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 !