Secret garden afternoon tea at Kona Taj 51 for Mothers Day - London

 It's been a while since my last afternoon tea so I was particularly looking forward to taking my mum here for mother's day. 

This is my 1st time having the secret garden themed one but my 4th visit here for an afternoon tea. Priced at £75 each not cheap but I saved myself a bit of money by getting a buyagift voucher when they had 25% voucher code. 

The hotel and residence are set in a square with a lovely fountain and garden in the middle. The afternoon tea is served in the Kona restaurant.  

It was busy when we arrived and we had to wait outside as we were about 15min early and they had to set all the tables up ready.  

We had a nice table for 2 against the back wall and it was nicely laid with pretty flower print china. 

The menu was already on the table and had a metal door on the front that you open up and get a nice surprise when a butterfly comes out. My mum's paper butterfly ended up on the lap of the man on the table next to us. Mine unfortunately did not fly that far!!!! 

I had already mentioned when booking no fish for either of us and no mayonnaise or mustard for my mum. We had to explain again to the waiter and they said no problem. 

I ordered a herbal tea called  'Summer of Love, and my mum ordered a cappuccino. As we waited for the drinks to arrive the waiter brought over a wooden box each and said there was a treat inside and it was all edible apart  from the box. 

It had a layer of crumbled shortbread biscuit and chocolate soil with a large chocolate ganache shaped key that was to unlock the Secret Garden and the start of the afternoon tea. 

The Summer of Love tea was a green tea with a slight fruity taste and very nice The tea stand arrived within 10 minutes and it looked so lovely like a birdcage with some butterflies on it.

We  got two chicken sandwiches each (my mums made especially without mayonnaise) a beetroot one and a rolled up egg one with half a tiny egg on top. They were nice and very fresh. 

Next we started on the pretty cakes as the scones had not yet been brought out to us. 

The first one we had was the red rose shaped cake filled with raspberry ganache, white chocolate crunch and lychee mousse inside a light vanilla sponge.  

This was very nice and we followed this by having the equally nice tart baked with basil almond cream topped with mandarin citrus cream cheese.   

Two cakes down and the warm scones arrived served with mixed berry jam and large pot of clotted cream.  We got two berry scones each, they were small in size but by now we were both feeling rather full anyway. 

The scones were a bit too pudding and soft inside and  maybe they could of done with a bit longer in the oven. My mum could only eat one of them and I eat one and half topped with lots of jam and cream. Whilst eating them I ordered myself a cappuccino. 

We both had two cakes left to eat and decided best to take them home to enjoy later. 

I had mine in the evening and they tasted as good as they looked.

Chocolate brownie, chocolate mousse, chocolate crumble in a chocolate pot, with white chocolate flowers

Moist olive oil and lime cake with mango ganache 

It was a lovely afternoon tea with such a pretty theme and well thought out. Before leaving we were handed a bill for the service charge that was optional but worth paying as the waiters looked after us. 

We also got a packet of wild flower seeds to take home with us. 

I am looking forward to seeing what theme they do next ...........

Nearest Station : Victoria Underground  about  14 minute walk. 

Best bits : The pretty cakes and the wooden box filled with crumbled biscuits and chocolate key   

Worst bits : The only I can think off is that were were not asked if we wanted any extra food      

Value for money :  At £75 its not cheap but it was very nice and a bit different.  

Would I go back? : Yes when they have a new theme  

 

Savoy Hotel NYE Afternoon tea - London

 Finished off 2024 with a wonderful afternoon tea at the 5 star Savoy Hotel in London.

This was my second visit to the Savoy as took my mum there for her birthday a few years ago. 

You can understand why this is a 5 star hotel as from the grand entrance to the large reception area it is stunning and very posh looking . 

 The Christmas decorations were stunning and the large angel made of lights above the stairs was so beautiful 

Afternoon Tea is served in the newly decorated Galley which looks much different to when I last visited. They pavilion in the middle that hosted the piano has now gone and instead the piano is to the side of the room. The sofas and chairs are in a cream and gold fabric with brown leather. The main feature of the room is still the glass domed ceiling in the middle. 

Our table was to the side of the room in the corner and upon being seated we were handed the menu to choose the type of afternoon tea we wanted to order. 

We decided to order a bottle of the English Nyetimber Rose Cuvee priced at £115 as it was NYE. The traditional afternoon tea is priced at £95 each however my husband wanted the High Tea which included an one extra dish to choose from below and cost extra £15

High Tea

 Pan Seared Creedy Carver Duck Breast | Potato Mille-Feuille Chestnut | Grilled Chicory | Truffle Jus 

 Hand Dived Orkney Scallop | Yoghurt | Grapefruit Petrossian Caviar | Lardo 

 Pearl Barley Risotto | Squash Purée Winter Truffle | Burella

The waitress noted that I do not eat fish or seafood and I asked for an extra turkey sandwich instead of the salmon one. 

