The Montcalm Hotel Afternoon Tea

I had never heard of The Montcalm Hotel until I got an email from Groupon about a deal for afternoon tea here. (http://www.montcalm.co.uk/afternoon-tea-126.html)
The deal was very good value, afternoon tea for two for only £12. You cannot beat that bargain. Very rare to even be able to pay £12 for afternoon tea for one person, so off I went. Here's the menu, usual price for this set is £19.50.

 Traditional Afternoon Tea

Your choice from a fine selection of JING loose leaf teas served with 

the Savoury Tea Finger sandwiches, plain and fruit scones with clotted 

cream and strawberry jam, and a selection of pastries and 

fruit tartlets from the Sweet Tea.  

 Menu doesn't sound too bad does it? Although I must say it is not the best afternoon tea I have had. We had three finger sandwiches each, these were not bad, they looked and tasted fresh. We had a scone each, the scone was quite nice, it was moist and not too crumbly, which made spreading the clotted cream and jam very easy. However the big disappointment was the cakes. Very often when I go to afternoon tea, I never finish the set, as it is very filling and difficult to eat some many sweet things in one go. But nevertheless the excitement from seeing the tea set is the cakes on the top tier. You want to see pretty and delicate cakes that look too good to eat. However the cakes at The Montcalm, it was a disappointment. The display failed to generate any impact or reaction. The cakes did not taste that brilliant, but from the photo you can see the appearance of them are a let down, the top of the cakes are cracked and crumbling.

For the price of £12 for two I cannot complain too much, but if I had paid the full price of £19.50 per person I would not have been happy about it. Needless to say I will not be going back to her again... so the search continues ^^

Best Afternoon Tea...... so far....

I love sitting in a room surrounded by lovely decor with a slight tinker of china, soft murmurs and oohhhs and ummms in the background. I am in fact describing an afternoon tea session :). I love afternoon tea, I find the whole experience relaxing, it feels like being in a different world. A world of beautiful things and absolutely gorgoeus sweet things! Afternoon tea is definitely an art of its own.

So imagine my happiness level when my friends took me to The Kensington Hotel for a surprise afternoon tea seesion! Not only was this a lovely and thoughtful gesture, it was in fact the best afternoon tea I have had so far, and I've been to a couple of places.

The place was elegantly decorated with a twist of modernness. We were sat next to a big window that brought in lovely light which made afternoon tea even more pleasant.

http://www.doylecollection.com/locations/london_city_hotels/the_kensington_hotel/gallery.aspx

The afternoon tea set was not expensive at all, it was only for £23 and you would not be able to finish it.

Modern English Afternoon Tea 

SANDWICHES
Roast beef with rocket salad
and red onion chutney

Cucumber and chive cream cheese
Honey roasted ham with
wholegrain mustard mayonnaise

Scottish smoked salmon with
horseradish and chive crème fraîche

Egg mayonnaise and cress

Mini fish and crab cake

SWEET THINGS

Rich traditional English fruitcake
Victoria sponge
Carrot cake
Fresh fruit tart
Apple and rhubarb crumble

HOME MADE SCONES

Warm homemade plain and raisin scones
Cornish clotted cream
Lemon and passion fruit curd
Homemade strawberry and rose petal jam

Afternoon Tea at the Wyndham Grand, London Chelsea Harbour

Not long after visiting The Orangery, a group of friends and I headed to the Wyndham Grand for a birthday Afternoon Tea Party. The tea was served in the lounge of the hotel, and where we were sat we could see the marina outside. With it being a nice bright sunny day, it was a perfect setting for a group of 10 girls sipping away and secretly scoffing on the sweet delicates. 

We decided to share an afternoon tea per couple, but the tea sets were bought out in sets for four people to share. 

Traditional Afternoon Tea £15.00

Sandwiches  (seen on the bottom tier)

Scottish Smoked Salmon and Herbed Cream Cheese
Honey Glazed Wiltshire Ham and Grape Chutney
Cornish Yarg with Homemade Piccalilli
Free Range Egg and Chive Mayonnaise

Homemade Plain & Raisin Scones (middle tier)
Served with Clotted Cream & Fine Strawberry Preserve

Sweets and Pastries (top tier)

Elderflower and Gooseberry Fool

Cheeky Chocolate Bourbon
Strawberry Crumble Tart
Earl Grey Cream Slice
Cherry and Almond Cake
Fruit Cake

Selection of Coffees, Teas and Fruit Infusions

The experience here although the setting was perfect was not as good as some of the places I have been to before. We had to ask for milk when our tea arrived and only a small jug was brought over, so we had to ask for some more. The clotted cream portions were tiny and was not sufficient for four people sharing, the portion size is usually for one person at any other afternoon tea place. All in all it ruined the experience a little bit as we had to keep trying to attract the attention of the waitress. The service could definitely have been more attentive and better. And the fact that we were amoung a few other diners there, the service was very very slow. It took almost half an hour for them to prepare the table for us to be seated. Definitely will not be coming back here, its such a shame as the scenery was absolutely stunning. 

http://www.wyndhamgrandlondon.co.uk/food-drink.php

Afternoon tea at The Orangery

Nothing beats afternoon tea in the summer especially when it allows you to dine alfresco. Enter The Orangery at the Kensington Palace.

View from our table

Their speciality is the orange scented scone, although these are only available in the afternoon tea sets and cannot be purchased on its own. 

 Enchanted Palace Tea

£17.95

Enchanted Palace chocolate ganache slice and heart 

shaped raspberry shortbread, signature orange scented

scone with Cornish clotted cream & strawberry

jam and an assortment of finger sandwiches. 

Served with a choice of teas or coffees. 

This tea set recommended the chocolate tea, which was very unusual. Chocolate pieces are infused with the tea leaves, creating a very aromatic chocolate smell and slight sweet taste. 

Chocolate Tea 

There are also a selection of other cakes on offer...

This the scone set ... a fruit scone with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam

ummmm .. think its time to visit another afternoon tea place........ ^^

The Crooked Tea House - Windsor

My friends and I were in Windsor at the end of January to celebrate a friends birthday. On the last day of the trip we scheduled in a visit to a tea house before heading back to London. After some research we were told that The Crooked Tea House was the best place to go. The tea house naturally sloped to one side over time, as the wood used to built was not being treated before being used. Inside is very small but very cosy with a relaxed atmosphere.

Not sure there is enough scones on the table.....

Betty's tea rooms

Went to Yorkshire a couple of weeks ago and had to try the famous Betty's Tea Rooms in York. We queued for about 20 mins before we managed to get a table, but from the popularity this place has I thought it was pretty quick. It was well worth it too. Especially when i'm such a big fan of afternoon tea!

Had the afternoon tea set - 2 scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam. The scones were moist and soft without being too soggy or the worst crumbly. I absolutely hate crumbly scones, you lose half the scone with every bite!!

This is the cake trolley they come round with. The waiter/waitress will then present all the cakes to you before you make your decisions, not that its that easy!!! :P