Afternoon Tea at The Corinthia – London

Having an afternoon tea in London is an absolute must-do for pretty much any traveller. There are many places you can have one at – cafes, bakeries, high-end restaurants – but for the ultimate afternoon tea experience, I always recommend my friends to go to one of the many beautiful hotels in central London.

So when Hotels.com got in touch and asked me if I wanted to join them for an afternoon tea at The Corinthia, I couldn’t say no! I love food and I love discovering new places in London so this was the best type of invitation I could ever receive.

The Corinthia is easily one of the most exclusive hotels in Westminster so going there felt very special. The moment you step in you enter a world of elegance and good taste. The lobby and the Crystal Moon Lounge are the ultimate interior inspiration for a self-confessed design addict like me.

Having (wisely) skipped lunch I was excited to enjoy the afternoon tea. This event was also a great opportunity to meet a group of lovely passionate ladies. Those of you who are blogging will know that one of the best parts of the ‘job’ is to interact with the blogging community.

We chatted away talking about everything from work to travel and food while our waiter took our drink orders. I went for the Aromatic Earl Grey with lemon, it was flavoursome and warming on a very cold day in London.

The staff of The Corinthia is worth a special mention as everybody we interacted with was lovely. They were most attentive and catered for any dietary requirements, and in my case allergies, very seriously. The staff is also a wealth of knowledge and is able to answer any questions you may have related to pretty much anything. Our waiter told us the entire story behind the very unique plates and cups used at the Crystal Moon Lounge.

We were first served a selection of finger sandwiches. I went for the cucumber and cream cheese, egg mayo, tandoori chicken and roast beef. My favourite were, by far, the roast beef with caramelised onion and mustard on granary bread, and the egg mayo on spinach bread. The beef was melt in the mouth good, and the dressing had a real kick. The egg mayo, which usually is my least favourite, was so nicely prepared that it ended up in my top 2!

The sandwiches were followed by the traditional plain and sultanas scones. They were served with clotted cream, strawberry and rhubarb jams. I loved the original touch of the rhubarb jam but I remain a sultana, clotted cream and jam kinda girl.

Then arrived, not a plate, nor a tray of desserts but an actual trolley of sweet treats! They prepared our plates in front of our table, walking us through the 7 (7!!!) delicacies included in the afternoon tea.

I won’t bore you with a description of 7 desserts as we would be here for a while, so here are my top 3:

I very much enjoyed the lemon eclair which had the sharp flavours of citrus fruits and the creamy texture of coconut. The cassis, chocolate and fig pot was also a real treat.

Finally, the mini canelé took me back to my childhood as it used to be my dessert of choice when we were on summer vacations in Arcachon.

So if you are visiting London on the colder and darker months, certainly consider booking an afternoon tea at The Corinthia. For a couple of hours, you will feel part British royalty, part kid in a candy shop.