The Rose Lounge @The Balcon - could this be the best one yet?

The Rose Lounge @The Balcon 
6 Waterloo Pl, St. James's, London SW1Y 4AN
April 2017

This was part of a lovely girly day for a friends big birthday - Kensington Palace to see the Diana  dresses with tea in the Rose Lounge . 

The first thing that strikes you is the beautiful floral and pink room, pink flowers, pink velvet sofas and chairs, a lady playing the harp - it really is delightful. Even without having tea you felt like you could sit there comfortably for an hour or two reading or watching the world go by. But tea was what we were there for and tea we got. The table was already set with white and silver crockery, white linen napkins, glasses for water and tea strainers at the ready. 

The very french staff were charming (there was a naughty bit of me that thought maybe they came from Watford but they kept the accent up very well!  ) and immediately brought us menus and explained the tea choices which were sweet and so on. 
We felt it very reasonable that for an extra £3 we could have a signature cocktail with our tea - we all agreed it would be terribly rude not to. 
We all chose our teas which were from an extensive list http://www.thebalconlondon.com/pdf/afternoon_tea_menu_RL.pdf 
and assured we could try different teas and have a refill of any of our sandwiches, scones or cakes we wanted to (that passed one of my tests !) 
The tea service was really pretty with an unusual tea strainer that we were glad was ably demonstrated by our waiter. 

We were quickly brought our tea stands - and all had the same thought  which was ... where are the pastries ?(greedy, us? )
Before anyone could own up to such a thought the waiter told us we would choose our own pastries from the patisserie cabinet - they are a french restaurant after all .

So onto the Savoury course - delicious sandwiches , even the vegetarian choice which had aubergine and hummous and included savoury choux buns with a tuna filling, flavoured breads with salmon and cucumber, egg and mayonnaise, goat’s cheese, chicken and salad - we ordered a few extra of the chicken and hommous ones which were brought swiftly. 

Then they brought us our signature cocktail - which was super girly and pink with pomegranate seeds. 

Salut!

I must mention the harpist - all the way though we had been listening to the fabulous harp playing - so perfect in that setting. 


We each had three flavours of scone offered - plain, chocolate and fruit with a choice of a beautiful rosewater and raspberry jam or lemon curd and clotted cream. 

The scones were very good indeed - very fresh tasting and not too huge so was able to sample all of them. 

Full of tea, carbohydrates and pink drinks we had a little pause, and our waiter suggested if it was too much effort to go to choose from the patisserie he would bring us a selection  - it was and he did. 

Nobody does patisserie like the french - I shall attempt to explain what we were given but as you can see it was delightful - and far too pretty to eat ! 

The Raspberry and Rose Macaroon was so light and melt in your mouth, complete with a rose petal on the top, it also looked beautiful  
The passion fruit cheese cake slice was sweet and creamy but the citrus from the passion fruit stopped it being too sickly. I'm not a fan of lemon meringue pie but those that shared it said it was delicious, and likewise with the rum baba. There was pistachio cake and pear tart, chocolate slices and more exquisite little bites.

Because it was Anita's birthday she was presented with a special birthday platter of patisserie and fruit garnish by our charming waiter.

I finished with a coffee to offset all the sweetness and we asked for our bill and a box for leftovers (there were a few) despite our best efforts.

We were there for a few hours and at no point did we feel rushed, we could have eaten as much as we wanted and the whole experience, the room, the food, the service and the ambience were special. 

The birthday girl loved it and we were lucky to share such a great afternoon with her. 

And I think I might have found my favourite afternoon tea so far ! 

The cost is £32 (accompanied by a Signature Cocktail £35, with a glass of Moët & Chandon Imperial £39,  and free flowing Champagne afternoon tea £49) - seems expensive but I have paid more for a less special tea. 

I did notice there is currently a group on offer of £54 for two and £66 for the champagne option, well worth it .

Glam Rock Afternoon Tea - great modern twist !

K West Hotel & Spa
Richmond Way

London W14 0AX
October 2016 

This tea was a part of a bundle with a spa session - the spa was a lovely experience as although very small , there was a lovely dipping pool and the scrub I had was lush, along with a great manicure chosen as an extra.
The hotel is billed as an "edgy urban retreat" and every order in Studio Kitchen where we ate is "served with a slice of glamour and a side-order of cool" and it was indeed very glam rock themed ans super cool - art on the walls and funky furniture. 
Our placemats were old album covers - I was thrilled mine was the Boomtown Rats album which was probably the first album I ever bought although not sure my friend was as impressed with her BeeGees album ! 

We absolutely loved the metallic cups and were quickly served our Tea Rex which is the bespoke tea created for the restaurant in the gorgeous metallic teapots - was a slightly spicy flavoured black tea - not altogether unpleasant but possibly not my choice for another time - there wasn't a choice offered though. 

Anita concentrating on her cake choices 

The tea stand was brought - one vegetarian and two standard choice and our waitress did a fine job of explaining it all - the savoury selection included unusual choices like open rye bread with salmon, mini burgers, fish in batter rolls, roast beef, and so on - really delicious selection, with the vegetarian option including halloumi.

There was a scone each with cream and choice of lemon curd or jam - (very very good lemon curd especially) and I did ask if we could have an extra scone which did cause the waitress some consternation - she had to go and check and then said yes but would take 15 minutes so we didn't bother. 

