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.
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.
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.
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 .
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 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 .
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