Tag Archives: cake

London Underground Afternoon Tea at Park Lane Hotel

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To celebrate 150 years of our London Underground network, the Park Lane Hotel have whipped up a marvellously quaint themed tea.

A short walk from Green Park station, this beautiful Art Deco hotel feels strangely out of place on the busy main road. Inside the staff glide around quietly and guests chat in hushed voices. This allows the harpist’s music to fully fill the room and sitting on a plush sofa, the rippling tunes in my ear, it soon seemed like the ideal place for a nap.

Before the ‘tube food’ arrived we were treated to a Metropolitan 1863 cocktail – a blend of Beefeater 24 gin and blackcurrant tea. I found this concoction a little watery and flavourless, the gin seemed almost entirely absent. Jasmine peach flowering tea soon arrived, a much more pleasant and subtle accompaniment for teatime food.

First stop on our culinary journey… a plate of super cute sandwiches. Appropriately chosen flavours include a ‘London Bridge’ roll with egg, crème fraîche, sun-blushed tomatoes and rocket; Warm leek, asparagus and double ‘Gloucester Road’ tart (delicious); Saffron ‘Circle and District Line’ roulade with coronation chicken and spinach and mini ‘Royal Oak’ smoked salmon bagels.  With their hollow centres guests are reminded by a tiny flag to “mind the gap”.

After homemade scones with three varieties of jam, it was time for the cake. I was impressed with the out-of-the-ordinary flavours created by the Park Lane Hotel’s award-winning Pastry Chef, Sarah Hartnett. Scrumptious little sweet bites… and thankfully a conservative portion so we could almost finish the lot, I hate wasting such pretty cakes. Bank is a hazelnut pound Cake, Victoria is an orange Victoria sponge, Paddington presents itself as a honey, lemon and pistachio and Swiss Cottage is a very sweet white chocolate Oreo “roll”. The pastries are so immaculately made, its almost painful to demolish the handmade signs, but once you start it’s difficult to stop.

The tea is fresh, fun and fabulously “London”. And the ideal valentine’s trip for the discerning underground traveller…

The London Underground Afternoon Tea at the Park Lane Hotel will be served from 9th January to 10th March 2013 (3pm-6pm on weekdays and 2pm-6pm at weekends) in The Palm Court and costs £41 per person.  Bookings must be made in advance. Booking information here.

Svenskt Tenn, Afternoon Tea, Stockholm

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Svenskt Tenn is more than just a beautiful design shop. Set up in 1924 by Estrid Ericson the shop sells everything from fabric to furniture, trinkets and tassels. The prints, the most famous of which resulted from collaborations with the Austrian designer Josef Frank, are bright and bold, colourful and charming. The products are arranged stylishly in the large shop to create a psychedelic and fun venue. Upstairs this iconic Swedish design house offers the prettiest afternoon tea in the city. You sit in picturesque surroundings and are treated to a tiered stand of delights.

The tea salon is subtle and quaint compared to the vibrancy and energy in the rest of the shop. When we arrived at two on Sunday afternoon, the petite room was full of girls conversing and friends catching up… sophisticated but sensible. Founder Estrid Ericson drank her favourite tea twice a day (two and a half cups in the morning and two and a half cups with lunch) so it seems fitting that a tea salon has opened here in her honour.

It is easy to relax at Svenskt Tenn,  we sat down and our waitress brought fresh apple juice immediately to quench our thirst. It was delicious tea, very refined and light, but different and special tasting too. My date doesn’t normally drink tea and even he admitted to enjoying this variety. The Svenskt Tenn tea was our favourite, a lovely, mellow taste.

Afternoon tea can be a rather dry affair (after sitting around all morning) and usually far too much is offered… endless heavy scones and sticky cakes. Svenskt Tenn provides the opposite: a delicate, dainty and modest selection. Attractive squares of Swedish rye bread were adorned with smoked salmon, cream cheese and marinated fennel, hot-out-the-oven small scones with jam and butter and petit fours. It was all delicious, particularly the homemade scones!

Afternoon tea is priced at 230kr per person (approximately £20). You receive all the food I have mentioned and a pot of tea. Svenskt Tenn designs and prints are available to buy in Libertys, though for the real experience I would recommend looking round the Stockholm store followed by their gorgeous afternoon tea, memorable for taste and design.

Visit the Svenskt Tenn website here for more information.

Thanks to visitstockholm.com follow them on twitter for news and information, @visitswedenuk

Afternoon Sport-Tea, Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill

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What better way to celebrate the Olympics and Paralympics than eating a sports inspired tea? No crowds, no queues, no trekking to East London, just lots of delicious food and plenty of style and sophistication. The Hyatt Regency, the Churchill Hotel is currently serving a fun themed afternoon meal offering guests and visitors an opportunity to be part of the games whilst enjoying the indulgences of this luxury hotel.

Conveniently located behind Marble Arch tube station, the Churchill is the ideal combination of traditional and contemporary with an eccentric collection of art from the Saatchi Gallery making the lobby and dining area colourful and quirky. We sat at a pleasant table by the window and enjoyed a relaxing tea. Service was modest and prompt, our waiter was friendly and often stopped by to check if we needed more tea or food.

The best things in life often begin with a glass of chilled champagne and at the Hyatt, the Lanson bubbly was utterly delicious, the perfect start to our weekend. We gulped it down and awaited our food which seemed to appear only moments later. Three elegant tiers of treats: cucumber, roast beef, prawn, smoked salmon and egg sandwiches, warm fruit and plain scones with clotted cream & jam and a variety of delicately crafted cakes.

Everything was fresh and immaculately prepared. My favourite sandwich was the cucumber and cream cheese which was made with a delicious herby bread and just the right amount of filling; my granny adored the plump pink prawn sandwiches. The scones were divine, scrumptious homemade buns piping hot from the oven. We indulged with plenty of thick cream and dollops of strawberry jam. To accompany our food, we each chose a favourite tea blend from the list, blackcurrant for my granny, and fresh mint for me… both light and refreshing.

I relished the swimming pool cake, a tiramisu-like flavour with layers of soft creamy mousse and espresso soft cake with an alarmingly blue icing. The macaroons were a little too chewy for my tastes, though I loved the aesthetics of the bright orange basketball decoration. We also received meringue topped shuttlecock cupcakes, chocolate ganache tennis rackets and a weight-lifting cake-pop. The patissier’s selection all looked beautiful and even though some of the cakes were a little bland, I was completely captivated by the invention used to create this assortment of sweets.

Whether you’re sporty or not, I can guarantee you’ll enjoy this chic afternoon tea, and with the sports in full swing there is no better time to try it.

Sport-Tea with a glass of champagne is priced at £35 per person.

See here for more information.