The Rose Cuvee was lovely and went down well whilst waiting for the food to arrive. The room was very busy with just a couple of empty tables. The piano music in the background was a nice touch and not too loud. We felt very relaxed and very hungry. My husband ordered the Savoy tea blend and I ordered the Blackcurrant and Hibiscus as recommend by our lovely waitress 

The sandwiches arrived on their own plate and looked lovely. 

Coronation Larchwood Farm Turkey | Herbs | Cranberry Bread 

Scottish Smoked Salmon | Lemon Cream Cheese & Chives | Spinach Bread 

Hertfordshire Honey Roast Ham | English Mustard | White Bread 

Somerset Oak Smoked Cheddar | Plum & Ginger Chutney | Granary Bread 

Savory Bites

 Parsnip & Carrot | Thyme | Parmesan Tuile | Savory Cake 

Burford Brown Egg | Truffle Mayonnaise | Wiltshire Truffle | Brioche

I liked the turkey Coronation one in cranberry bread plus the cheese one with chutney was nice too. 

Both little savory bites were lovely  especially the Egg mayo with truffle. 

Next came my husbands high tea choice of scallop in a bowl, he only got one scallop for £15 but said it was very good. Whilst he tucked into this I ordered another plate of sandwiches which was included in the price. 

Once we had both finished the savory food the famous tea stand arrived . It included 2 scones each a plain one and fruit one along with Strawberry compote, lemon curd and of course clotted cream. The scones were unfortunately not warm but tasted nice and fresh. Not the best scones I have had but still very nice especially topped with the creamy lemon curd. 

Along with the scones we each got a tiny bite size mince pie.

Finally it was time to tuck into the fancy looking cakes 

We got one each of the 4 different ones as below 

Mont Blanc - Chestnut Cream | Citrus Confit | Meringues 

Santa  -  Bourbon Vanilla Cake | Chocolate Whipped Chantilly | Redcurrant Glaze 

Chocolate & Tonka Bean  - Cocoa Sponge | Tonka Bean Infused Chocolate Ganache

 Christmas Bauble  -  Yoghurt Crémeux | Lemon Sponge | Blackberry Compo

Before tucking into them I ordered a cappuccino 

 Firstly I had the Christmas Bauble that was the waitress favorite one when I asked her.

Creamy white chocolate shell filled with white yogurt cream on a light lemon sponge with a berry compote. It was defiantly delicious and my favorite one too. 

Next I had the chocolate and Tonka bean log shaped one. This was OK but I thought it had a slight spice taste too it that I guess was the Tonka bean. 

Following this was the Santa dome with chocolate belt around to look like Santa's belly. I liked this one too as creamy center on chocolate sponge. 

Lastly I had the Mont Blanc which was nice and bit different with the Chestnut cream. Overall i thought they were very nice and not too sickly to eat.  We did however feel very full buy the time we had eaten them all !!!   I think the waitress was impressed too. 

We had a lovely time and was very well looked after. Before leaving the hotel we had a few cocktails in the famous American Bar which I have always wanted to go too.  

Nearest Station : Covent Garden about  10 minute walk. 

Best bits : The excellent service and cakes plus the bottle of bubbly went down well.   

Worst bits : Nothing all good     

Value for money :  At £95 its not cheap but the hotel is lovely and we got looked after and made to feel special. 

Would I go back? : Yes I would. 

Happy New Year to all my readers and looking forward to some new Afternoon Teas in 2025

 

 

Winter Wonderland Afternoon Tea The Chesterfield London

 On Saturday I treated my mum to a Christmas Afternoon Tea at The Chesterfield hotel in Green Park. I have been here a few times and  the last time was in December 2021. 

Inside the hotel reception was a lovely huge Christmas Tree and more inside the restaurant with red teddy bears sitting around them 

The afternoon tea is served in the conservatory at the side of the restaurant and priced at £75 per person. Unfortunately you cannot get any vouchers for this !!!

Our table was simply decorated and the menu sounded lovely with lots of different cakes. 

To start we got a small glass of Mulled Wine which was nice and we explained to the waitress what sandwiches we wanted as either of us eat fish or seafood. 

We both ordered a cappuccino whist waiting for the food to arrive. I decided not to have champagne as had been out the night before drinking at local pub with friends. 

When the tea stand arrived it looked very full 

I got my sandwiches separate and I had an Egg Mayonnaise one, 2 pulled Ham and Brie which were delicious and  2 turkey and cranberry ones. They were nice and fresh and we got offered more so I had 2 more of the pulled ham ones. 

