For my birthday treat my mum took me to a wonderful afternoon tea in the Park Room Marriott Grosvenor House hotel.
Being a bargain hunter, I told my mum to buy the voucher from Buyagift for champagne afternoon tea for two for £99 which saved her £45 off the hotel menu price. I hate anyone paying full price unless they have too especially as we all need cut back on spending in order to pay the energy bills this year!!!!!
The hotel is very large and in Park Lane adjacent to Hyde Park.
Upon arrival the smartly dressed doorman held the door open as we walked into the large long lobby. It was lovely inside and modern furnished with lovely large lights and vases of fresh flowers. There were lots of bright chairs and sofas scattered around and a lovely modern gas fireplace.
We were a bit early so we checked out the bathroom. It was large with a seating area with dressings tables and mirrors to check your hair and makeup. They had Penhaligon's hand wash and matching cream which smelt lovely.
The afternoon tea is served in the large side room with windows looking out to the street. It has lots of low tables and comfy armchairs plus a pianist playing in the corner. In the middle of the room is a large table with lots of different shape and size vases filled with fresh yellow flowers. We also spotted a Victoria sponge cake and chocolate cake in a glass domed stand by the flowers. Above the table are lots of white butterfly shaped lights hanging down from the ceiling.
My mum said that the hotel just as nice as the Savoy which is her favorite.
We sat at a table for two and my mum found the armchair a bit uncomfortable for her back, so the waitress gave her a cushion which helped.
The menu sounded very nice, and we explained what food we did not eat so they could adapt the sandwiches for us. I had mentiond this upon booking, but they just wanted to confirm.
Selection of Delicate Finger Sandwiche
Cucumber, garden mint butter
Smoked Oakham chicken, tarragon, crème fraîche
Roast Aberdeen Angus beef, creamed horseradish
Honey roast Yorkshire ham, Coleman’s English mustard
North Atlantic cold-water prawn, classic Marie Rose sauce
Open Sandwiches
Foreman’s smoked Scottish salmon,
cream cheese Burford Brown Clarence Court egg, mayonnaise, chive
Plain and Raisin Buttermilk Scones
Devonshire clotted cream accompanied with your choice of British preserves: Strawberry, rose petal, rhubarb and ginger, gooseberry, raspberry, blackcurrant
Assortment of Tantalising Afternoon Tea Pastries
Treacle and orange tart
Almond and cherry Bakewell
Lemon Posset
Raspberry and Masala Bourbon biscuit
Spiced fruitcake
Fresh Home Baked Cakes Offered with your choice of:
Exclusive Tea Selection from Newby £62.50 per person With a glass of non-alcoholic Wild Idol Sparkling Rosé £72.50 per person With a glass of Lanson Black Cuveé Champagne £72.50 per person
I choose a lemon and bergamot tea whilst my mum ordered a cappuccino. We also got a very large full to the brim glass of champagne each.
It was lovely and relaxing sipping our champagne whilst listening to the piano music.
The waitress brought over an aperitif which was a small glass of pear flavor drink which had foam on top and then the glass was topped with some candy floss. It was nice and unexpected.
After about 30 minutes the waitress apologized for the delay in our food and explained that as we made changes to original sandwiches, they were making them especially for us . They kindly offered us a complimentary glass of champagne which was very nice of them. The manager even came over to say he was sorry and that we could have another glass later if we wanted.
We did not mind the wait as it was very relaxing, and the music was nice.
When the tea stand arrived, it looked lovely and worth the wait....
We also got a separate plate with the open sandwiches which was an egg mayonnaise mini bagel for me plus 3 cream cheese and artichoke ones. Then the waitress brought me over 2 chicken tarragon sandwiches and my mum got just plain chicken ones without the mayonnaise. As well as these we got a cucumber one, plain ham without the mustard and beef one with no horseradish.
They tasted nice and very fresh however a bit too plain for me but that is just because my mum is a bit fussy and just likes everything plain !!!! My favorite was the chicken with tarragon mayonnaise and the little egg mayonnaise bagel.
Next we had the scones and did get offered another glass of champagne which I sadly had to refuse as needed to drive home from the station.
The scones were very big and we got two each a plain one and fruit one along with the jams we choose from the 5 different ones offered on the menu plus a pot of thick clotted cream. We choose the raspberry jam, strawberry jam and rose jam as this was an unusual flavor.
The scones were extremely nice and very night and fluffy inside. I tried all 3 jams and liked the rose one as not too strong a rose taste. My mum said they were one of the best scones she had for a while.
After these large scones I was feeling a bit full but still had some room left for the little cakes.
We got 5 different ones to share so cut them all in half which was fine as would not have been able to eat a whole one each. I must say they did not look as nice as what they tasted.
My mum liked the mini fruit cake best as it tasted like Christmas cake but had buttercream inside. The chocolate raspberry slice was my favorite along with the orange treacle tart.
Just as we finished these cakes the waitress asked us if we wanted anything else and offered more sandwiches or scones, so we just ordered a coffee each.
Whilst waiting for the coffees the manager came over to us and asked if we would like a slice of the large cakes on the display table. We felt so full but could not resist as they looked lovely. I had the Victoria sponge cake and my mum the chocolate fudge cake. They were quite big slices as well. We had a taste of each other's, the chocolate cake was very rich and extremely chocolaty.
Just as I finished the Victoria sponge a slice of the Chocolate fudge cake was placed in front of me with a candle in and Happy Birthday wrote on the plate in chocolate. The waiters all sang happy birthday to me and another lady on a table nearby which was really nice and made the perfect ending for my birthday afternoon tea.
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