We were in fact very keen to get stuck into the sweet layer which really didn't disappoint - old skool swiss roll, a very gooey chocolate and marshmallow brownie, a pistachio macaroon and an edible chocolate cup with a creamy mousse. That finished us off - we were totally full !

I asked for a coffee as had a bit of journey home - was slightly disappointed that they charged me for it as we hadn't had different teas but accept we were on a spa and tea deal. 

Definitely enjoyed this and would recommend it as it really was a twist on a traditional tea and the decor and the vinyl records were a lovely touch . They were playing great music too from the 70s and 80s! 

Grand Hotel Brighton darlings !

97-99 King's Rd, Brighton BN1 2FW
Phone: 01273 224300

This was a tea I’d been desperate to try after being at the hotel drinking a delicious cocktail last year, and being super envious after our awful tea the Hilton next door.

It was also voted by the Independent in 2015 as one of the best 14 teas in the UK to take your mum for mothers day,

So when we had a girlie day trip to Brighton planned , why of course we` had to try it out. It was one of those gorgeous hot days we've been lucky enough to have this September and tea is served in the super elegant Victoria Terrace which is a conservatory type lounge overlooking the sea, so was really perfect.

We arrived a little early in the hope of resampling the cocktail menu but were quickly whisked to our table so that delight will have to wait until next visit …

The table setting is really beautiful : elegant silver cutlery, white crockery with silver trims, tea strainers, silver trays, so very pretty!

We were quickly offered our choice of teas which were extensive - from a Japanese Cherry infusion to traditional blends and we were assured we could try different ones. The teapots were gorgeous - (glad I don't have to polish them) lovely loose teas with a tea strainer - always a plus for me.

My friend asked about having her sandwiches with no mayonnaise or vinegar - they happily obliged and brought out or tea stands, unusual as they were floor stands which saved table space ! Very elegant and nicely presented with garnished sandwiches, cute jam and cream pots and snow white plates.

This was a very traditional afternoon tea and suited the hotel and the room we were in - sandwiches were salmon egg etc -very fresh and generously filled and they happily brought more when we asked for more of the ham ones.

The service was very good - especially as half way through our tea there was a shift change and the new waiting staff ensured they knew where we were up to, offered fresh tea and so on.

There was a choice of fruit or plain scones and plenty of jam and cream . If I had one little nit pick it was that the scones were stone cold - but on the other hand we did have extra sandwiches and took our time over choosing/drinking teas but would have been better had they been wrapped or brought out later. Having said that they were delicious, crispy outside and fluffy inside so all was forgiven on the temperature.

We were as usual quite full by the time we got to the pastry layer but did give it a good go - the Chocolate Delice and Carrot cake didn't disappoint - oh wow. 

And because it was Karen's birthday - they presented her with an extra happy birthday plate. We finished a fabulous afternoon with a cheeky little cocktail and glasses of prosecco and were presented with our leftover cakes (and if I'm not mistaken a few extras)  in a lovely box to take home.

Cheers! 

We would thoroughly recommend this tea - its a bit pricey for an out of London one but the ambience, service, location and setting are second to none - definitely planning a trip back next summer ! 

Riverside tea with the best scones EVER !

Sir Christopher Wren Hotel and Spa

52 Thames Street

Windsor, Berkshire

https://sirchristopherwren.co.uk/

01753 442400

Pimms Afternoon Tea £25.50 per person 

August 2016

This was a last stop on what had proved to be a wonderful day out in Windsor to celebrate the retirement (from work not tea) of two of the afternoon tea ladies (SOOO jealous, they now have time for endless teas! ) 

We had requested seats on the patio when we booked but had been warned that as they were doing refurbishment it wouldn't be possible which was a shame. In fact although we'd had a glorious day of sunshine as we got to the hotel the clouds gathered and it started to rain, so we were quite glad of our window seats overlooking the River.

They don't look old enough to retire do they??

The glasses of Pimms were served quickly and we were give the tea menu to choose from - Darvilles teas and different coffees. We were slightly disappointed it was teabags but a good choice and the cups and teapots were pristine white .

The tea stand was brought which was a rather splendid glass and chrome affair - very traditional finger sandwiches: egg and cress; ham and English mustard; smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber; and mild cheddar cheese and tomato. They were very fresh tasting and generously filled - I did forget to ask if we could have more as I was very keen on getting started on those scones.

The scones did not disappoint - we all agreed they were some of the nicest we had tried - crumbly outside, moist and light inside and still warm- I nearly forgot to take a photo!

We felt slightly let down by the small jars of jam - it really should be in bowls, but the clotted cream was delicious and there was plenty for everyone.

Well after all that we barely had room for the patisserie selection but made a supreme effort and I especially enjoyed the chocolate eclair, and the fruit and cream tart . It was great that actually had one of each - its very annoying when you have to start cutting them in half so everyone can try a bit. We were also pleased that we could change our teas and there was also a coffee option if needed. 

So overall ... a good value afternoon tea - £25.50 per person inc the Pimms (NB April 2017 now £26.50) ) food was very tasty and the service impeccable.

The brasserie had a formal air - white table cloths and napkins and so on but managed to feel very relaxing. 

It was the final enjoyable stop on a great day out which included visiting Windsor Castle and a little boat trip along the Thames.