The Stafford hotel afternoon tea for mothers Day - St James Place London

 Saturday  I took my mum to afternoon  tea at the Stafford hotel in St James Place London for her Mothers Day gift. I came across this on the www.afternoontea.co.uk website  and it looked nice and I had not been there before. It was reasonably priced at £45 each. 

Upon arriving at the hotel we had to walk past a lovely garden area outside at the back which was like a courtyard. The hotel was traditional and nicely furnished inside and the afternoon tea is served in the Game Bird restaurant.

Once seated we were handed the menu and asked f we had any allergies. I explained that we did not eat fish and my mum does not like mustard or mayonnaise . We ordered a cappuccino  and a glass of tap water each. 

Afternoon Tea A Journey through St James’s 

Sandwiches 

H Forman & Son smoked salmon 

Cucumber and cream cheese

 Honey-roast Wiltshire ham and mustard 

Savoury Truffled egg and watercress brioche bun 

Scones

 Plain and raisin, whipped clotted cream, strawberry jam Paxton & Whitfield Westcombe Cheddar, soft cheese and chives

 Sweet

Foster & Son’s chocolate shoe horn

 Henry Poole & Co shortbread ‘Tuxedo’ James.

 J. Fox chocolate cigar chocolate and hazelnut mousse

 Floris English strawberry and rose water cupcake 

Lock & Co white chocolate and lime ‘Top Hat’ 

£45 per person 

With a glass of Louis Roederer Collection 242 Champagne £60 per person

The coffee was very nice and I noticed that the restaurant was getting busy. We waited about 15 minutes for the cake stand to arrive 

The cake stand was an oblong shape rather than the traditional round style. My mum got her sandwiches on a separate plate as they made her an egg roll without the mayonnaise and ham without the mustard. 

We got 3 sandwiches each and a little roll . They were nice and fresh but would of been better if some of the sandwiches had brown bread  not just plain white. Also I think they could of given  another sandwich each as looked rather small on the plate 

The middle plate had  2 scones each plus a tiny savory cheese scone. They were freshly baked as still a bit warm. I think they were slightly over baked  as bit dark on top !!!! 

We got a large pot of cream cheese and chive to go with the cheese scone which was very small  and I  would of liked more of them. It was a bit dry as baked too long in oven but tasted nice once topped with the cream cheese. 

The fruit and plain scones were nice but nothing special. 

Whilst eating the scones we ordered another coffee each 
 

Lastly we tucked into the cakes ...I was disappointed that we only got one of each so had to cut them all in half !!!!

I thought the theme was very good as the cakes resembled  the shops within the St James area near the hotel. On the way to the hotel we passed the J, Fox cigar shop and the Floris perfume shop. The chocolate cigar was extremely chocolaty with a very soft mouse inside . The top hat had a thin shinny dark chocolate coating with a soft white mouse which had a subtle lime flavor. This was my mums favorite.  The shortbread biscuit was nice and the shoe horn was just white chocolate. I think I liked the vanilla cupcake best however I did not get the rose water flavor . The butter ream flower on top was nice but the sponge slightly dry . 

As I ordered another coffee at the end the waitress did offer us some more cakes.. 

I asked if I could  have another cupcake so she brought us two one each.  Its a shame they did not offer us any more sandwiches however I did hear another table ask for some.  To  be honest with you we did not want any extra sandwiches but I think it is always good service to be offered them. 

The overall service and tea was OK but nothing special......

Nearest Station :     Green Park underground - about 6 minute walk

Best bits : The clever theme of the cakes 

Worst bits : The overbaked scones and only one of each cake 

Value for money : No as did not get many sandwiches and cakes on the stand  

would I go back? :  No unless they have a new theme or special offer  

Melody restaurant afternoon tea exceeded expectations - St Pauls hotel in Hammersmith , London

 I have decided to go to at least one afternoon tea every month for this year which should not be too hard to do.  January I took my mum to Café Royal for her birthday and for February I went to a lovely afternoon tea at the Melody restaurant in the quaint St Paul's hotel in Hammersmith, London. I got a great deal on this champagne afternoon tea for 2 from Buyagift. it is currently on offer priced at  £49 instead of £76 and then I had a £10 discount code to use so cost me £39 for 2.....which was a bargain as it was very nice indeed. 

