Time for Tea.....Covent Garden Hotel, London

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're feeling tea-riffic today!

Last weekend our lovely friend Sheree was celebrating and her birthday......and what better way to celebrate than a spot of tea. Sheree and her friends enjoyed an afternoon tea adventure at the Covent Garden Hotel in London, which is a Firmdale Hotel.

Let's hear all about Sheree's experience......

Afternoon tea - Covent Garden Hotel

Three of us went to tea which is served in the hotel's Brasserie Max Restaurant. This  offers a range of afternoon teas from 'traditional' to 'gentleman's'. The occasion was a double birthday celebration and the choice of menus was important as one of us is on a gluten free and vegetarian diet, so it was helpful to be able to see the gluten free menu beforehand. 

We each chose a different menu - traditional, Covent Garden and gluten free afternoon tea. 

Afternoon Tea Sandwiches - Covent Garden Hotel

Sandwich variety was good and dietary preferences dealt with well, although the gluten free bread was a little dry. Cakes and sweet treats were a good mix of light and fruity to chocolatey, whilst the scones were a good size, fresh and tasty. We were offered more sandwiches and scones, but even I declined as I'd eaten all of my cakes, which is a first as I sometimes prefer savoury food - this says a lot about the range of cakes being just right for me!

In fact our cake stands were left practically empty, which is the sign of a good tea! 

Afternoon tea - Covent Garden Hotel

Gluten Free Afternoon Tea - Covent Garden Hotel

The restaurant itself was very relaxed and comfortable. We were there nattering for over 3 hours and didn't feel rushed to leave. To help my friend and I celebrate our birthdays we were each presented with an extra cake with a candle matching the colour of our tops! Nice touch!

I'd definitely go back to try another tea, or maybe to have the same one again!

Well it looks like Sheree and her friends had a tea-riffic afternoon tea adventure! To find out more about the Covent Garden Hotel pop by their website.

We'd like to thank Sheree for sharing her experience with us - if you enjoy an afternoon tea don't forget to send us a photo....we love to see what treats you've been experiencing!

Thank you for popping by today,
Rachel & Lorna

Spooky treats from Sweetheart Cake& Bake Shop!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends!

Sweetheart, Covent Garden’s newly opened Cake & Bake shop, is kicking off the autumn season with a spooktacular selection of cupcakes, biscuits and sweet treats during the run-up to Halloween. They are so cute we couldn't wait to share them with you.....

From 10th–30th October, the shop will be offering a line-up of devilishly delightful cupcake flavours, including Evil Pumpkin Oreo, Witchy Chocolate Orange, Trick or Treat Blueberry, RIP Chocolate Heaven, Ghostly Nutella and more. A spellbinding range of tasty cakes, biscuits, teas and beverages will be available for purchase as well.

Owner Polly Antoniadi said: “Halloween is one of our favourite times of the year, and we’re getting as creative as possible with our seasonal flavours and designs! Over 80% of our display will be Halloween-themed versions of our cupcakes, and the shop will be fully decorated, so be sure to visit us in Covent Garden to celebrate the occasion.”

Despite the supernatural theme, all of Sweetheart’s products are made from top quality, pure and natural ingredients such as British butter and fresh milk, handcrafted in-house with TLC and baked with a personal touch.

Cupcakes are available in-store or take-away for £3.80 each.

If you pop by the shop don't forget to take a photo - it sounds like a tea-riffic selection of bakes!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea....Paul Covent Garden

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea review blog post from Tea With Me and Friends. This weekend Lorna and I were invited to sample the new afternoon tea on offer at La Maison Paul in Covent Garden in the Le Restaurant de PAUL. 

We know Paul for their amazing macaroons and artisan breads that leave us drooling in their bakeries, but we didn't know that they offered an afternoon tea and so we were keen to find out more. Le Restaurant de PAUL is situated behind the Paul Covent Garden shop, and its a bustling but cute space full of chatter and hungry shoppers and tourists.

Now, this isn't the kind of afternoon tea you might want for a special occasion, but it's a great alternative to a spot of lunch when out shopping with friends....read on to find out more....

Afternoon tea Paul - Covent Garden

Now as you can see from this photo, the afternoon tea is served on a rather imposing iron stand. It's such a grand size that Lorna looks tiny sitting behind it! This did make conversation a little difficult as the table is very small, but we managed to situate the stand so we could gossip around it! The afternoon tea is either served with a hot drink from the main menu or for a little more money you can opt for a glass of bubbles. Lorna opted for a pot of green tea and I was rather controversial picking a cup of coffee over the teas on offer (yes I know...naughty afternoon tea person!!).

On the bottom tier we were presented with three rather rustic looking sandwiches, made with Paul's artisan breads....

Afternoon tea sandwiches - Paul

The sandwiches were fresh and the bread had a wonderful texture as you would expect from Paul. As you can see there are crusts galore on that plate and not a finger sandwich in sight, but to be honest this really suited Paul and the food they are well known for. It was good to see that they had taken the concept of a traditional afternoon tea, but not compromised their style of food when creating their offering. The fillings included a salmon and cream cheese, a chicken salad and a rather lovely brie and salad. The sandwiches were all filled well and a good size.

Once we had demolished the sandwiches we moved up a tier.....

Afternoon tea....without scones at Paul

Now I imagine the traditionalists of you out there are looking on rather confused....these are not scones I hear you cry! And you'd be right...there isn't a scone in sight at Paul...however in their place we had the most delicious light and buttery brioche. They were huge and served with whipped cream and strawberry jam. 

Again, this swerve from the traditional felt right in Paul, where artisan bread is their speciality. And most importantly.....they were good.....very good!

Finally we moved onto the top tier....now get ready to drool a little....

Afternoon tea cakes - Paul Covent Garden

I think Lorna's face says it all - these really were the jewel on the crown at this afternoon tea!

Let's get a closer look....

Sweet treats - afternoon tea - Paul

In the selection we each had a piece of carrot cake, a piece of strawberry and marzipan cake and a cute little macaroon. The menu states that the tea will consist of two pieces of cake, but doesn't specify which ones....surely that means we can keep going back until we have tried them all!

My favourite was the strawberry gateaux, which was light and filled with creme patisserie. The macaroons were also wonderful, with a crispy shell and soft chewy middle. I wasn't a fan of the carrot cake, which I found quite heavy and dense - however the flavours were wonderful.

Paul introduced this afternoon tea in their Le Restaurant de PAUL in September, and we think it gives visitors a wonderful alternative to the traditional lunch/snack experience. The cost of afternoon tea is £19.90 for tea people including a hot drink each - which is exceptional value for the amount of food served and the quality of it.

It might not be super posh here, but the service was friendly and efficient despite it being really busy. We think this makes a great everyday afternoon tea experience. 

Please note that although we were guests at Le Restaurant de PAUL in Covent Garden, this did not affect our thoughts on the afternoon tea experience and all thoughts here are our own.

We'd like to thank Le Restaurant de PAUL for their hospitality. If you would like to find out more about this afternoon tea please visit their website.

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna