wasn't keen on the dark chocolate meringue
tart, my son loved it, I adored the chocolate
and pistachio millefeuille and both of us really enjoyed the dark and white
chocolate mousse with passion fruit glaze …oh wow !
Sadly I have to say the cakes
did defeat us: we did sit for a bit in the hope we would find inspiration to
eat more but alas no - they kindly
packed it in a box for us and we took it home where my husband enjoyed the
selection very much.
Overall this was a very
splendid affair – we had a nice chat at the end with the manageress who was
interested in why my son chose to bring me there and also in other teas I had
been to- she told us they were changing their tea next week as they do
regularly and would be offering the “Royal Tea” from next week. Sigh, so many
teas so little time !
This felt very special and
the ambience, décor and service were
spot on. We also enjoyed watching the comings
and goings at the Royal mews – all the Bentleys and blacked out window cars
going in and out.
Definitely one to recommend if you are visiting Buckingham Palace or fancy saying you have taken afternoon tea at the palace.
Feb 2016