The hotel is small and was originally St. Pauls School designed by Alfred Waterhouse in 1884, the architect of the Natural History Museum. St. Pauls was the location of the historic meeting of Eisenhower, Montgomery and Winston Churchill to plan the D Day landings. St Paul's Hotel was also the setting of the 1971 film “Melody”, an international cult film about youth and lost love.

To get inside the hotel we walked through a brick arch with a door to the reception and the other end led out onto a long patio area with outdoor seating . The reception was small and traditional looking inside with a door leading into the Melody restaurant and Whiskey bar. 

The Whisky bar looked amazing with so many different bottles of whisky on shelves and in cabinets . I will defiantly have to bring my husband here at some point.

The restaurant is small inside with about 12 tables and chairs light inside with large windows looking onto the outdoor seating area. It's painted in a light fresh colour scheme with panels  and has a lovely Chandleier hanging down in the middle. 

The waitress seated us by a window and confirmed our allergies with us. The menu did not go into detail of the sandwiches or cakes just the price but it did have a long list of different teas. 

I decided to try the summer berries fruit tea and my mum ordered a cappuccino. A waiter then poured us each a lovey glass of chilled bubbly....not sure what it was but tasted very nice. 

When the tea stand arrived it was very  full and my mum got her sandwiches on separate plate without any mayonnaise. 

There was a cucumber and cream cheese one, chicken, egg mini brioche roll and a crisp bread with beetroot on top. I liked the egg brioche one best. They were nice a fresh and tasty 😋

The scones were very large and we got a cinnamon fruit one each plus a plain one along with a large pot of jam and clotted cream. They were slightly warm still so freshly baked. 

We both thought they were extremely nice and light and fluffy and my mum said that the cinnamon fruit one was one of the bet scones she has had.....I second that.  The only complaint we had was the jam was more like jelly than jam with not much flavour. 

Before tucking into the cakes we ordered a coffee each as I had finished my fruity tea which was I did enjoy. 

There were 6 little cakes each on the top tier and they all looked nice. They consisted of a chocolate cream choux bun, fruit cream tart, mini red coconut Battenberg ,  Lemon macaroon, panna cotto with orange and a very chocolaty ganache black forest slice. They were very different from each other in flavour. I liked them all equally and did not have a favourite.

Throughout our afternoon tea the service was very good and although we did not get offered any extra food I think they would of given us some if we had asked. 

Lovely little hotel and would recommend 

Nearest Station :     Barons Court or Hammersmith   underground - about 10 minute walk

Best bits : The delicious scones and cakes 

Worst bits : The jelly like jam which lacked flavour but that is the only thing

Value for money : Yes defiantly as service very good and plenty of lovely food  

would I go back? : Yes and I think I will take hubby there 

 

Piglets pantry Valentines afternoon tea at home

 This year to celebrate Valentines day I had to settle for an afternoon tea at home on Sunday as my hubby wanted to watch the England rugby game on TV. He also wanted to watch our  local Rugby club match on Saturday afternoon so could not book anything for either afternoon and Monday we are both working.   This did not stop me from having an afternoon tea for Valentine day  as I ordered one online to be delivered from Piglets Pantry. 

I have ordered from them before  the classic afternoon tea which I thought was very nice and good value. 

They are doing  a special Valentines themed one prices at £35 and serves 2. It consists of the below    

2 X BUTTERMILK SCONES

2 X POTS OF TIPTREE CHERRY JAM

2 X POTS OF RODDA’S CLOTTED CREAM

2 X TEAPIGS TEA BAGS

1 X PASSIONFRUIT AND MASCARPONE LOAF CAKE

1 X MOCHA LOAF CAKE

2 X PROFITEROLES (FLAVOURS VARY – RHUBARB AND CUSTARD, BANOFFEE, LEMON CHEESECAKE)

1 X CHOCOLATE COVERED DECADENT RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE COVERED IN VALRHONA RUBY SENSATIONS RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE

1 X TRADITIONAL SAUSAGE ROLLS

1 X LAMB KOFTA SAUSAGE ROLL

2 X BEEF BRISKET AND SMOKED APPLEWOOD CHEESE QUICHES

2 X TIKKA SPICED SCOTCH EGG 

All this for £35 I think is very good value and delivered in a lovely pink box with tissue paper and dry ice bags to keep it cool. 

I did add some macaroons that I already had in the freezer and I could not resist buying a Colin and Connie cake from M&S that will probably save till tomorrow as feeling rather full now !!!!!!

