Welcome to our blog....here we will share all our afternoon tea adventures with you...the good, the bad and the wonderful!
Showing posts with label afternoon tea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label afternoon tea. Show all posts

Sunday, 14 November 2021

Tea for Tea....Hamiltons Tea House

Hello there, welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends!

Recently a new tea room has opened in my home town, Farnham, it's called Hamiltons Tea House and of course as soon as I saw it was opening I was intrigued. Farnham, like lots of towns, is packed full of coffee shops, both independent and commercial, but we are sadly lacking in proper tea rooms. I discovered that Hamiltons is a family run business, with a passion for great service and making afternoon tea accessible. So accessible that you don't need to book! 

Hamiltons bakes their own scones daily and uses local suppliers (including the lovely Ellie from Bakehouse) to offer a menu that includes breakfast, lunches, cream teas and of course afternoon tea. They have an extensive tea menu, a great range of coffee and hot chocolate and a martini menu....so you can enjoy a cocktail with their afternoon tea! Sounds perfect doesn't it! 

I've now had the pleasure of visiting Hamiltons on two occasions, once for a cream tea and once for the full afternoon tea experience. The cream tea was my first visit and we were pleasantly surprised by the size of the tea menu, the knowledge of the staff and the general wonderfulness of the scones, which were served warm, with clotted cream and strawberry preserve.....


You can pick a plain or sultana scone and a pot of tea from the menu. The tables have tea timers on them and the staff suggest how long your tea should brew for. The crockery, like the tea room, is modern and simple. 

This Saturday, my sister Lorna was visiting and we didn't have any plans for lunch. So on impulse we popped into Hamiltons to see if a table was available, as it was a busy Saturday lunchtime we had a 20 minute wait, but it was worth it! We decided to try the afternoon tea, to discover what a non-booked tea experience would be like. It's a set menu with savouries, scones, cakes and unlimited tea all for £17.50 per person. I wondered whether offering the tea as an walk-in option would effect the quality of what was being offered, would everything be pre-made and a bit stale? After ordering our teas we had a short wait, but when the food came out we were very happy....


Two fabulous stands full of fresh food were brought to our table! Just look at Lorna looking loving at the scones (she's actually scowling at me because she's hungry and I was taking photos!). The bottom plate housed the savouries and a vol au vent, the middle plate has the sweet treats on and the top has the cream and scones.




The sandwiches were so fresh and the bread to filling ratio was perfect. We enjoyed Cucumber, dill and cream cheese, egg mayonnaise, Ham and wholegrain mustard and rare roast beef and horseradish cream finger sandwiches on white and brown breads. There wasn't a crust to be seen, which always makes me smile. Then there was a huge vol au vent, packed full of coronation chicken. The pastry was flaky and the chicken creamy and mildly spiced. A real highlight for me!



The scone plate includes two scones per person, one plain and one sultana - both were generous in size. The scones are served with butter, clotted cream and strawberry preserve. I only ate the fruit scone on this occasion...but it was fresh, baked the whole way though and not at all claggy - perfect for getting cream and jam into my mouth! I can also confirm that the sultanas in the scone were plentiful. 


Sorry this is an awful photo (I was too excited by the cake)...but each afternoon tea stand included three sweet treats. I think the selection changes, on this occasion we had a mini apple crumble concoction in the shot glass (a crumbly base, topped with apples and cream). We also had a piece of chocolate brownie and a mini lemon slice (which I know is delicious as it comes from Bakehouse). Neither of us could finish the whole stand, but we were given boxes to take the extras home in (which always makes a lovely treat the next day!) 


Our tea pots were filled up regularly throughout the afternoon tea and we were encouraged to try more than one tea. Hamiltons had just launched their Christmas tea, which we decided to try. The Christmas tea was fruity and warming, full of cinnamon and clove - really Christmassy! 

The service we experienced on both visits was brilliant, everyone is friendly and knowledgeable about the products. Even though it was busy, no one was rushed and everyone got the same warm welcome. This is the perfect tea room in my humble opinion....simple, not fussy, serving great produce and with friendly staff. I'd definitely recommend popping by Hamiltons if you happen to be in Farnham, if you want to guarantee a table you can book ahead. More information about the menus can be found on their website. 

Thank you for popping by today, I hope you've enjoyed reading about our latest afternoon tea adventure!

