Amazing afternoon Tea for birthday December 2014 - Hotel Cafe Royale , Regent Street. London

Place: Hotel Cafe Royale, Regent Street, London 
Date : December 2014

Last week, for the birthday of my college friend and myself (our birthdays are a day apart - terrible time to have birthdays, last week of December, trains all a mess going into London, no one wants to eat etc) I was tasked with the job of booking tea for us . 
It's always tempting to go somewhere you've been before but I always check through offers from various sites to see if there's somewhere new. I had wanted to go here for ages but was a bit put off by the high end price so was very tempted by the Champagne High Society Afternoon Tea for Two , £60 offer on http://www.afternoontea.co.uk/, even though there was 3 of us going, it still was a bargain looking at the menu and included a glass of champagne which is always a bonus!

Our tea was booked in the Oscar Wilde Bar and we were immediately impressed by the beautiful gilded and mirrored room, and stunning ceiling. 

We were told as we were seated that we were in the special corner of the restaurant where Oscar used to sit and entertain his lovers. 
The staff could not have been more charming and attentive, enquiring about any dietary needs, explaining each course - and starting us off with a crisp cold glass of Verve Cliqout. The pianist was tinkling away and we felt we were in for a good afternoon! 
Good selection of teas , I always go for English breakfast tea ( I had the 1865 blend)  both the girls chose Celestine which they said was delicious, with a vanilla pod.

Jo and her Savoury Muffin

Our food started with an amuse bouche of a Savoury Muffin (Miranda would not be impressed !!) with a tiny vial of apple juice to inject into it before eating. Nice flavour and a perfect start to the meal 

The Savoury selection was one of the best I have experienced. - I do get irritated when you get a just a few white bread unimaginative finger sandwiches but this was far removed from that : 
Wild boar, crackling, pickled apple and mustard bun
Goat’s cheese puff and wine jelly
Mary Rose prawn cocktail
London Cure smoked salmon bagel and quail’s egg
Cucumber and cream cheese finger sandwich
Presented handsomely on a slate 3 tier stand - every mouthful was, well, mouth watering, very fresh tasting with generous fillings and toppings. 






We didn't quite finish as knew we had more to come - but were then presented with a palate cleanser of a Fruit consommé and mulled wine marshmallows. 

The marshmallows ... oh my goodness - delightful little mouthful - perfect for getting us ready for our sweet course!  

The sweet course - warm scones with jam , lemon curd and clotted cream 
and from left 
“Opéra 1865”
Absinthe Green Fairy macaroon
Pear William Regent
Caramel and lime choux buns, 
apple crumble flower pot
Mini mince pies

The mince pies defeated us ( think we all felt that we'd had enough over the last few weeks) and we did have to decline the offer of Hotel Café Royal Christmas cake or 
lemon drizzle cake.



 As a final lovely touch as it was our birthdays, the pianist suddenly broke into a rendition of happy birthday  and they brought us out some birthday bonbons, which sadly we just couldn't do justice to

So overall - this was one of the best teas I have had in terms of service, the room was magnificent and the food quite exquisite. It was a lovely treat for a birthday , but at £60 a head (as it would have been had we not had the offer) you really need to go along hungry and be prepared to spend a couple of hours eating and just enjoy the historical atmosphere.