I laid the food out nicely on the table and opened a bottle of Prosecco ........

The savouries I warmed up in the oven and they all tasted very nice, we liked the lamb sausage roll best.  

Whilst the scones were warming in oven we had the cakes next. Four different ones including a lovely raspberry cheesecake in shape of the word LOVE. 

I liked the Passion fruit one with poppy seeds best along with the cheesecake whilst my hubby liked the coffee flavoured one. 

They all tasted delicious and we was very impressed with them all. 

A few glasses of Prosecco later we tucked onto the plain scones which warmed up and topped with cherry jam and clotted cream were very nice !!!!!!

Very nice afternoon with lots of lovely food whilst hubby watches the England Game. 

I seriously recommend ordering from Piglets Pantry and already wondering if they will do a special Afternoon Tea for Mothers day ?  

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY 

Van Gough themed afternoon tea at Hotel Cafe Royal - Regent street , London

 Yesterday I treated my mum to an afternoon tea for her birthday. As neither of us had been here before and as it was a special occasion I choose to take my mum to Cafe Royal as had been told it was a very nice. The afternoon tea had a Van Gough theme to it. 

It is priced at £65 each so not cheap therefore I was expecting it to be very good which luckily it was !!!!!

Upon walking in,  the lobby was modern looking which I thought was strange as an old hotel . In the middle of the lobby area was a round table with lots of tall glass vases filled with fresh flowers. The table sat under a very long modern light that hung above it. 

We was shown the way to the Oscar Wilde room where the afternoon tea is served. 

Wow this room was in no way modern but instead very traditional and I think not changed much since it opened in 1865. It was named Oscar Wilde room  in honor of their most famous patron to dine there.

The room is heavily gilded in gold with a high ceiling with paintings on. As I walked in my first impression was how dark it was but at the same time how beautiful it was. My mum said that  back in the eighteenth century rooms were dark as lit by candles. There was a man playing a piano in the middle of the long room which had lots of low dark wood tables covered in crisp white tablecloth  with red low chairs around. 

On our table was a menu which was of high quality and contained many pages. It gave information on Van Gough and how the food resembled his paintings. It also listed all the teas available and there were quite a few.....

https://806d2bf04cf5fa54997a-e7c5344b3b84eec5da7b51276407b19c.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/u/A5_VG_MENU_STANDARD_200721.pdf

As you may know I am not a tea drinker but  do not mind the fruity herbal ones sometimes. The waiter recommend the Starry Night tea which I decided try. So glad I did as it was nothing like tea but fruity and sweet. It was blue in color when poured from the teapot but changed to a deep pink purple color once you added the lemon juice in the jug. Bit of a gimmick but very clever and as they say ' little things please little minds' 

The tea stand arrived with two plates of sandwiches and a plate of little savories on the top. These were a tiny crispy slice of bread with chopped tomatoes on  plus we got a small pastry tart each filled with tender rich roasted lamb. It was delicious and so much flavor in the lamb.

We got four sandwiches each in different types of bread. They were extremely fresh and very nice. I think the chicken one was nicest and you could taste the lemon in it. 

Once we had finished these sandwiches we were offered more but decided not too as wanted room for the cakes. We did however order more hot drinks and I had a coffee this time. 

The cakes and scones arrived together .......they were pieces of art in themselves and each one represented a painting by Van Gough

The waiter explained each item and the order we should eat them in. 

Starting with the lemon ice cream which was served in a shot glass. This should of been made to look like a paintbrush according to the menu . Maybe it melts too quickly that way !!!!!

This was so creamy in texture with just the right amount of lemon.....very nice and my mum liked this best of all. 

Next we eat tucked into the blue dessert called The Starry night . Its amazing how they got the painted effect on the chocolate . Once you crack open the chocolate shell you get a soft light creamy filling with a orange flavor. I really enjoyed eating this one as so creamy yet light and not too sickly. 

The self portrait was next to eat and this was like a chocolate crunchy pecan cake square with coffee mouse. This was very nice too. The final cake before the scones was the chocolate dome shape inside the metal sunflower stand. This represented the painting called 'Vase with Twelve Sunflowers' however we only got two sunflowers !!!!!. This cake was very chocolaty and you could taste the salted caramel . 

I was impressed with all the cakes as not only did they look fantastic but they tasted lovely too. 