Rachel & Lorna

Monday, 10 August 2020

Time for.....lots of Cupcakes from Bakehouse!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends.....home to all things sweet and delicious! We hope you are keeping safe and well wherever you are in the world. These are difficult times, but I hope these sweet treats will at least make you smile (and maybe even drool a little - you have been warned!). 

During the pandemic lockdown (which is easing slowly in England as I write this) I did a lot of home baking, but there were times when I also wanted a treat....a tasty treat baked by someone else. Sometimes there is nothing better than a delicious piece of cake that you haven't made yourself and living alone made that a bit difficult! I was lucky enough to discover Bakehouse, a local baker from Aldershot in Hampshire, via a Facebook recommendation, who offered all kinds of cakes and treats delivered to your door. A dream come true!

When lockdown struck, Ellie started a weekly BakeDrop menu of cupcakes, loaf cakes and biscuits which could be delivered or collected either on a Monday or Friday. The team also offer an afternoon tea menu, which can be delivered or collected on other days but needs to be pre-booked. The BakeDrop menu changes each week and includes a variety of bakes. I've ordered from Bakehouse several times now and wanted to share my experience and support this fabulous local business.

                                                   

Let's start with some of the treats from the BakeDrop menu...each week there will be two varieties of cupcakes, a loaf cake, a tray bake, cookies and some kind of savoury treat. Some weeks you can also buy cake cups too, which are amazing! The choice is really varied each week and you'll be hard pressed not to find something you like! You can order via Facebook or Instagram, its really easy....you just tell the team what you want, pay and then wait! You can opt to collect or they will deliver up to 6 miles from head quarters. 

You've already seen some of the wonderful cupcakes that I have tried over the last couple of months at the top of this article. Flavours offered have included chocolate, carrot cake, strawberry and cream (delicious vanilla sponge filled with strawberry jam), red velvet, mint choc chip, Biscoff biscuit (which comes with a chunk of biscuit), chocolate orange, salted caramel, custard cream, lemon, key lime pie, cinnamon caramel, coffee & walnut (which is a personal favourite) and gin and tonic! I bet you're drooling just reading that selection!

Each cupcake I have tried has been light and flavoursome, topped with a generous helping of butter icing. I really enjoyed the coffee and walnut that I tried recently (great coffee flavour and chucks of walnut), but to be honest there hasn't been a cupcake that I haven't enjoyed yet! The flavours are always well balanced and taste exactly how you think they should. The cakes last quite well too...although who wants to make your cupcakes last....you want to gobble them all up...or at least I do!

I was also impressed with the cake cup that I tried, which was jaffa cake flavour and included a combination of orange sponge, chocolate orange frosting, chocolate sauce, fresh cream and chunks of jaffa cake! Blooming amazing...all that jammed into one cup to enjoy with a spoon! Cake cups don't appear every week, but when they do they are always great combinations such as jammie dodger, millionaire shortbread, red velvet or chocolate peanut m&ms. The cake cup I tried was well thought through, with flavours and textures blending well - a real treat!

I haven't ordered any traybakes, cookies or loaf cakes yet, mainly because the cupcakes are always at the top of the menu and I usually get seduced by something amazing straight away! But if you make it further down the menu and are tempted by the bigger treats you could try lemon drizzle loaf cake, bakewell slice, white chocolate coconut cookies, ginger cake, Oreo cheesecake bar, chocolate raspberry brownie or choc chip cookies to name just a few! Next time I order I think I need to try something other than a cupcake!!

The menu also usually includes sausage rolls, some kind of pinwheel or pastry twist or cheese roll. My favourite is the sausage rolls, which are stuffed full of meat and rolled in flaky pastry - they really are lovely and again last well for a nice weekend treat if you order for a Friday delivery.

As well as all of this deliciousness available on a weekly basis you can also order afternoon teas - if you are lucky Ellie sometimes has spares which she makes into boxes that you can add to a Friday delivery. These are always advertised on Facebook or Instagram and are worth looking out for. Otherwise you need to get organised and order in advance. 

I got lucky one Friday night and got myself a spare box for one....

