Review: Afternoon Tea at Bond St. Tea Rooms

by Nadia Ismail

Bond St. Tea Rooms is an oasis of calm tucked discreetly away from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street.

Upon entering the modern Radisson Blu Edwardian Bond Street hotel, we are directed to the first floor, home of the Tea Rooms. The classic wood panel interiors contrast the dainty contemporary details and when we were presented with the menu, I was impressed to see a number of modern twists on a traditional Afternoon Tea. The tea is served in the sweetest pastel, polka dot China and all teas are loose leaves.

In addition to the compulsory sandwich, scone and sweet selection that creates a classic Afternoon Tea, a savoury starter course is added at this experience. Again, on an alternate take on the classic set up, you are able to select your choice of sandwiches and desserts. There is even a variety of 3 different flavoured scones to choose from.

The starting Cicchetti course reflects the Mediterranean influences found through the flavours of this Afternoon Tea and is a delicious sample of some of the dishes found on the hotel’s dinner menu. We selected the courgetti fritti with peperoncino aioli, chicken Milanese, a classic Caesar and my personal favourite: tortelloni cacio e pepe.

The tortelloni was stuffed with a soft filling, topped with forest mushrooms and placed in the most delicious garlic butter. It was truly divine and made me want to return to delight in it for dinner! The courgetti fritti was seasoned with a paprika adding an alternate level of flavour and the chicken Milanese was served with a crunchy parmesan crumb and rocket salad.

These starters were done all so well and were portioned perfectly - just enough for you to savour without filling you before your tiered stand arrives.

Even the classic fingers sandwiches found on the bottom tier have been given a modern makeover. The finger sandwiches have perfected placed ingredient creating the prettiest open sandwiches. Each piece was seasoned well and had ample fillings and toppings. They were rather filling meaning that two pieces per person was a perfect portion.

We then moved onto the scones, which again reflected the theme. No plain scones are found on this menu, rather a vanilla infused choice is available alongside a maple syrup & sultana and Seville orange flavour. The latter was so full of orange flavour it did not need the accompanying strawberry preserve, it worked beautifully with the clotted cream, creating an almost orange cake-like dish.

Lastly, the desserts! There is a choice of four to select, meaning that if you were in pair you could potentially taste one of each by sharing, however due to our dietary requirements we stuck with the lemon meringue and blood peach Panna Cotta. I love a toasted meringue and the Lemon base here was sharp and tangy. The panna cotta is presented well and I loved the addition of the golden crunchy milk chocolate spheres.

The staff are warm and welcoming and the venue is in a wonderful location for a delicious pitstop whilst shopping on London's Oxford Street. This tea concept is different to your traditional experience, but I personally loved the idea of being able to choose your menu. The warm savoury selection may have been my favourite aspect creating a lovely High Tea - Afternoon Tea fusion!

Afternoon Tea at Bond St. Tea Rooms is served 1pm to 5pm Thursday - Sunday and is priced from £34 per person. Click here for more details on how to book.

Free Online Booking

Nadia Ismail

Nadia is a Londoner and dessert advocate. Passionate about showcasing the beauty within food and the memories they can evoke, she shares her sweet adventures on her Instagram page @southbankfoodie

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