Afternoon Tea at The Colonnade Hotel, London | FOOD

Hello!

"the good thing about Afternoon Tea, it's all very relaxed, calm and you're not in a rush to go anywhere - utter bliss"

Afternoon Tea is a great way to spend an afternoon. You may have noticed it becoming a reoccurring topic on BBXO (see here and here). Yet, this time, the weather decided to treat us a little better, and the sun was shining. All the other times I've been, it's been pouring down with rain! Nonetheless, let's take a peak into the beautiful Colonnade Hotel. 

First things first, we went around in circles and passed the place about twice before found it! It was quite discrete and the only sign was a little menu (pictured in the title). I've got to admit, the area was beautiful, but more on that later. 

The atmosphere was light, and the glass roof ensured the sun was shining through and making everything look 10x prettier! You had to walk down stairs to the seating area and enter a pastel coloured room, with pastel paintings and very clean, white plates and cups, which instantly makes you feel calm. That's the good thing about Afternoon Tea, it's all very relaxed, calm and you're not in a rush to go anywhere - utter bliss. 

"What's an English Afternoon Tea without Scones?"

As for the tea, there was a range to choose from. Although the range was not that big, it was enough to get something you liked. We went for the Darjeeling, and although it was my first time trying it, I fell in love! Such a beautiful, mellow and slightly sweet tea. 

The food was lovely, and to my surprise, there were macarons! In all the places I've had tea, I've never had macarons included! Oh, and they did taste amazing! Mine was pink, but didn't have a particular flavour, it was a plain macaron sporting all of the glorious texture it's known for. 

What's an English Afternoon Tea without Scones? They gave us jam in a cute little jar that was just adorable! It tasted amazing too. 

"You can bet your bottom dollar that I instagrammed that!"

Of all the other Afternoon Tea places I've been to, this is definitely been one of the best. I loved the light, airy atmosphere, the polite staff and the lovely treats. If you're looking for a place to go to on a lovely sunny day, definitely check out The Colonnade Hotel near Little Venice. 

Speaking of the area, it is absolutely stunning. The buildings are white with huge doors and pillars. It was like a dream! You can bet your bottom dollar that I instagrammed that! But more on the area will be coming to a blog near you very soon, so keep your eyes peeled! ;)

All in all, a wonderful place to visit, I would definitely recommend you go. Plus, there's a beautiful canal a mere 5 minute walk away - a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Tell me, have you tried Darjeeling, and what's your favourite tea? 

Afternoon Tea at No. 12 Bloomsbury, London

Hello!

"To our surprise, it tasted like a pizza in a sandwich!"

Afternoon tea is the perfect way to spend a day off, with people you'd like to sit with for 3 hours and talk until the cows come home! What's more, when it's raining outside, afternoon tea tastes just that much better!

Tea is known for the British, and London has a million and one places for you to enjoy it! We went with this place: Number Twelve, Bloomsbury. Based in the heart of London, with wonderful buildings giving that true admiration of British culture. Although the pillars pictured above has nothing to do the tea itself, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a snap and take a moment for architecture!

"next thing you know it's super bitter and not chocolate-y at all!"

The café itself is actually quite the opposite of traditional English. It is quite modern, contemporary should I say, and gives off a clean, fresh vibe. It's quite beautiful and there's such open-ness about it - possibly due to the beautiful high ceilings and crisp white accents.

The tables were spacious and the tea menu decent. I say decent because at first we were going to give Darjeeling a shot, as it was on the back of the menu, and then they say, "well, we only have certain teas available, shown on the inside cover of the menu". This did not include Darjeeling so we went for the good ol' English Breakfast and Ceylon. Ceylon was a nice tea, but it wouldn't be one I'd order again. Darjeeling is next on the hit list!

"We weren't left out to dry before they gave us our teas"

In terms of the cutlery, which I didn't think I'd mention today, it was beautiful! I love big cups, and this cup was big and it had a fancy contemporary design! What more could I ask for? Although my ideal cup would be the same volume but taller instead of wide - okay that was tmi! Continuing with this, the knives and forks were incredibly light! It was lovely.
I still find it incredibly weird to write about the cup and knives and forks, but it had to be thrown in there! ;)

The sandwiches were super yummy! What we did was have the ones we thought would be the not-so-nice ones first - which was the tomato one. To our surprise, it tasted like a pizza in a sandwich! Absolutely delightful!

As for the treats dish - there were scones, scones with raisins, tarts and two sets of dense bread/cake type of things with dried fruit in them. The dried fruit things were not that great. In fact, one of them looked like a chocolate brownie, so we saved it to last - next thing you know it's super bitter and not chocolate-y at all!

To top it all off, the scones were served with the most delicious blackberry jam (as well as strawberry jam and clotted cream). All of this served in the most interesting cake tray ever!

"when it's raining outside, afternoon tea tastes just that much better!"

Another great thing, which is quite important in any place you go, is the staff. They were lovely, efficient and super friendly! We weren't left out to dry before they gave us our teas and tray of goodies. They came fairly quickly and overall, pretty satisfied!

A great place to visit if in London and fancy some contemporary Afternoon Tea! Without a doubt an upgrade from last time and definitely one that upped the standards of Afternoon Tea.

What is your favourite type of tea, have you given Darjeeling a go?