         

Afternoon tea boxes include finger sandwiches (with not a controversial crust in sight) with traditional fillings, scones with tubs of clotted cream and jam, fruit kebabs (so we can pretend to be healthy), a cupcake (as this was a spare I didn't have a cupcake this time), usually a chocolate honeycomb ganache pot or a raspberry jelly pot (as you can see I got both of these - the chocolate ganache is outrageous....so rich and creamy!). There are also luxury options, vegan options and gluten free options plus a children's version of each variety. Oh and there is a tea and coffee selection included! 

Its the perfect afternoon tea in a little white box! Everything was fresh and well packaged up, so the sandwiches didn't get soggy or stale and nothing leaked during the delivery.

I can confirm that the scones passed the taste test - not at all claggy, but light in texture. The perfect vessel for enjoying cream and jam! 

On top of all this, Ellie is really lovely and its a pleasure to order scrummy cakes from her. Communication is great and payment really easy. If you happen to be in the Aldershot / Farnham area in Surrey and are in need of cake (I'm sure this is a common problem for more people than just me!) then I would recommend taking a look at Bakehouse. 

Just to note that this is in no way a paid ad, I have paid for all the treats I have enjoyed from Bakehouse myself and just wanted to share them with you. For more information pop by the Bakehouse Facebook page. 

Do you have a favourite local baker who has been keeping you in cake during lockdown...if so we'd love to hear all about them - leave us a comment!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel 

Saturday, 9 March 2019

Time for Tea....CUTcakes and Tea....45 Park Lane

Hello there,

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

Last weekend we had the absolute pleasure of visiting 45 Park Lane to try their American inspired afternoon tea at CUT. The afternoon tea launched in Autumn of last year and I've seen lots of scrummy photos of the American inspired savouries and sweets....so we decided it was high time we tried out this indulgent afternoon tea adventure for ourselves.

CUTcakes and Tea is served in the hotel's lounge, which is modern and stylish. We were greeted by name on arrival and all the waiting staff very friendly and knowledgeable about the afternoon tea and also the hotel and it's large art collection.

After we picked our drinks (you can pick from a good selection of teas, coffees or hot chocolate), the savoury plate was brought out....


Now as you may have guessed, this isn't a traditional afternoon tea....and there isn't a single finger sandwich to be seen on the savoury plate. But I have to say it was a wonderful plate! The current savoury selection includes:

‘Guest Dog’ by restaurant Bubbledogs chef Sandia Chang Golden Corndog, Southern BBQ Sauce
Wagyu Beef Slider, Shallot Marmalade, Cheddar
Fried Chicken & Buttermilk Bisquets Coleslaw, JalapeƱo Aioli
Tuna Tartare ‘Sandwich’, Avocado, Ginger
Crab Cake, Basil Aioli, Tomato Relish

Such a good selection of freshly prepared bites!



The aroma from the plate was mouth watering and it was hard to decide where to start first. Both fish dishes were fresh and the flavours within the mini dishes balanced well. I was pleased to discover that the crab cake was not stuffed full of potato like so many others.

The corndog was light and very tasty, I loved the Southern BBQ sauce which was sweet and spicy - my first ever corndog was a success! It's also very pretty to look at, with a golden tint to the batter!

The chicken in biscuit was also light....I've only had American biscuits once before and they were quite stodgy. These were fluffy in the middle and worked really well with the chicken. The piece of chicken was succulent and hot!

The mini slider was so cute....built exactly how a normal slider would be put together, complete with mini pickle! It took about three bites to eat and I loved every mouthful. We were asked how we wanted the slider cooking, which I thought was a nice touch.

I don't think I've ever taken so many photos of the savoury dishes!!


Next came a mini banana and toffee milkshake.....again extremely cute in appearance and big on flavour. I really enjoyed the milkshake, which was rich and creamy and had a wonderful banana flavour (which wasn't at all artificial).


Now came the nod to the traditional afternoon tea..... a scone, which clotted cream and strawberry preserve. The scones were served warm and we were given a mixed berry jam as well as the strawberry preserve, due to a strawberry allergy in the group.


Now this might look like all the other scones on our blog....but this is different....this was described as one of the best scones in London....and claim is actually true! Having eaten rather a lot of scones across London, we are often told that the scone we are about to enjoy is the best....but unfortunately it's often not! So often the scones are either under baked or over baked, with a claggy texture. 

This scone was light as air, didn't fall apart when cut and made the perfect base for the cream and jam! It was well baked, not at all claggy and had a wonderful glaze.

