A Very Royal Afternoon tea!
I recently tried the new offering at the Rubens Hotel, which is named Halal Sparkling Afternoon Tea, and was mesmerized by it!
Firstly, the location. The Rubens at the Palace lies at the heart of London's biggest tourist attractions and is the closest hotel to Buckingham Palace, within easy walking distance of Victoria Station and some of London's best shops and restaurants. We had a window seat and we could see one of the entrances to the Royal Mews and the main Buckingham Palace Road. We were seated in a relaxed environment with a live pianist who was incredibly talented! We were immediately served a sparkling So Jennie Rose (non-alcoholic) which was very refreshing and made from premium concentrated grapes. We were then asked to pick our teas from a lovely selection from P.M. DAVID SILVA & SONS (this was established in 1945 during the Plantation Raj in Ceylon's world famous Dimbula Valley, and they have developed a reputation for serving the world's most sought-after teas that are hand plucked and ethically sourced!). We chose the Chai Cinnamon and Earl Grey - they were both very good and my particular favourite was the Chai Cinnamon, which has spicy but also sweet notes - perfect for a chilly afternoon in London! We then ended up having 2 portions of the sandwiches - that’s how good they were! With selections like smoked Scottish salmon & horseradish cream cheese, coronation chicken & toasted almonds, roasted pepper & sundried tomato hummus, egg & watercress, and cucumber & cream cheese. The staff was incredibly kind and we had two servings of these wonderful delights! The second tier was even better! We had traditional scones and honey & white chocolate ones paired with clotted cream and saffron & plum jam - that was a beautiful surprise! Needless to say, we wanted more but decided not to have seconds as the third tier was awaiting us. Now my usual favourite section is the third tier of all afternoon teas and this did not disappoint. We had five beautiful desserts named The Crown (cinnamon chocolate mousse, brownie biscuit, and coconut marshmallow), Fruit from the Queen’s Orchard (peach-shaped mousse with peach compote), Royal Macaron (caramelized apples with coffee whipped ganache), Fruit Eclair (fruit compote and mousse eclair) and Gooseberry & Custard Sandwich (gooseberry jelly, thyme & lemon sponge, vanilla custard). All these desserts are tributes to the Royal Family, especially the Queen, Prince Phillip, and Prince Charles. This was a wonderful celebration and I had the most amazing time. I can only thank the team again for such a warm welcome and beautiful afternoon tea and highly recommend it! They have other options of afternoon teas (some with alcohol for those who drink it), so I’m sure you will find an option that works for you (they are very accommodating of dietary requirements). Thank you again The Rubens at The Palace for having us and I look forward to visiting again!
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