Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're having a tea-riffic day!
Last weekend I treated my lovely fried Alex to a belated Birthday afternoon tea at The Balcon in Sofitel St James. As this was a special occasion I wanted a special afternoon tea and this one included free flowing champagne along with the sweet treats and finger sandwiches - just perfect!
As our bubbles were poured we were left with the tea samples to explore - the jars allow you to smell the leaves and all the descriptions can be found in the menu.
Once we'd selected our teas the afternoon tea stand and sandwiches were brought out to us. The sandwiches came on a separate plate and the scones were served warm. The stand included three different scones, which were accompanied by clotted cream, rose scented strawberry jam and lemon curd. Plus a selection of four good sized pastries.
The stand was simple but elegant, very befitting of the surroundings. The sandwiches were presented on a simple white plate, there were a selection of four fillings....
The sandwich fillings included egg mayonnaise, cheese and tomato, a smoked chicken and a salmon and cucumber sandwich. The bread was all fresh and squidgy and not a crust in sight. I particularly enjoyed the tomato bread that came with the chicken sandwich.
The sandwiches were also quite unique as they were triple-decker sandwiches....
The bread was thin enough that the sandwiches were still dainty and delicate, but the extra bread also meant that the sandwich did not become soggy. A great idea! I think my favourite filling was the egg mayonnaise sandwich, which was filled well and tasted wonderful.
Next we moved onto the scones - there was a chocolate chip scone, a plain scone and a fruit scone to enjoy.
The scones were a good size (although we only ate two each) and they were a great texture - not at all claggy. The lemon curd was lovely with the clotted cream and I really enjoyed the rose scented strawberry jam.
Moving onto the pastries at the top of the stand....
We had four pastries to enjoy between us, but they were big enough for us to cut in two and share. Now I have to admit that I can only remember three of the four pastries (sorry!), there was an Opera cake, a raspberry macaroon and a matcha tea slice. My favourite one was the Opera cake.
I had also mentioned when making my reservation that it was Alex's Birthday and the staff very kindly presented another plate of pastries to Alex, singing her a rendition of Happy Birthday.
All in all this was a rather lovely afternoon tea, we enjoyed champagne throughout the afternoon tea and were altered to when the 90 minute time frame was going to run out. The Balcon is a beautiful space and I liked the modern but simple feel.
If you'd like to find out more about the afternoon tea at The Balcon pop by their website.
Thank you for popping by today,
Rachel
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