Finally we made it to the sweet selection.... sorry for the awful photo....


As you can see there is a good selection, again all inspired by American favourites:
Peanut Butter Pie
Crème Brûlée Doughnut
Red Velvet Cupcake
Graham Cracker S’more
There is also a Pink Lemonade Cake Pop, which I missed from the photos!

It was hard to decide which order to eat these in and by this point I was a little worried that I would get too full (I wanted to enjoy everything in the lounge rather than take it home on the train!).

As simple as it sounds - the crĆØme brulee doughnut was so good, a fresh doughnut full of a crĆØme brulee custard. I could have eaten several of them! I enjoyed the fresh raspberry with the red velvet cake. The peanut butter pie had a lovely berry jam in the middle, giving a sweetness to the peanut flavour. The S'more was messy, but very scrummy - with a layer of chocolate sauce. 



This is a more expensive afternoon tea, perfect for a celebration. But it's worth every penny....the food is fresh and tasty, the service unpretentious but attentive and the setting relaxed yet refined. It's what I look for in an afternoon tea - the whole experience. 

To find out more about this afternoon tea pop by the 45 Park Lane website. We'll definitely we back again when they refresh the menu.

Thank you for popping by today,
Rachel & Lorna

Saturday, 2 March 2019

Time for Tea.....Vivi, Centre Point

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends, we hope you've had a tea-riffic week!

Recently Sheree and I visited a brand new restaurant and bar to try their afternoon tea. As it was still a soft launch period when we visited I thought I would share the photos of our visit, but this won't be a full review article. Soft launches allow new restaurants and bars to try out their menus and make tweaks before they formally open.

Vivi is a 60s inspired restaurant, located in Centre Point near Tottenham Court Road. They offer all-day dining in a beautiful setting, with four different dining / drinking areas. The styling is absolutely gorgeous, with lots of pinks, blues and gold.....I'd love to go back and enjoy a cocktail or two at the bar...…



Afternoon tea is served from 3pm each day and the menu, much like the main dining menu, features retro classics with a twist. Each guest is given their own afternoon tea serving in a funky box (so no fighting over the last cake!) which contains the sweet selection and savouries, scones are served in their own box and there is also a serving of candy floss each....



The savouries are a mix of traditional flavours from salmon to cucumber, from egg to my favourite....coronation chicken! The sandwiches include traditional finger sandwiches, a delicate pinwheel, an open sandwich and a Vivi club sandwich, the selection of shapes and breads is very appealing....



The sweets are served in the top part of the box and includes a mix of retro classics....from Battenberg cake to filled eclairs from Victoria sponge to carrot cake.... there is something for everyone!



You can opt to have a traditional afternoon tea, accompanied by tea from the tea menu. Alternatively you can also enjoy your afternoon tea with a glass of champagne.

Vivi officially opened on Monday 25th February following their soft launch. If you visit for an afternoon tea we'd love to hear your thoughts....leave us a comment!

Thank you for popping by today,
Rachel 

Sunday, 6 January 2019

Afternoon Tea Baking - Pret a Portea high fashion bakes

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends.

I hope you're well today. Have you made any baking related New Year's Resolutions this year? Maybe you'd like to try baking the sweet treats that you try at afternoon tea? Already love baking, but want to try something new? I might just have the book for you!

Pret a Portea - High Fashion bakes and biscuits

Before we go any further I want to assure you that this isn't an ad, I'm not being paid or rewarded for this blog post in anyway. I bought the book when I enjoyed afternoon tea at The Berkeley last year and was so impressed with the recipes that I wanted to share it with you.

'PrĆŖt-Ć -Portea: High-Fashion Bakes and Biscuits' was published to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iconic fashion inspired afternoon tea served at The Berkeley and includes 20 recipes and baking techniques from the hotel’s Head Pastry Chef Mourad Khiat. 

I'm a home baker, I follow simple recipes and enjoy what I make but I have wanted to stretch myself a little and this book was perfect. The recipes are really easy to follow and the book contains lots of photos of the process as well as the finished items so you can see what you are supposed to be doing. 

Pret a Portea - High Fashion bakes and biscuits

Inside the book you'll find 20 iconic sweet treats that have been served as part of the Pret a Portea afternoon tea experience at some point in the last ten years. You'll also see what fashion item inspired the sweet treat. 

