A couple of weekends ago, a group of Bali Babes met up for a weekend in London having Adventures. Made up of ladies from different places in Europe, we had imaginatively nicknamed ourselves ‘The Eurobitches’.
On The Way To The Lanesborough
The weekend was a chance to get together, have a giggle, chat, eat, get fancied up and try different things.
One of those was having an Afternoon Tea at a posh London hotel.
I had gone onto Google and had a look at all the options that we could have, especially those that were near The Strand, which is where we had an event planned for later on in the evening.
Options, Options
Several hotels had come up, and went onto Maps to see just where these places were located and if they were at all feasible with the time frame we had.
Mocking up a little map, I listed and circled where the Hotels were and then put all the different menus on our group chat and let the ladies decide.
We eventually made a group decision to try The Lanesborough, which was offering a Queen Charlotte themed Afternoon Tea.
The Menu
Now, if you are not a fan of the Bridgerton series, Queen Charlotte has her own beautiful yet poignant love story. This had been taken on by The Lanesborough and they had even created a cocktail/mocktail to go with the tale.
I rang the hotel to book 5 people for 3.30pm, including one vegetarian menu. I also mentioned that two people would require the mocktails, as we were tee-total.
Beautifully Set
Grabbing an Uber from the rented house, we got there with five or so minutes to spare. The car doors were opened up by fabulous doormen with bowler hats and overcoats on.
We had a bit of banter about my pink fedora and I offered to swap hats with one of them. Sadly he didn’t want to give his Bowler up, so I had to stick with what I had.
Entering the Hotel, we were faced with huge floral arrangements, a roaring fire and exceedingly helpful staff. Directing us to the cloakroom, we handed over our coats, hats and more before heading into the Lanesborough Grill which is where the Afternoon Tea is held.
The Lanesborough Grill
We were seated at a beautiful table under a massive chandelier; the tinkling sound of a grand piano playing in the background.
I sat on a delightful blue tasselled sofa, next to Lisa and our waitress came over to discuss the options with us. Offering water before we started, we opted for a bottle of sparkling and a bottle of still water.
The menus were already set out on the place settings and I opted to take pictures instead of really reading what I was going to have as my choice of tea.
Tea Time
When our server came to take our order, I hastily ordered a rhubarb and vanilla tea, not thinking that this would be a ‘fruit’ tea rather than a proper cup of tea.
Large silver teapots were brought over to the table for everyone; most had chosen the Queen Charlotte Afternoon Tea blend, black tea with tones of fruit and rose petals. Mine was poured and it looked like weak Ribena.
Two for Tea
Damn it. I should have read the menu better!
Thankfully you could order more tea if required, but for now I would make do with the water and my mocktail.
Oooh talking about mocktails, the tea came with the choice of either a cocktail, mocktail or Champagne. I obviously went with the non-alcoholic option which was served in a martini style glass. Noughty non-alcoholic wine, cranberry juice, lychee, vanilla and lime are all combined to make a fruity, sharp drink with a back note of sweetness.
Cocktail and Mocktails
Three of the party went with the cocktail, which had the same flavours but included Gin and Chambord to give it an alcoholic kick.
The stands containing food were brought out to our table and looked beautiful; sandwiches, pastries and cake were displayed on each level, it was certainly Instagram worthy.
Bali Babes
The bottom layer contained a variety of finger sandwiches; tea cured salmon with lemon and caper cream, Coronation chicken with golden raisins and fresh coriander, devilled egg mayonnaise with mustard cress and organic cucumber, cream cheese, basil and chive.
On top of the sandwiches sat a Montgomery cheddar scone topped with cheese custard.
Savouries
As I am not a lover of smoked salmon, that was the only one that didn’t really interest me. However, I would give it a try because it was different to normal and maybe this time I would enjoy it.
Sadly not.
For me, the texture of the salmon is the issue, not the taste as such. No matter what, I gave it my best shot!
Pretties in Pink
However, the rest of the sandwiches were fantastic, in fact the Coronation chicken has the best Coronation chicken I have ever had in my life and is it is one of my favourite fillings, that says a lot.
The scone was marvellous; very moreish with the most amazing custard filling. So cheesy and full of flavour that I was sad that there was only one of them on the plate.
Three Tiers of Tea
On the second level were the prettiest pastries you could imagine; purple, violet and marbled blue adorned the plate.
Firstly there was a perfect violet design which was filled with a berryiolette pistachio gateau on a vanilla biscuit base. A sliver of purple chocolate adorned the top of ‘The Danbury Delight” which was etched with a delicate pattern.
Pretty Pastries
The next pastry was “The King George – Dreams of Venus” which was a white and blue marbled orb set on a cocoa sable base. Our server had explained that it was a 54% chocolate mousse with a dark chocolate ganache and so I have to admit that I didn’t eat that one at all as I am not a fan of heavy chocolate offerings.
Pastry no 3 was my absolute favourite (or so I thought) in “The Lady Violet” which was a shortbread base, chocolate bavaroise with mango compote and a lime Chantilly. The long shape had a beautiful violet tempered chocolate lid decorated with little white flowers and green strands.
Three For Tea
The very top of the stand had the crowning glory, literally.
“Your Majesty” was a sharing cake made of a strawberry scented bavaroise with orange gel, and an almond base. On the top was a beautiful Royal icing crown decorated with pearls on the tips.
Your Majesty
It all looked so pretty that it was almost a shame to break into them to eat.
Before we did, there was a delivery of scones which were a combination of plain and fruit. These arrived with a plate containing clotted cream, jam and lemon curd, all of which were absolutely wonderful.
Earl Grey Time
As I didn’t like my tea, and Boo didn’t like her ‘normal’ tea, we did a swap and I consumed her Queen Charlotte tea. Eventually there was none left so I ordered a pot of Earl Grey which many know to be my absolute favourite.
We ordered another round of sandwiches which was probably a bit of a mistake because it was then that the feeling of fullness hit.
Super Scones
Luckily boxes are available to parcel up those items you cannot manage and so we decided that there were quite a few bits that we would opt to take home rather than stuffing ourselves silly to the point of bursting
I hadn’t even tried “Your Majesty” so that went into our box, along with a handful of sandwiches, Lady Violet and King George pastries. The boxes were beautiful in themselves and places into a card bag with ribbon handles.
Her Royalness
We finished our tea and cocktails and settled the bill, which was quite hefty given the price was £90 per person for the experience, plus water and service charges.
So, was it worth the price tag?
A couple of our party had never experienced an afternoon tea, so didn’t have any scope for opinion as such. However certainly Boo and I have experienced several afternoon tea’s in London and as such could compare.
Crown Silliness
Whilst the surroundings were absolutely stunning, the piano delightful and the table setting beautiful, both Boo and I felt we had better Afternoon tea experiences at other places, with Sketch being our absolute favourite.
The novelty of it being Queen Charlotte’s story was lovely however for the price, then £14 for two refillable bottles of water, plus over £70 service charge, it was quite pricy for what you received, especially as the top cake was one that had to be split in half, including a Royal Icing crown (which was not easy)
Five Do Tea
Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice experience but not one I would rush to go back to.
Comparing the offering at Sketch for £80, this includes 6 petit gateaux (not 3) and handmade cake slice from the trolley. You also have the artwork and unusual surroundings to focus on and enjoy.
However, to be honest it was more about the company sat at the table and experiencing something together, which I have to say, was worth every penny spent.
Beautiful Babes
Till next time,
SPSG xxx