Atmosphere was nice and quiet 👍 Food was great, especially with the sandwiches and crayfish rolls 😋 Scones weren't bad but perhaps a bit tiny in terms of size, comparing to afternoon teas from elsewhere in London. I had sapphire earl grey tea ☕ which helped me to relax after a very tiring and stressful week 😊
A lot has happened to John Whaite since winning the third series of the BBC’s The Great British Bake Off. Having gained the law degree he was studying for whilst competing in the show, he now runs his own cookery school, has become something of a celebrity as a TV chef and columnist for the Telegraph and has also written 3 cookery books. As if all of that wasn’t enough, last night I saw him launch the new afternoon tea he has designed to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday at the Royal Horseguards Hotel.
It was also at The Royal Horseguards that I had my first afternoon tea experience in London. I was really excited for it because more than anywhere else, London is synonymous with Afternoon Tea! There's no argument that the post-lunch, pre-dinner treat is a British institution.
Having been accredited with ‘invitation only’ membership to the esteemed UK Tea Guild in 2012, The Royal Horseguards was honoured with its second ‘Award of Excellence’ in the Tea Guild’s Top London Afternoon Tea Awards in 2013 (The Tea Guild is a prestigious and unique non-profit organisation that represents and encourages those outlets who are dedicated to both brewing and serving tea to the high standards desired by the United Kingdom Tea Council).
The Royal Horseguards' Novus Tea menu offers a broad range of black, green and herbal infusions from the world’s premium tea estate using only the finest quality leaf grades. Mijune and I chose "Strawberries & Cream", a Royal Horseguards unique blend of black leaf teas which was light in flavour with subtle strawberry and cream notes, and "English Breakfast", a black tea blend of delicate Ceylon, gutsy Assam and rounded off with a tasty South Indian leaf.
Both of us opted for the Laurent-Perrier Champagne flight with our tea (we patted ourselves on the back for the brilliant idea). Because why not, right? When in Rome ;)
The Laurent-Perrier Champagne Flight (£55.00)
Sommeliers selection of three selected Laurent-Perrier varieties to perfectly compliment the different elements of the Royal Horseguards Afternoon tea:
Laurent-Perrier Brut
Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé
Laurent-Perrier Demi Sec (exclusive to The Royal Horseguards' afternoon tea service)
The Signature Tea (£32.00 without champagne flight) includes:
A Traditional Selection of Elegant Finger Sandwiches and Contemporary Savoury Bites
Coronation Chicken, Cream Cheese & Smoked Salmon, Hummus & Cucumber and Roast Beef and Horseradish.
These finger sandwiches were perfectly sized. My favourites were the cream cheese & smoked salmon, and the coronation chicken which was packed with herbs and spices in a nice creamy sauce.
Warm, Freshly Baked Fruit and Plain Scones, Homemade Fruit Preserve and Cornish Clotted Cream
To ensure freshness, the scones were brought out only after we were done our sandwiches. These scones are quite possibly the best scones I've ever had so far in my life. Served warm, they had a medium-gold outer crust and a light-gold, moist and tender crumb. The entire scone was light and buttery with a cake-like denseness and texture. I needed a lot of restraint when it came to the clotted cream because I wanted lots of it on my scone. It was ridiculously smooth, thick and creamy (clotted cream is a thick cream made by indirectly heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly).
Handmade Cakes and Delicate Pastries
Lemon Cupcakes with Marshmallow Meringue, Banana Toffee Cheesecake, Creme Brulee and Darjeeling Chocolate "shot glasses", Mango Passion Fruit Tart, Raspberry Meringue Lollipops and Macarons.
The banana toffee cheesecake and the creme brulee and Darjeeling chocolate "shot glass" were the highlights for me from the sweets plate.
Attentive service combined with its great afternoon tea and comfortable setting makes The Royal Horseguards a superb afternoon tea spot. Guests enjoying afternoon tea will never leave hungry too as their Afternoon Tea is continuously replenished at no additional charge.
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