A spot of tea and a spate of sandwiches at one of London’s poshest hotels.
I’ve said before that indulging in afternoon tea is a bit of a mission in London. Arranging a tea outing requires not only a considerable amount of advance planning, but a heaping serving of unwavering fortitude in the face of rejection. I say this as someone who tried to take their boyfriend out for afternoon tea for his birthday in February. Leaving the appointment-making until the last second, I suffered a number of “Sorry, we’re booked solid!”s until I was finally able to secure a spot at a suitable venue, the swanky Lanesborough Hotel. The catch? Their earliest weekend opening wasn’t until the end of April. Two and a half months after Liebling’s birthday. Sigh.
Now, this would have been fine, except soon after this triumph I received an invitation to attend a press trip to Spain, which I accepted. Conveniently (not), I was slated to go sunning and skiing in the Sierra Nevada mountain range the exact same weekend as the tea.
I tried to reschedule The Lanesborough, to no avail. Luckily, however, I managed to bag a slot at the equally chi-chi Connaught Hotel in Mayfair… for a Saturday afternoon in June. Better late than never, right?
The Connaught is a 5-star affair that feels enduringly classy, if a bit stuffy. Upon our arrival, we were whisked into their Espelette restaurant, the location of the afternoon tea, and presented with a menu of their offerings.
Liebling and I opted for the 38 GBP per person ($60 USD) traditional tea, hungrily tearing through a variety of sandwiches cut into neat triangles. We both agreed that these were very good. My favourite was the pickle with montgomery cheddar.
Next, we ploughed into the desserts. While we opted for a traditional tea, I noted the flavours of the pastries didn’t seem that traditional at all, what with daring combinations like mango, violet, and blackcurrant, and exotic fruit garnishes like guava and quince. I’ll be honest, though they were works of art, the flavours didn’t appeal in the least. The chocolate cake, the one thing I thought I would enjoy, ended up being filled with raspberry sauce. While I like both flavours separately, I didn’t take well to eating them in tandem at all.
Thankfully, a round of warm, plump scones made up for my general disappointment with the dessert platter. Fresh, crumbly, and oh-so-good even without the dollop of clotted cream, even hard-to-please Liebling had to comment that they were of exceptional quality.
A nice touch was the small piece of cake they brought out for Liebling’s birthday (when filling out the online reservation form you are asked to specify whether you’re celebrating a special occasion). Even though his special day was more than four months before, he still appreciated the gesture immensely.
I didn’t like the Connaught’s afternoon tea as much the one I did at the beginning of the year at The Royal Horseguards Hotel. For one, the Connaught’s traditional tea is 10 GBP ($16 USD) more than the Royal Horseguards’, though I would argue that the Horseguards’ food quality, menu, and venue are far superior to the Connaught’s. That said, I would still recommend a visit to the Connaught to anyone looking to try afternoon tea in London. Just make sure to book far enough in advance so you can get a table!
Have you ever had afternoon tea?
63 Comments
It all looks quite yummy and better late than never right? 🙂
It’s nice that they acknowledged his Birthday though I believe most establishments do make that effort if informed. What’s funny is the Brit love for ‘afternoon tea’ which is perplexing to my mum & friends. We were at Harrods one day trying to find a place for lunch. When we arrived at the restaurant (5th floor I think) it was packed with afternoon tea guests and the server told us no way could we get a seat. My very health conscious mum was unperturbed and we were happy to find the adjacent Lebanese restaurant (with delicious meze!) was available. We found it interesting that food which is fundamentally so unhealthy (baked goods/confectionery/sugar/cream) can be so coveted and wondered about the rise in diseases such as diabetes and heart disease especially in places were processed, sugary food such as these are eaten!
I digress but though this is fine as the occasional treat, it’s an obsession I cannot wrap my head around.
It’s really not an obsession. The people who go to these places are tourists. Maybe the odd Brit doing something “posh” as a one-off treat they’ll never do again. Old people and very, very rich people might do it often but not your average Brit. It’s definitely not a national obsession, it’s just one of those things that has become a cliché that isn’t true in reality. Try and find a Brit under 60 who had afternoon tea in the past year, and you’ll be looking for a while. Finding one who does it regularly? You won’t.
Oh, and in Harrods, I can almost guarantee that 90% of the people having afternoon tea were tourists. Just like 90% of the people in the shop 😉
Great! Loved this post 🙂 I am so fond of afternoon tea that I couldn’t keep myself from reading this post! Thanks for sharing!
Ooo this looks fancy and delicious! I love afternoon tea. I have no idea why eating tiny sandwiches and cake is so much nicer than big slices but it really is.
Take me back to decent Afternoon Teas in the UK. The scones look especially yummy.
I have had afternoon tea! I do quite enjoy it. Last year for my grandmother in laws birthday we went to afternoon tea in Melbourne. It was pretty fancy and even better than that – they gave us (she and I are gluten free) a huge amount of gf sweets and gf sandwiches, which was lovely.
I’ve had afternoon tea a few times in Bermuda and locally here in Los Angeles, but not when I was in London for some reason. It’s too bad that the desserts didn’t taste as good as they look. I love a good scone and the ones pictured look delicious!
Oh my goodness, those cakes look SINFUL!!!! <3 My mom and I have gone to "tea" lunches in the US before but I'm sure the experience is much better in England 🙂
Looks really yummy, but 38 GBP per person? Ouch!
I have to try tea there next time. I ended up doing my first London tea at Soho’s Secret Tea Room 😀
Nice! Never heard of that one!
Wow – that was per person?! I was thinking “That would make a great birthday present…” Buuuuutttt, what I could do with 76GBP is astonishing.
Ah well – you can’t put a price on experience and it looks like an awesome one!
Yes, per person, unfortunately! Tea is a very cool British tradition, but not cheap in the least!
Absolutely love afternoon. Unfortunatley I’ve never had a “posh” afternoon tea but tea and scones with jam and cream can’t be beaten especially when they are homemade.
I’ve only had afternoon tea once, at the Victoria Falls Hotel in Zimbabwe this past June. Everyone there was a tourist and there were warthogs munching on the lawn while we ate, but the atmosphere was undoubtedly old colonial Britian. Waiters dressed up in what i can only describe as “manservant” cosumes. Disturbing but fun. I think a lot of the old British colonies have these quirky traditions left over from decades ago, and to see them is to see a part of british history. Plus the cakes were yummy! I loved your post, and your writing as ever..always insightful and fresh.
Hello,
I love going to afternoon the. I live in Maryland and usually go to tea in Washington, DC. I am trying to hit the holidays teas at all the luxury hotels. It is great seeing The Hay-Adams and Willard hotels decked out for the holiday. I go to teas year round but Xmas is special.
I enjoy you showing the fare and surroundings at your various teas. Happy Holidays!!!!!
Hey Gwen. I live in DC too so thanks for the tip about the hotel teas during the holidays. Have you ever had tea at the O street mansion? Its an old mansion turned hotel/museum which has a good tea and after that you can explore the mansion and find all their secret rooms. It apparently has over 60 secret hidden rooms but I have only been able to find 6.
Hey YaYa,
No I haven’t been to the O street Mansion but I looked it up and it looks interesting. I will suggest to my Tea group. This year we will be going to the Jefferson hotel and The Hay-Adams.
Happy Holidays
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