To celebrate Jasmin's 30th un-birthday, we took her for the Mad Hatter themed afternoon tea at the Sanderson Hotel in London. I've been to a lot of different afternoon teas - both for work and socially - and have had very mixed experiences.
I couldn't really work the Sanderson out... it didn't seem to really know what it was. Walking past the outside, it's very non-descript. In fact I didn't realise until I booked this tea that I'd actually walked past it many times before. The outside is a bog standard 70s style building, set on a narrow street between Oxford and Goodge streets. Inside it wasn't particularly grand. The reception was a very large space littered with quirky seats (as in the above photo). This large expanse ended at a fairly small check in desk.
It seemed to want to make a big statement, but it was neither welcoming nor beautiful and impressive. It was mostly just trying too hard to be 'cool'.
Having said that the restaurant was nice. We were seated outside, but under cover next to heaters and with fleecy blankets if we needed.
The menu was hidden inside an old novel and the description of each of the teas was on the back of these playing cards.
We got to smell the teas before we chose which we wanted to try. We ended up having a pot of each of them to test them all.
Croque Monsieur was definitely my favourite of the sandwiches.
And the cakes were all themed. I really enjoyed them all. Highlights included the chocolate Oreo soldier biscuits, marshmallow toadstools and the lady bird almond cakes.
I personally didn't like this one as it was coconut. But the idea is you drink the cocktail through the straw and get three distinct flavours.
Jasmin got an extra little something as it was her birthday. We didn't ask for this but they asked whether we were celebrating anything when we first sat down. That was a nice surprise.
An 'extra' that everyone gets when they have finished their sandwiches and cake was this little flower pot of ice cream. We were all pretty stuffed by the end but this was an unusual little ending of the meal. The flowers were edible.
This tea is one of the more pricey in London, but I really thought it was worth it. The food was excellent and you are probably paying a little more for the quirky nature of the day but that really does add to the experience.
I feel that generally, as long as you have tea, sandwiches, cakes and scones the difference is really about the surroundings. I have a draft post for a future date with my top picks in London. But for a bit of a spoiler: this one was awesome!
I couldn't really work the Sanderson out... it didn't seem to really know what it was. Walking past the outside, it's very non-descript. In fact I didn't realise until I booked this tea that I'd actually walked past it many times before. The outside is a bog standard 70s style building, set on a narrow street between Oxford and Goodge streets. Inside it wasn't particularly grand. The reception was a very large space littered with quirky seats (as in the above photo). This large expanse ended at a fairly small check in desk.
It seemed to want to make a big statement, but it was neither welcoming nor beautiful and impressive. It was mostly just trying too hard to be 'cool'.
Having said that the restaurant was nice. We were seated outside, but under cover next to heaters and with fleecy blankets if we needed.
The menu was hidden inside an old novel and the description of each of the teas was on the back of these playing cards.
We got to smell the teas before we chose which we wanted to try. We ended up having a pot of each of them to test them all.
Croque Monsieur was definitely my favourite of the sandwiches.
And the cakes were all themed. I really enjoyed them all. Highlights included the chocolate Oreo soldier biscuits, marshmallow toadstools and the lady bird almond cakes.
I personally didn't like this one as it was coconut. But the idea is you drink the cocktail through the straw and get three distinct flavours.
Jasmin got an extra little something as it was her birthday. We didn't ask for this but they asked whether we were celebrating anything when we first sat down. That was a nice surprise.
An 'extra' that everyone gets when they have finished their sandwiches and cake was this little flower pot of ice cream. We were all pretty stuffed by the end but this was an unusual little ending of the meal. The flowers were edible.
This tea is one of the more pricey in London, but I really thought it was worth it. The food was excellent and you are probably paying a little more for the quirky nature of the day but that really does add to the experience.
::Have you been to afternoon tea? What did you enjoy most? Do you eat your scones cream first or jam first?::
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