Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you are well today. Last weekend Becca and I enjoyed a rather unique afternoon tea at a fairly new tearoom just off Oxford Street. Scoff and Banter was been open for about eight months now, and offers guests the chance to personalise their afternoon tea experience - picking items from a menu.
When we heard about this afternoon tea experience we knew we needed to give it a try, and our timing was perfect as Scoff and Banter were running an offer that gives guests enjoying an afternoon tea a bottle of Prosecco to enjoy too!
The tearoom itself is located just off Oxford Street, on the second floor of a hotel (perfect for a mid-shopping break!). It's a light and modern tearoom, with a lovely feel to it....
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| Scoff and Banter, London |
Lot's of wooden furniture, pretty china and white linen
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| Afternoon tea at Scoff and Banter, London |
Once hot beverages have been selected you are left to peruse the menu, which is split into four different sections - hot dishes, scones, sandwiches and desserts. Each guest can pick two options from each section of the menu. The hot dishes include items such as Lobster brandy soup with a warm cheese scone or Oysters Rockefeller and the scones include a savoury cheese scone and chocolate version. In the sandwiches you will find Rare venison, gin and tonic relish on rye bread or a traditional Cucumber on white bloomer. The desserts menu includes a fresh strawberry tart with whipped cream and a Chocolate whisky cake. You really are spoilt for choice with this menu!
Once you have ordered, the hot dishes are brought out first - served on plain white china.
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| Hot dishes at Scoff and Banter, London |
As you can see the portion sizes are rather generous! Becca and I both decided to try the warm caramelised onion tart (on the left in the photo above), which was scrummy. The pastry was buttery and rich, and the filling was creamy and full of onion. Becca had the Lamb cutlet (also pictured above) which she thoroughly enjoyed and I had a small bowl of Sticky Beijing fillet of beef which was rich and flavoursome - really scrummy!
Once we had finished the hot dishes, the afternoon tea stand was brought out. This contained the rest of our afternoon choices - the sandwiches, scones and sweets. And I think you'll agree...it's a pretty impressive stand.....
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| Afternoon tea stand Scoff and Banter, Oxford Street |
Let's start with the sandwich options....which frankly looked like mini masterpieces....no standard finger sandwiches here! Becca opted for the Chicken Caesar and rosemary focaccia, which was an open sandwich, and the Smoked salmon, crayfish and dill crème fraîche, toasted bagel. I enjoyed the Steak and balsamic onions on toasted multigrain and the Croque-madame.
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| Afternoon tea savouries - Scoff and Banter, Oxford Street |
Everything was freshly made, was well balanced in flavours and a feast for the eyes too! I really enjoyed the little croque-madame, which was served warm with a runny yolk. We really liked the selection on offer, there is definitely something for everyone here.....although afternoon tea traditionalists might have frowned at the lack of finger sandwiches.
Next came the scones, and to be honest this is where the afternoon tea fell down slightly. The scones were of the mini variety and the flavours we could pick from included:
Pecan and apple (v)
Maple syrup and sultana (v)
Vanilla (v)
Seville orange (v)
Valrhona chocolate (v)
Cheddar cheese
They are served with pots of clotted cream and two homemade preserves.
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| Afternoon tea scones - Scoff and Banter |
Becca had the pecan and apple and the cheddar cheese, while I picked the Seville orange and the Valrhona chocolate. Becca's cheese scone lacked cheesiness and she wasn't given anything other than the clotted cream and jam to eat with it! Both the Orange and the chocolate scones were bland too, and a tad bit claggy. Becca did however enjoy the pecan and apple.
Finally we moved onto the sweet selection, which included both cold and a hot selection. We could pick from the following:
Fresh strawberry tart, whipped cream
Chocolate whisky cake, candied orange
Lemon meringue, blackberry compote,
lime syrup (v)
Trifle, roasted balsamic strawberries
Sticky toffee pudding, salted caramel
ice cream, macadamia nut brittle (v)
Poached rhubarb and custard, ginger
bread biscuit (v)
Dark chocolate crème Chantilly
Raspberry and Prosecco jelly
What a fabulous selection....again there is something for everyone there!
This time Becca picked the lemon meringue and the sticky toffee pudding (which is served hot and brought to the table when you ask for it) and I went for the chocolate whiskey cake and the dark chocolate creme Chantilly.
All I can say is that I was very jealous of the sweets that Becca picked...just look at the meringue.....
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| Afternoon tea sweets - Scoff and Banter |
Not only did it look scrummy, it tasted wonderful too! The flavours worked so well together, especially the lime syrup.
The sticky toffee pudding was served in a little expresso cup and that was super scrummy too....
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| Sticky toffee pudding - Scoff and Banter |
On top of the scrummy food and relaxed environment, all the staff we encountered were friendly, professional and very knowledgeable about the menu. They gave good suggestions on menu choices and we enjoyed the friendly service.
The standard afternoon tea at Scoff and Banter is £34.00 per person, this rises to £39.00 if you want to include a glass of Prosecco. There is also the option to upgrade to a glass of champagne.
All in all I think this is a great value afternoon tea (even with the slightly disappointing scones) - the food isn't limitless, but its great quality and very filling. I really liked the choice that we had, it made it a very personal experience.
For more information about this afternoon tea please visit the Scoff and Banter website.
Thank you for popping by today,
Rachel
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