Food: Afternoon Teas with a Twist in London

Afternoon teas are as quintessentially English as you can get but restaurants throughout London are putting their own twist on this traditional treat. The classic afternoon tea dates back to the 19^th Century when the Duchess of Bedford requested a small meal between lunch and dinner. The Duchess requested bread, butter, cake and tea and thus the afternoon tea was born.

Nowadays there’s much more to the art than the poorly-filled finger sandwiches and bone-dry scones that you will find at even some of the best restaurants and hotels. Felix Magazine has compiled a list of London’s most interesting afternoons teas with a twist!

The Rosebery Lounge

Moments from Knightsbridge Tube station and set in an airy lounge that oozes British elegance, the Rosebery Lounge offers a selection of decadent afternoon teas to please every palate.

Whether you’re looking for boozy or bone china, the Rosebery has something for everyone.

Its traditional afternoon tea at £52 per person includes finger sandwiches such as Portland crab, slow roasted chicken or salmon and a selection of hand-made pastries and scones served alongside clotted cream, strawberry jam, rose petal jelly and homemade lemon curd.

A tea master’s afternoon tea (£73) offers the traditional afternoon tea with a selection of teas from its Rare & Limited Tea List.

The Rosebery Lounge also offers a selection of boozy teas in their champagne afternoon tea with a choice of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, Ruinart Rosé or 2007 Bollinger La Grande Année, priced between £63 and £76.

A beer afternoon tea comes with a selection of fancy beers from England, the US and Belgium at £65. If champagne and beer aren’t for you, their final option gives customers a more unusual taste – sake, or Japanese rice wine. The sake afternoon tea has a selection of sake varieties for £84. What’s a better twist on an afternoon tea than a blast of sake?

Address: 66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA

Brunello Bar and Restaurant

The Brunello Bar and Restaurant, near Hyde Park Gate, combines traditional British cuisine and a dollop of Italian flavour.

Brunello’s afternoon tea with an Italian twist consists of sandwiches such as chicken mayo and smoked salmon alongside Italian tastes including focaccia, sundried tomatoes and mozzarella.

Its homemade scones come with jam, clotted cream and Brunello’s take on the Italian classic, Nutella. The cakes feature Italian treasures such as tiramisu, cannelloni stuffed with cream cheese and chocolate, lemon tart and chocolate pastries. The Italian tea is £42 per person. Brunello offers a champagne afternoon tea which is just a touch pricier at £47.

Alongside the Italian and Champagne teas, Brunello offers a traditional afternoon tea with the quintessential tastes of Britain such as roast beef, chicken or salmon sandwiches.

If you want to treat that special someone, there’s the “romantic” afternoon tea which is served with Brut Rosé, fresh strawberries and cream and a lemon mousse. Brunello has an extensive tea list serving everything from English Breakfast to Darjeeling Summer and rhubarb Granny’s Garden.

Address: Hyde Park Gate, SW7 5BB

Teanamu

Why not try an eastern afternoon tea? Teanamu has given the humble afternoon tea a major shake-up.

Diners can choose from two afternoon teas at Teanamu: the Wabi (£25) consists of wakame seaweed bread, pastries and tea and the ichi-go (£30) has open sandwiches such as miso-pickled cream cheese and cucumber, ginger preserve with mature cheddar, and chilli bamboo shoots on egg mayonnaise.

Next come traditional Chinese dim sum – with both meat and veggie – and it is topped off with sweets and pastries such as olive oil lemon cake, scones with rose petal jam and szechuan peppercorn & peanut honeycomb.

The afternoon teas are served with a pot of English tea or herbal teas including rare and aged teas and black, green and white teas.

Address:  4 Melina Rd, Shepherd’s Bush, W12 9HZ

 

by Ella Neish

 

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