Yesterday me and my husband had a fantastic afternoon tea that involved cocktails that all contained tea as well as alcohol !!!
I had an old Buyagift voucher for champagne afternoon tea at the Podium Hilton park Lane but was told that they no longer served traditional afternoon tea. At first I was disappointed as this was one of my favorite afternoon teas and where my love of them started back in 2010.
The bar had a modern cozy feel to it and we had a nice round table in a quite corner with curved velvet sofa . The table was nicely laid with a gold tree style cake stand with offset glass plates.
Our waiter was warm and welcoming and very keen to explain about the cocktail afternoon experience. He also noted that I had mentioned upon booking that I do not like fish or seafood.
The first part of the experience was to try out all 5 of the tea alcohol cocktails so we could choose the one we liked best.
COCKTAILS
Cairo Gossip Belvedere, Cocchi Americano, Lime & Egyptian Camomile Tea Syrup, Pommery Brut
Earl Grey Sour Bombay Sapphire infused with Earl Grey Tea, Gomme Syrup, Lemon Juice, Aquafaba
Pistachio Bliss Hennessy VSOP, Frangelico, Amaretto Disaronno, Lemon Juice, Tropical & Pistachio Tea Syrup
Mexican Breakfast Patron Silver infused with English Breakfast Tea, Vida Mescal, Cointreau, Lemon Juice, Gomme Syrup, Saline Solution
Hibiscus Kiss Patron Silver, Hibiscus & Pistachio Tea Beer Cordial
The barman brought over a drinks trolley with 7 brown glass bottles. He poured us a small measure of each one to try and explained what was in them. I think there was only one that I did not like but my favorite was the Earl Grey Sour that had Gin in it. My husband had trouble deciding between Pistachio Bliss that hit you with strong Brandy taste then the nutty taste came through or the Mexican Breakfast that had Tequila but a strong smoky taste that was very unusual. My husband liked it as he likes a smoky whiskey . In the end he choose the Pistachio bliss one.
Next we tried the two non alcoholic ones
NON-ALCOHOLIC COCKTAILS
Blooming Blossom (53 kcal) Clean & Co V, Grapefruit & Sea Blossom Tea Syrup, Lemon Juice, Raspberry Purée, Miraculous Foamer
Moroccan Souk (127 kcal) Clean & Co G, Moroccan Mint Tea & Cucumber Syrup, Honey Water, Lemon
The cocktails were very unusual and glad we got to try them all.
Whilst the barman made up our alcoholic cocktail of choice the waiter brought us the canapes.
Beetroot cheesecake (32 kcal) (vg)
Black truffle macaroon with chicken liver pâté (93 kcal)
Yes this is the correct photo
The one that looks just like a cherry is beetroot and the macaroon is sweet with a chicken liver filling.
Sounds awful and to be honest I do not like chicken liver but my husband said it was very nice and the sweet macaroon complimented the salty chicken liver pate.
Next we got a plate each with the savories on
Mini poached lobster roll with Marie Rose sauce (177 kcal)
Devon handpicked crab, sourdough toast with citrus bisque jelly (30 kcal)
Deconstructed classic chicken Caesar, beet pearl & blue pea flower (62 kcal)
Asparagus panna cotta, egg yolk & sourdough soldiers (55 kcal) (v)
As I do not eat fish they substituted the crab for Celeriac and the Lobster for Tofu.
It was all nice apart from the egg as I did not like the raw egg yolk sitting on top of the asparagus panna cotta. My husband thought it was OK.
The deconstructed chicken Caesar was really nice but just could of done with bigger portions of the savories.
Before the waiter brought out the sweet stuff he took our orders for hot drinks. I ordered the Pink Tropics herbal tea that was nice and fruity
When the cakes came out along with the scones I was amazed at how good they looked.
First we had the scones a fruit one and plain one each with our own pot of homemade jam and thick clotted cream. The scones were delicious so light and fluffy my hubby said they were the best ones he has ever had.
Lastly we had the three cakes each along with our other non alcoholic cocktail
Triple chocolate sandwich (398 kcal) (v)
Strawberry and citrus (332 kcal)
They were all amazing and tasted delicious but my best one by far the carrot cheesecake. Crisp thin biscuit base with hint of ginger , soft carrot cake sponge inside a soft creamy mouse then covered in a green chocolate that had a lime flavor. As Craig says on Strictly A MAZE ING and a 10 from me !!!
As you can imagine after eating all this food i was feeling very full .
Just before we left the waiter said there was one final thing to add to the experience and then brought over 5 jars of different sweets plus a empty black box each to put some in to take home.
REVERY PIC ‘N’ MIX
Apple jelly, Vanilla fudge, Dark chocolate truffle, Marshmallow and Raspberry jelly
He said that these were homemade by the chef . As you can see I did not waste time in selecting some to take home and share with my son.
This is a really nice afternoon tea with a difference and the service was excellent, we both enjoyed the whole experience .