From the Blueberry sponge handbag inspired by Anya Hindmarch to the rainbow meringue summer mousse inspired by Mulberry, or the red sole and sparkle biscuit inspired by Christian Louboutin....you'll find all of these and more in the book!

My baking from Pret a Portea 

One of the items I decided to try was the pearl pump Sachertorte inspired by Nicholas Kirkwood, which featured a Chocolate Miroir finish. Having not attempted Sachertorte previously I was a little apprehensive when I started.

The recipe was broken down into easy to follow sections, making the chocolate sponge and jam filling first, followed by the chocolate Miroir. The recipe also includes styling details to help you finish your bake in the same way as The Berkeley. As you can see from the images I didn't quite follow the styling details, but I was still very impressed with my wonky finished cakes!

They were so shiny that even Niffler was impressed....

A bit wonky, but very shiny! 

This book also contains the best chocolate Brownie recipe I have ever come across. The recipe is very simple, but results in rich and gooey brownies that you will love!

I might have made these once or twice since buying the book....



The book is jam packed with scrummy photos, so even if you don't want to bake the cakes you'll probably spend several blissful hours drooling over the cakes!

As I said, this isn't an ad....but if you are looking for an easy to follow book which will up your baking game then you might enjoy this one!

Do you have a favourite baking book? I'd love to hear all about it - leave me a comment!

Thanks for popping by today,
Rachel

Saturday, 5 January 2019

Time for Tea.....St Martins Lane

Hello there,

Happy New Year!

We hope that you've had a tea-riffic Christmas and wish you a sweet new year full of tea and cake!

Afternoon tea at St Martins Lane, London

At the end of last year Becca, Lorna and I enjoyed a Narnia themed afternoon tea at St Martins Lane in London. You may remember that we've visited St Martin's Lane previously and we're always keen to revisit when they have a new theme.

Although the Narnia themed tea is no longer available, I still wanted to share the photos with you.

Afternoon tea at St Martin's Lane is served in the Den, which is a beautifully snug space....perfect for a winter themed tea. When we visited The Den was dressed with lots of cosy throws and we even had our own pretend wood burner!

Tea at St Martins Lane is served on pretty Ted Baker china.....which I just love.....


as well as the patterns, I love the art deco shapes of the handles. 

The afternoon tea sweets are served on a contemporary stand, with the savoury items presented on a separate plate. There is one item per person....so no need to share or fight over the best looking sweet treats!

Afternoon Tea Stand, St Martins Lane London

This was a serving for three people, the stand does look a bit full!

There were three savoury items on this afternoon tea menu.....however as you can see from the photo below there was not a sandwich (finger or otherwise) in sight:

Ham, mushroom and cheese turnover
Tuna, avocado, tomato and sweetcorn wrap
Spinach and parmesan swirl

Afternoon tea - St Martins Lane, London

I'm going to be honest here....this was not my favourite selection of savoury items.....I'm not really a fan of mushrooms, avocado or spinach....however I ploughed on anyway.

The turnover would have been lovely without the mushrooms, it was hot and the pastry was crisp. Becca, who loves mushrooms, assured me that the mushrooms were good. The wrap was nice (despite the avocado), but I would have preferred a sandwich (call me old fashioned!). The swirl was altogether too spinachy (spell check says that's not a word, but I don't care) for me, but the pastry was lovely. 

Moving onto the scones....there was one each....but they were massive....

Massive scones at St Martins Lane

The flavour of the scones was good, along with the cream and raspberry jam, but the texture was a little claggy for me. I think this was due to the size of them rather than anything else - you really needed a lot of cream on them!

The sweets looked good and included a pretty Aslan head which I couldn't wait to try:
Snowball chestnut, blueberry
Aslan chocolate & caramel bonbon
The wardrobe almond biscuit, pear & pecan cream
The Ice Queen's Crown coffee tart
Turkish Delights
Mini mince pies



There was a good choice of sweet treats, meaning there was something for everyone. However, they didn't all hit the spot.....

I loved the coffee tart (coffee is always a win for me), the Turkish Delights were refreshing to enjoy at the end of the meal and the mini mince pies were packed with flavour (again I love a mince pie). I also enjoyed Aslan's head (sounds a bit weird I know), but it was super sweet and a little too big to enjoy the whole head - I think we probably ate one head between all three of us. 

