It was horribly busy at work today and tomorrow is going to be an even longer day. It’s Budget Day tomorrow and the firm I work for has a post budget presentation for its clients. Tomorrow will be a long day because we’ll be prepping materials for the presentations.
Ah well! I’m in my happy place though because I’m still thinking about last Tuesday when I had afternoon tea at The Cavendish.
I’d never been to The Cavendish but it was easy enough to get to because it was right behind Fortnum and Mason. The hotel was understated but it was quietly elegant.
We gave our names at bar concierge and I felt fairly special as we were made to feel like they were expecting us. We were led to a quite corner of the Lounge Bar and were given menus so we could choose our teas.
Afternoon Tea at The Cavendish is from 2 to 5PM everyday and they charge £18 per person. This includes a pot of tea for each person, a selection of finger sandwiches: Wicks Manor smoked ham with whole grain mustard, egg mayonnaise with rocket salad, Scottish smoked salmon with cucumber and cream cheese, and cheddar cheese and pickle; a selection of pastries, tartlets and chocolate truffles and scones with jam and clotted cream. The £18 also includes a glass of champagne but I opted for the non-alcoholic option of passion fruit juice.
On the menu it looked like a substantial amount of food but I wasn’t prepared for the amount of food that was brought to the table. It was a LOT! We ordered afternoon tea for two people but the food that was brought to the table could have easily fed four people very generously.
I loved the service because the staff were wonderfully friendly and attentive. We were looked after well. I appreciated the fact that they offered to refill our teapots with hot water. The teapots held about two cups worth of tea and water costs next to nothing, but not ever establishment will offer to refill your teapot. I loved that about the Cavendish. While it is expected for most establishments to offer a non-alcoholic option, not every place does. We were given a lot of options to replace our glasses of champagne and I must say, the passion fruit juice that I had was wonderfully fresh!
When the afternoon tea tray was brought to the table, it was brought to us with a slight flourish and the waiter explained the contents of each plate. There were 2 scones for each person with large pots filled with delicious clotted cream and lovely jam. There were more than enough sandwiches which were generously filled. I love smoked salmon and the sandwiches were stuffed to bursting! You certainly get what you pay for and more!
Am now looking at my calendar and planning my next visit!
The sweet element was the mini cakes, tartlets and chocolate truffles and they were lovely! They were cute, individual pieces and very beautifully made.
At one point during the meal, I certainly worried about not being able to finish the food (we couldn’t manage it in the end) because there was so much of it. I would definitely recommend having afternoon tea at The Cavendish. The venue is quiet and has the element of privacy even though the space is quite open plan. You get wonderfully attentive service from the staff and the food is definitely value for money.
I’m certainly looking forward to the next visit!
Yellywelly 