Unfortunately by the time we had eaten the sandwiches the scones were not warm. We got a chocolate one and cranberry one each with homemade strawberry jam a lots of clotted cream. 

I think I liked the cranberry one best but they were very crumbly and broke up when you spread the jam and cream on top. 

The waitress asked us if we wanted anymore scones which we said no too as still had lots of cakes to eat. We did order another coffee each. 

The cakes were decorated very Christmassy and we cut them all in half. The waitress did ask if we wanted another plate of cakes so we could have one each but this would of been too much so instead she said we could take some home with us. 

 

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First we had the Battenberg slice which you cant go wrong with especially if you love marzipan. 

Then we had the orange and mulled wine slice which had a creamy custard sat on a shortbread biscuit base. The macaron had a lovely chocolate Nutella type filling and the little choux bun was filled with a gingerbread flavor cream. We thought the chocolate log would be one of our favorites but the sponge was a bit rubbery and the chocolate filling too sweet. 

WE both liked the cranberry and coconut bauble and my favorite was the biscuit Christmas tree in the chocolate pot with berries and cream inside. 

At the end of the afternoon tea we got offered more drinks and the waitress brought out a plate of the same 7 cakes plus a box so we could take them home. 

We also got to choose a bag of sweets each from the pick and mix trolley which is something they always do. 

All the food was lovely and we got looked after and offered more food and drinks if we wanted. 

Its not a cheap afternoon tea but they are very generous so you could defiantly get your moneys worth if you can eat extra food. 

Nearest Station : Green Park 8 minute walk. 

Best bits : The pulled Ham sandwich and lovely cakes.  

Worst bits : Nothing really apart from the scones being hard to eat as very crumbly.     

Value for money :  At £75 its not cheap but I think worth the money as more food of everything is offered along with hot drinks.

Would I go back? : Yes I would. 

Cotswold Afternoon Tea - Broadway, Cotswolds

 Last weekend we rented a cottage and had a lovely weekend away with our friends to a charming village called Broadway in the Cotswold's. 

It was their Christmas late night shopping and market that they have 2 Fridays towards Christmas. It was on the television last year and repeated this year. 

Despite the weather  it was a wonderful weekend however not all the stalls were there as strong winds had been predicted. They still had the reindeer and the local brass band playing carols and Christmas tunes. 

We got into the Christmas spirit wearing Christmas jumpers and hats and sipping on delicious mulled wine. 

On the Saturday we went for a long walk through 7 muddy fields to the Broadway Tower. Here you get an amazing view and there is a lovely cafe serving hot chocolate and food.  It was defiantly worth the walk and much quicker going back downhill 

Once back in the High Street we went for a much earned Afternoon Tea in a quaint tearoom called Tisanes

The Afternoon Tea was £17 per person plus extra £5.50 for a small mini bottle of Prosecco. 

You get to choose your sandwich from the menu and your slice of cake plus a plain or fruit scone each. It also included a pot of tea of choice or coffee. I choose a turkey and cranberry sandwich, fruit scone and coffee and walnut cake. 

The sandwich was packed full of filling and nice and fresh.

The scones were large and still slightly warm. We got plenty of strawberry jam and clotted cream to go with it. 

The cakes looked homemade and we got a big slice. My husband choose carrot cake so we shared and I think he made the best choice as the carrot cake was very nice. 

It was a lovely Afternoon Tea and reasonably priced. Also it was good to be able to choose sandwich and cake from the menu. 

Nearest Station : Not sure as we were staying within walking distance. 

Best bits : Getting to choose from menu and food very fresh.  

Worst bits : Nothing to mention as all very nice      

Value for money :  At £22.50 each with the mini bottle of prosecco yes worth it.

would I go back? : Yes if I went back to Broadway 

 

Fabulous Tea, Cakes and Cocktail afternoon tea in Revery Bar at Hilton Park Lane Hotel London

 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. 

 As I already had the voucher they offered me instead  Tea , Cakes and Cocktail afternoon tea in their new bar. The hotel had recently been renovated and appeared on the TV last year so i was keen to visit again. 

The voucher cost me about £75 as I had a discount code so I got a good deal as this afternoon tea is priced at £65 per person 

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 

Once again both were nice and refreshing but we both preferred the Moroccan Souk one that you could really taste the cucumber in. 

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 

Carrot cheesecake (363 kcal) (v) 

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 . 

Nearest Station : Green Park 10 minute walk. 

Best bits : Everything but must mention the delicious scones and cakes.  

Worst bits : If i had to say something it would only be the egg yolk for me and maybe more savory things on offer.      

Value for money :  At £65 its not cheap but I think worth it if you want something a bit different .

would I go back? : Yes I would.