We couldn't really taste the flavours in the snowballs and the wardrobes were a little bit confusing with the biscuit textures and the pears.

The service as usual was friendly and professional and the waiters all knew the menu well. We could change our tea choice throughout our time in The Den, or decide to enjoy a cup of coffee or hot chocolate instead.

As well as scrummy afternoon teas, St Martin's Lane has a beautiful lobby with lots of photo opportunities.....


All in all we enjoyed our latest visit to St Martins Lane and will no doubt visit again in 2019. To find out more about the latest afternoon tea adventures at St Martins Lane pop by their website

Thank you for popping by today - we look forward to seeing you again soon!

Rachel & Lorna

Saturday, 24 November 2018

Time for Scones.....Mini Review Richoux Gloucester Road

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends, we hope you're well today.

I happened to be near Gloucester Road tube station recently and in need of a cup of tea, so I popped into Richoux  where I was persuaded by my companions to indulge in a scone with my cuppa (as you can imagine I didn't need much persuasion!).

With four locations across London and the south coast, Richoux offers diners a range of menus across the day. From all day breakfasts, to sandwiches and salads and main meals. However, they also offer rather wonderful looking Patisserie....



Looks good doesn't it! I wish I had tried the Viennese biscuits, but I didn't spot them until I was leaving.

If I'm honest the service we experienced on the day was a little slow and missing some smiles. We arrived without a reservation, just after lunchtime which could have explained the slowness. 

The tea menu offered a choice of different loose leaf teas, which were served in teapots and pretty teacups.


We order a cream tea for one, which included two baby scones, along with your choice of hot drink.

 The scones were served warm with strawberry jam and clotted cream. Unfortunately I think the scones had been warmed either in a microwave or in a too hot oven because they were hard in the middle. 


The scones were full of fruit, which was really nice. But the experience was somewhat ruined by the hard centres - I would have preferred to enjoy the scones cold. 

Richoux also offers diners the option of a traditional afternoon tea, which includes a selection of traditionally filled finger sandwiches, the baby scones and a choice of patisserie with your hot drink. 

For a quick stop Richoux offered a good cup of tea, but I don't think I'll be returning for another scone!

Thank you for popping by today,
Rachel

Saturday, 17 November 2018

Time for Tea....Mary Poppins at Aqua Shard

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends!

There is one afternoon tea that we'd love to try, but its hard to get a reservation on the weekend because it's so popular. With a certain film due out in December I'm sure it's going to get even more popular....


Yes, its the Mary Poppins inspired tea currently being served at Aqua Shard. 
How cute is that cake stand?

Inspired by the Mary Poppins books by P.L Travers, this afternoon tea was launched at the same time as the books were re-launched by Harper Collins. 

Luckily, fellow afternoon tea lover Rachel was treated to the Mary Poppins afternoon tea as part of her recent Birthday celebrations and has shared her experience with us.

Just take a look at the gorgeous crockery....those plates are lovely...


The afternoon tea kicks off with a selection of quintessentially British finger sandwiches:
Cackleberry egg & black truffle sandwich
Ms Kirkham's cheddar, Branston pickle & English mustard ploughman's sandwich
Dingley Dell honey roast ham, mustard mayonnaise & Norfolk rocket cress sandwich
Dressed Devon crab, cucumber & coriander served on a brioche roll
Mini crumpet served warm with Scottish smoked salmon & cream cheese

The crab brioche rolls sound divine!


After guests enjoy homemade scones with clotted cream and either cherry or plum jam they can enjoy the homemade cakes and sweet treats....
'Strike me pink' sponge
Fairground candy floss
Mrs Corry's gingerbread star
Mary's chocolate & cherry hat
The 'back to front zoo' golden syrup tart


Rachel said she enjoyed the experience, all the food was scrummy!

I'd still love to try this afternoon tea for myself - I love the sound of both the sweet and savoury elements. If you happen to enjoy the champagne afternoon tea, you are also offered "medicine" with your champagne in the form of three homemade liqueurs (rum punch, strawberry or lime) which sound scrummy!

To find out more about the Mary Poppins afternoon tea pop by the Aqua Shard website.

A big thank you to Rachel for sharing her afternoon tea photos with us. If you enjoy an afternoon tea we'd love to see your photos too - leave us a message on our Facebook page!

Thank you for popping by today,
Rachel & Lorna