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. 

Huffkins afternoon tea - John Lewis Oxford Street London

 I had never heard about Huffkins until I saw it on Wowcher.  Huffkins is a chain that started with a small bakery in the Cotswold in 1890 and has expanded with  9 tea rooms in England plus online shop. 

I dedcided to book this with my mum and two friends for part of my birthday celebrations. We went to the cafe inside John Lewis in Oxford Street and got a great deal using Wowcher voucher. I paid just £39.99 for two with a small bottle of prosecco each. 

The cafe is situated on the 4th floor and has windows overlooking the street below. They have made it nice inside by adding a artificial flower arch. When we arrived a nice table had been reserved for us by the window. 

After about 15 minutes the waitress came over to take our order.  We ordered a hot drink each and the waitress informed us that there were 3 different sandwiches on each cake stand Coronation Chicken, Tuna mayo and Cheese and chutney relish with leaves. I asked if we could have two cheese ones instead of the Tuna mayo which she said was no problem.  We also had to choose between plain or fruit scone. 

The waitress brought over our cappuccinos  which were in a large cup and a small bottle of prosecco each. 

When the cake stands arrived they looked very full 

Each stand had 3 whole sandwiches cut into triangles so we got 6 triangles each plus some salad leaves in middle of plate. The sandwiches were nice and tasty however my friend who only wanted the cheese ones did not like the chutney inside as a bit spicy. We asked the waitress if she could just have plain cheese ones and they brought over a plate of 8 triangles and let her keep the ones with chutney. Therefore between us all we had lots of sandwiches and unfortunately could not eat them all. The coronation chicken ones were my favorite 

Next we had the scones which were still slightly warm and large in size. We noticed that they were very light and fluffy inside which is a sign of a good scone. To go with them we got a small jar of strawberry jam and pot of clotted cream each. 

By now we were all feeling rather full but i wanted to try the chocolate eclairs as they looked rather nice. On our stand we got a pink raspberry one and my friends got a chocolate one. They were big in size so we could cut them up into four pieces. 

Before eating these we had another coffee each and was informed that we get a free refill of hot drink with the afternoon tea. I was not expecting this so a pleasant surprise. Both eclairs tasted nice and had fresh cream inside. 

Unfortunately after eating these we could not manage the rest of the cakes so was given a nice box each to take them home in.  The other cakes were a chocolate brownie, Lemon drizzle cake and a Victoria sponge. 

We left the tea room feeling happy and full before having a look in the Christmas shop inside the department store. 

Nearest Station : Oxford Circus 8 minute walk.

Best bits : The amount of sandwiches and lovely scones  

Worst bits : Service was a bit slow as very busy      

Value for money :  Yes defiantly for what I paid and amount of food plus 2 hot drinks included each 

would I go back? : Yes I will be buying another voucher to use on a Christmas shopping day 

Sopwell House Afternoon Tea

 It was my daughters 30th birthday and for her present I took her for a Spa day at Cottonmill Club at Sopwell House in St Albans . It was a lovely day complete with relaxing treatments and afternoon tea. 

This is the second afternoon tea i have had here and it did not disappoint. For us it was included in the spa package but the menu price is £37 for weekdays and £44 weekends. ends. 

We had the afternoon tea in the Brasserie in our white robes. As it did not include champagne we both ordered a Bellini each and my daughter a bottle of coke which came to £34.   

It took a while for the tea stand to arrive and service was slow. I had to ask the waitress what the sandwiches and cakes were as not stated on the menu. 

We got 4 finger sandwiches each that consisted of Chicken one that was our favorite , Egg Mayonnaise and a Cucumber one in different types of bread.  As we do not like Salmon we got extra chicken sandwich each. They were nice and fresh and tasty.  We did not get offered extra but I noticed that a few tables did request more sandwiches and got them. 

Before starting on the scones I ordered a herbal fruity tea. 

The scones were freshly baked and we got a plain one each and a fruit one each. I ended up having both fruit ones as my daughter only likes the plain ones.  

They were tall in size with a lovely shiny top and served with strawberry jam and clotted cream. 

Its been a while since I have had a scone so really enjoyed them. 

Lastly came the cakes that I just had enough room for ......

I think they looked very nice and we got one of each of the four types. 

Strawberry Macaroon

Lemon mouse on biscuit base

Rich chocolate mouse with sponge and crunchy base

Coffee cake and mouse square. 

I struggled to eat them as so full up. My daughter had to take hers away in a box to have later in the day. 

My favorites was the coffee one and chocolate one but I think they all tasted lovely. 

Overall a lovely Afternoon tea however the service was slow and not attentive. 

Nearest Station : Not sure as drove there  

Best bits : The lovely scones and cakes 

Worst bits :Lack of service was not made to feel welcome      

Value for money :  I would say yes if you get extra sandwiches and cakes that I noticed other tables asked for.

would I go back? : Yes I would.