I have a love-hate relationship with afternoon tea. As a concept it makes little sense, because lunch and dinner become immediately redundant. That being said it is lovely in a romantically English way, and I can normally fit in an extra meal, so I shouldn’t be complaining. Often when I review afternoon tea I feel the offering is overpriced and rarely fresh, eating nearly stale sandwiches and saccarine sweet cakes is not worth £30 a head… but at Four Seasons Park Lane I am pleased to report that I was truly stunned by the delicious and immaculate presentation of treats.

My best friend is almost professional in her tea drinking skills, so I knew instantly that she would gladly be my date for the Four Seasons afternoon eating extravaganza. It was gone four when the food starting arriving, and we were famished. The hotel felt grand but relaxed on a Saturday afternoon. We sat in the Amaranto Lounge listening to the live piano music and sipping rose Veuve Clicquot champagne, and I couldn’t think of a nicer way to spend the weekend.

To celebrate the start of the summer season Four Seasons Park Lane have created a charming ‘Journey through British Summertime’ Afternoon Tea which features some favourite English ingredients whilst recognising some of the most prestigious British summertime events. The pastry section of the tea exceeded all expectations, a beautiful array of immaculate cakes. From Wimbledon-inspired choux pastry with cherry compote to the Pimm’s infused baba to remind guests of boozy picnics at Glynbourne Opera, each item was as pretty as it was tasty. My absolute favourite was the Strawberries and cream lady finger with pink champagne pearls, a subtle and exquisite mouthful of joy.

The savoury sandwiches celebrate some of the best British producers. Locally sourced ingredients help make the Coronation chicken, cucumber with cream cheese, Smoked salmon and sweet pea mousse, crab and Ploughman’s sandwiches flavoursome and fresh.

My favourite part of afternoon tea is the scones, with jam and clotted cream. They arrived after the sandwiches and cakes, still hot from the oven. The scones were a smaller size than usual so it seemed okay to enjoy two or three of them! Served with the thickly, most decadent clotted cream, strawberry jam and rhubarb jam. At this stage we also picked our preferred tea from the Jing menu. I decided on White tea, for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised by the aromatic and floral taste.

The Journey Through British Summer Time Afterrnoon Tea is served daily from 3pm to 6pm in the Amaranto Lounge or outdoors on the terrace and costs £42 per person or £55 including a glass of Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne.

More information about the afternoon tea at the Four Seasons Park Lane here.