I felt like I hadn't been for afternoon tea. When I first moved to London 6 years ago (Lord has that time flown) I swear I was going for afternoon tea every weekend. However it did make it feel even more special when I finally got to step foot into the famous The Savoy.
The Savoy; London's most famous hotel
Unless you've been hiding under a rock you'll probably have heard of The Savoy before. But just in case, The Savoy is one of London's finest hotels and opened in 1889. In fact it was the first luxury hotel in Britain and was the first hotel to have electric lights and lifts. Also so influential is the hotel that did you know that the reason why Black Cabs have such a tight turning circle of 25 feet is so they could get round the small roundabout in front of the entrance of The Savoy?
Also it is the only place in London where vehicles drive on the right hand side of the road, as back in the day when the elite would go the the hotel, it was the custom for them to sit behind the driver so they could exit the side of the hotel entrance.
The new summer afternoon tea menu
As we are approaching August right now, some afternoon teas can start to feel a little heavy which is why The Savoy have brought out a brand new seasonal summer afternoon tea along with JING Tea.
Created by Executive Pastry Chef, Daniel Pearse, and Executive Sous Chef, Francesco Coratella, it focuses on seasonality.
As well as the class finger sandwiches such as coronation chicken and beef and mustard, there was also a little quiche made from Isle of White Asparagus, and a Lemon Brioche filled with Oak Smoked Salmon with Chive whipped Cream Cheese and Fennel Pollen which was absolutely delicious. Also something that I do really love is the offer seconds, which The Savoy does. Another round of salmon for me please.
For this summer menu, they worked closely with JING tea to "ensure that a cup of tea is never an afterthought, instead it is integral to the afternoon tea experience" which I think is really important as sometimes I'll admit if you have a glass of champagne or two at an afternoon tea you can almost forget about tea. Our waitress offered tea pairing advice and the options of different teas at different stages. I went for a Lemon Verbena which was zesty but not overpowering and was a really nice drink to slowly sip whilst chatting away.
First the savouries as severed first and then out comes a whole stand dedicated to the sweets. As well as the traditional scones, there are 6 floral based pastries based on seasonal fruit. From a light but rich enough chocolate and raspberry pastry, a Pistachio Madeleine with pistachio cream to the delicate but tangy tropical roulade. Something that I really appreciated about this afternoon tea was that they weren't all cream filled cakes. I don't know what it is about cream filled cakes, but lately my last few afternoon teas, the cakes have all been essentially cream covered in a very beautiful shell, but as someone who isn't that mad about cream in the first place, it is a little disappointing.
Something to note as well that I really appreciated was, is that they do a sitting right up till 5:45pm so you could just about squeeze it in after work. So myself and Claire from Stoked to Travel, both came straight from our respective offices and it was a great way to unwind after work. I don't know why more don't do late sittings, I'd definitely have an evening afternoon tea more often. Also there was absolutely not rush for us to leave. In fact I think by the time we left we'd been there for about 3 and a half hours! The staff were some of the loveliest staff and genuinely seemed to really care about their afternoon teas and something Claire noted, they were hands off just enough to give you space but caught little signs when you needed something.
I have to say The Savoy afternoon tea was one of the best ones I've had in ages.
My afternoon tea was a complimentary press review but all words, opinions and photogrpahy are my own.
0 Comments