The grand finale to a amazing afternoon tea was the scones. We got a plain one and raisin one each with two different jams and thick clotted cream . The jam was more like jelly with no bits of fruit visible  which was a bit disappointing . The scones were extremely light and fluffy inside which is how I like them to be. 

I must mention that when I booked this up online I informed them it was my Mums birthday so halfway through our afternoon tea the pianist started to play Happy Birthday and the waiter brought a plate with two chocolates and candle in to my mum. This was such a nice touch and she keep saying how did they know it was my birthday.....

Very nice afternoon tea with an unusual theme. Looking forward to seeing what the theme is next time as may need to go back there 

Nearest Station : Piccadilly Circus  - about 5 minute walk

Best bits : The unusual theme and the gold decorated  lounge the tea is served in  plus fresh sandwiches and lovely  cakes.   

Worst bits : The jelly like jam if I had to mention something and perhaps the lights could of been a bit brighter 

Value for money : It was expensive but nice as a special treat and the food and service was of a high standard 

would I go back? : Yes if they did a different theme 

Last afternoon tea for 2021 - St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London

 Wonderful last afternoon tea for 2021.......

Nice way to finish 2021 with a lovely afternoon tea with my hubby at the very grand Renaissance hotel in Kings Cross London. Last time I went here was same date 30th December 2 years ago in 2019 pre COVID..........

It was still just as good as I remember with the lovely grand hotel front to the open plan Hansom lounge with high metal beamed glass ceiling all lit up. I had purchased a Buyagift voucher some time ago to use for this which I purchased with a discount code. I paid just  £67.50 for bottomless champagne afternoon tea for 2 which was bargain as menu price is £56 each with just a glass of champagne. 

As it was Christmas they were serving the Winter LK Bennett themed afternoon tea. 

When we arrived at 3pm the lounge was very empty which I was surprised by. We were shown to our table which had two nice chairs and a large blue velvet sofa. We sat on the chairs and put our coats and bag on the sofa next to us. Behind me was the bar which was decorated with a garland and large red bow above it. At the other end by the entrance was a very large Christmas tree with lots of twinkly lights. These were the only decorations plus a small pot with green branches on each table. 

On our table was the menu which sounded very nice. https://www.thehansom.co.uk/resourcefiles/pdf/winter-lk-bennett-afternoon-tea.pdf

The waitress offered us a glass of ice tap water before bringing over a bottle of champagne and pouring us a glass each. The bottle was put in a silver ice bucket next to our table. Last time we came the drink was served in gold metal goblets and we had Chapel Down English sparkling wine. It was this visit that got us interested in English wines and our trip to the Chapel Down vineyard.

The sandwiches were brought out on an individual  plate each and the same with the four cakes  each which were placed on the tall silver stand next to us. As I remembered last time the scones are served at the very end. 

The sandwiches consisted of  Smoked salmon, citrus herb mayonnaise,  Coronation chicken Golden sultanas Truffled hen egg  Mustard cress, Cucumber Whipped salted butter and Slow roast English beef, horseradish cream. I liked the chicken one the best but they were all nice and tasty. We were not offered any extra which was a shame. 

By now we had drunk over half of the bottle of champagne and I decided it was time for a coffee to go with the cakes. My husband ordered a pot of tea. 

The cakes looked and tasted nice ......there was a red velvet cake , chocolate choux bun, berry mouse on sponge and an extremely soft and creamy pink rose which looked pretty and tasted of rose water. I liked it however my hubby was not keen. My favourite cake was the red velvet slice.

An hour into our tea and one bottle of champagne later I noticed that is was getting busy in the lounge with people coming and going. 

Second bottle of champagne opened it was time for the scones.......

They were freshly baked and still warm, a plain one each and fruit one each with a little jar of Tiptree jam each and a large pot filled with clotted cream to share. Lovely way to finish this afternoon tea.

I asked the waitress if there was anything to pay for and she said it was all covered by the voucher. 

We left a cash tip on the table as was very happy with the food and service. 

Nearest Station : Kings Cross St Pancras  station - about 7 minute walk

Best bits : The lovely lounge and lighting plus the nice fresh sandwiches and warm scones   

Worst bits : None but if I have to write something  just think they could of offered us more food  

Value for money : Yes defiantly with my voucher and for such a  nice hotel.

would I go back? : Yes I would go back maybe Christmas 2022 

Happy New Year to you all and here's to many new afternoon teas in 2022