Ramblings of a Devoted Tea Drinker's Afternoon Tea Wish List

Today I wanted to talk about some of the cafes/tea rooms/hotels that have been on my afternoon tea wishlist for some time now. I actually wanted to post this as my first post of 2016, but over Christmas I was drowned in revision for my mock exams (boo) to have time to write this post and haven't got round to writing this post until now, so lets just pretend its the first of January today, shall we? (even though it's march)...to make me feel like an organised blogger who can balance A' levels and blogging ahaha!

So here are the top 5 afternoon tea's on my hit lit...

The Parlour, West Bridgford, Nottingham - theparlourwestbridgford.co.uk/
The Parlour is a beautiful independent vintage tearoom located in Central Avenue in West Bridgford, Nottingham. I have walked passed The Parlour like a million times but I've never got round to going there for some odd reason. It's so beautifully decorated from the outside and looks very unique. They always post pictures of the afternoon tea they offer on their twitter account and it makes my mouth water every time I see it! Time permitting I will definitely be checking this one out in the next few months!

The Ritz - www.theritzlondon.com/afternoon-tea-reservations/
The Ritz is a 5-star hotel located in Piccadilly in London, it is one of the world's most prestigious hotels! The Ritz has acquired its reputation as "the place for tea" after World War I. In my opinion the Ritz is the ultimate afternoon tea location, so is definitely on my hit list this year (hopefully).

The Plaza Hotel, New York - www.theplazany.com/dining/palmcourt/ 

So this next place is a tad very unrealistic for this year, but I just had to include it in my list! I have always wanted to visit New York, so afternoon tea + New York = happy Nishah! Also, ever since watching Home Alone 2: Lost in New York I have wanted to visit the Plaza Hotel. The afternoon tea the Plaza offers looks so grand and luxurious. It would be great to experience an afternoon tea outside of the UK to see how similar/different the experience is (sad I know!!) 

I have always wanted to try a themed afternoon tea but nothing has appealed to me that much until...

The Bobbi Brown Afternoon Tea, Balthazar, London - balthazarlondon.com/bobbi-brown-afternoon-tea/

A MAKEUP THEMED AFTERNOON TEA!! When I heard about this one I instantly wanted to go! As part of the make up brand; Bobbi Brown's 25th Anniversary, they teamed up with the Balthazar Restaurant to make a beauty-inspired Afternoon Tea. The sweet treats are shaped like some of the most popular Bobbi Brown products including the Foundation Stick, the Shimmer Brick and the Gel Eyeliner they sell. This afternoon tea is priced at £25 per person and is only available until  Thursday 29th September - I am hoping to go during the summer this year! They also have made a limited edition lipstick for this afternoon tea...which I may have to treat myself too ;)                  

BB Bakery Afternoon Tea Bus - www.bbbakery.co.uk/afternoon-tea/afternoon-tea-bus-tour/
The last Afternoon tea on my hit list is a bit unusual and a twist on the traditional tea room. The afternoon tea is served on a London bus while visiting popular sights in London! - How cool is that? The bus drives past Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Notting Hill and Trafalgar square, It is priced at £45 per person, not bad for afternoon tea, culture and tourism all in one!

I didn't want to make this post too long so I've only included some of the afternoon tea's on the top of my list! Living in the UK, there are lots of wonderful afternoon tea's on offer, so this is by no means a definitive list. There are in fact lots of afternoon tea's that i would be very happy to try, so there may be some new additions to my list as time goes by! :)

Have you tried any of these afternoon tea's? Are they worth the hype?

See you next time for more of my ramblings!

xx

Read more »

SHARE:

Traditional Afternoon Tea at The Goring Hotel, London

Today I am reviewing the traditional afternoon tea of The Goring Hotel in London .

The Goring Hotel can be found in Belgravia in London, less than a 10 minute walk from Buckingham Palace, perfectly located for sightseeing.  The Goring Hotel is a 5 star hotel that was opened by Otto Goring on 2nd March 1910. What makes the hotel unique is that it is the only remaining hotel in London that is still owned and run by the family that built it! With Otto Goring’s Great-Grandson, Jeremy Goring now running the hotel. When reading up about the hotel I also found that the Goring was the first hotel in the world in which every room had a private bathroom and central heating! 

Today, however the hotel is probably better known for it's royal connection, as the Queen Mother was a regular visitor and more recently the hotel came into the spotlight when Kate Middleton and family stayed there the days before the royal wedding in 2011. So unsurprisingly Afternoon Tea at The Goring  is indeed a posh affair. 

lets just take minute to appreciate how beautiful this wallpaper is!  

The afternoon tea is served in the Bar & Lounge area every day between 3pm - 4pm, and is priced at £42.50. 

We visited during the summer months so were lucky enough to be offered a table on the terrace overlooking the beautiful Goring gardens. On that particular day the sun was shining and there were people  playing croquet on the grass area and others taking strolls through the Goring Gardens. It was a lovely and tranquil environment for enjoying afternoon tea! The terrace is actually well heated so you might still be able to enjoy enjoy tea on the terrace on a more nippy afternoon!

I love the minimal look to the tables!

Our Afternoon Tea started with an amuse bouche to get our taste buds going. This was essentially a  small glass of Cheddar custard, cauliflower cream topped with toasted rice - it was delicious, and very flavoured. 

The waiter then brought out a 3-tiered cake stand containing...

• 8 sandwiches between the two of us.
• 2 Plain Scones and 2 Currant Scones 
• A selection of amazingly delicious desserts: Battenberg Cake, Mandarin Dome with Financier Base, Lemon & Bergamot Meringue Tartlet, Raspberry and Pistachio Choux, White Chocolate Mousse with Strawberry Jam on a Crumble Base.

I was really impressed with all the food especially the desserts, they all looked and tasted amazing. Shame we were so full by the end  that we were struggling to eat all the cakes! Maybe we should've started with the cakes :) My personal favorite was the White Chocolate Mousse, which contained jam and strawberry pieces inside - absolutely divine!

So, finally I can't talk about the Goring without mentioning the impeccable service, as you would expect from a 5 start hotel, the staff were very friendly and attentive. The waitress frequently checked on us and offered to fill our tea cups, so we were never short of tea! I must have had like 6 cups of tea in the 2 hours we were there!

The Goring's Afternoon Tea is definitely fit for a queen. The service, surroundings and food all exceeding my expectations. If you want to treat your self to a 'high end' afternoon tea, then I would recommend the Goring to you!  

See you next time for more of my ramblings 

xx

Read more »

SHARE: