It’s no secret that afternoon tea is top of the list for visitors to Britain and an immensely enjoyable treat for the rest of us. And we Americans have a particularly soft spot for the tradition, and are quick to learn to use a tea strainer, put milk in our brew and deftly layer those tender scones with clotted cream and jam.
With an ever-growing list of top hotels, restaurants and cafe´s offering their versions of afternoon tea, the competition for the annual Afternoon Tea Awards, the Oscars of the tea world, is a stiff one. Proud winner of this year’s Family Friendliest Tea is Grosvenor House Hotel’s wonderful Park Room.
There is almost nothing more delightful than a late summer afternoon’s stroll through London’s Mayfair, with its historic streets, charming mews, elegant arcades, past gracious Grosvenor Square with its clear views of the US Embassy’s iconic golden eagle, as we approach our goal: a luxurious afternoon tea in the Park Room.
The Park Room has recently been re-designed in a refreshing country house style. Details like peacock carpets, crystal butterfly lights, enormous fresh floral displays and plush green sofas overlooking Hyde Park all help to create an oasis of peace, calm and all things botanical.
The Park Room boasts an innovative, The gracious Deanna, Park Room Grosvenor House Hotel seasonally-changing tea menu created by an international team of chefs. Anna’s Afternoon Tea gives guests a chance to sample the very best of British traditional tea treats: delicate finger sandwiches followed by a second course of large open ones, pastries like strawberry and cream choux or black cherry and custard with shortbread, lavish helpings of clotted cream and handmade preserves along with reputedly the best scones in London, (complementing the hotel’s JW Steakhouse nearby, which serves up the world’s best American cheesecake outside the USA).Tea-timers have the very challenging task of selecting their fresh brew or infusion from a beautifully described list of Newby teas, blends like English Breakfast, Fujian Oolong, Jasmine Pearls and Silver Needle.
The award-winning Park Room Children’s Menu is a mix of art and joy, starring the imaginative Grover’s Children Tea.Your junior tea- timers will lap up goodies like double chocolate Brownie cornets, fruit skewers with yoghurt and coulis and miniature Knickerbocker Glories,* child-friendly sandwiches, and a cuddly present for little ones to take home. The list of special children’s tea blends includes Apple Strudel, Tropical Delight and Rooibos Tiramisu.
The global village which makes up the Park Room’s tea-team has but one aim– to ensure your afternoon tea experience is practically perfect in every way, noble Wunderkinds like floor manager Mikhail Pop, waitress- extraordinaire Deanna and Igor the Pianist, who delights in playing tea-timers’ requests. “More sandwiches Madam?”, “Different tea with each of your pastries, Sir?”,“A fat slice of chocolate cake or Victoria sponge to take home in a fancy box, little Miss?”
Our advice? Just say,Yes please.
*for the uninitiated, a Knickerbocker Glory is a quintessential British ice cream sundae, served in a tall glass with alternating layers of crunch, cream, fruit and syrup with a cherry on top, as featured in the Harry Potter books.
The Park Room, Grosvenor House Hotel, London Anna’s Tea £42.50 (with champagne options), Grover’s Children’s Tea £15.00 www.parkroom.co.uk
Picture: The gracious Deanna, Park Room Grosvenor House Hotel
Article by Judith Schrut - Email Judith