It’s not hard for me to name my favourite place in London. It’s where Mr S and I had our first dance as a married couple, the location of the best restaurant in London and where we celebrated my father-in-law’s 80th birthday. Yes, The Dorchester Hotel is easily my ‘happy place’, a venue where I’ve made so many incredible memories and had so many wonderful moments. So you can imagine my excitement to be going to the luxury hotel again, this time to sample the Ice Cream Champagne Afternoon Tea, along with my friend Aftab.
The interior of The Dorchester is one of the most sumptuous and luxurious of all the London hotels. I’ve always loved The Promenade, the ‘drawing room’ of the hotel where afternoon tea is served, with its beautiful silk sofas, comfortable cushions and elegant hanging lights.
The gorgeous flowers by in-house florist Phil Hammond are refreshed every day so that you’ll never see less-than-perfect peonies or slightly faded roses. Aftab and I took our seats on the high-backed chairs with perfectly elegant table settings and silver cutlery, as you would expect in such a deluxe hotel.
In the back ground a pianist played some of our favourite Disney songs so we were never left guessing what each tune was.
We started with a cocktail that was alcoholic with absinthe, fluffy with egg white and slightly sweet with grenadine and topped with a raspberry and sprig of lavender, the perfect summer drink to kick off afternoon tea.
There’s a vast selection of artisan afternoon teas on offer but ever the coffee lover I decided to start with my favourite caffeinated beverage whereas Aftab opted to try a vanilla tea. What I always notice when I come to The Dorchester is the perfect service and the attention to detail, our server was never far away to refill our cups and offer more. Plus he had a wide knowledge of the hotel itself and the food on offer.
I think Aftab must be may favourite person to go for afternoon tea with, he doesn’t like smoked salmon so he lets me have all the smoked salmon sandwiches! Also presented to us on this gorgeous duck egg blue platter was a creamy seafood sandwich, traditional cucumber, egg and shiso cress and basil bread with a generous helping of chicken.
Next came a palate cleanser, a gorgeously presented mini crumble topped with a swirl of strawberry cream and fresh fruit. I love it when you receive all these little extras at afternoon tea, it just makes it even more special.
A glass of fizz is never far away from a luxury afternoon tea and this one is accompanied by Laurent-Perrier, my favourite champagne. There’s the choice of the brut or the rosé but for me pink bubbly just tastes like summer and I absolutely love the beautiful bottle of Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé.
Moving on to tea, I chose a strawberry and kiwi flavour which was described as ‘for the younger guests’… as a non-tea drinker I always prefer the fruity varieties on my palate and the kiddies tea fit rather nicely with our Disney tunes too.
Warm fluffy scones, both raisin and plain, are served with homemade strawberry jam, sweet black currant and clotted cream just ready to be smothered over each side.
Next came our selection of French delicacies including a vanilla macaron with chocolate sesame seeds, the perfect pastry box of strawberries and cream, and a zesty lemon meringue, all light, fresh flavours perfect for summer.
The final sweet was The Dorchester’s version of a Ferrero Rocher, slightly deconstructed and presented as a beautiful morsel.
Mr S and I have been lucky enough to visit the kitchen of The Dorchester a few times first for a canapé master class and another time for our wedding menu tasting. The kitchen itself is vast owing to the fact that the food from all four of the main restaurant spaces, as well as private dining and room service, is prepared there. I’d highly recommend a visit if you ever get the chance, it’s an absolutely fascinating place to see.
Finally came the pièce de résistance of the afternoon tea; the mini cream cones themselves in multiple flavours that shun tradition such as clotted cream and cherry, honeycomb and strawberry basil and even blackberry mojito sorbet!
I absolutely loved this twist on afternoon tea, perfect for summer and each is totally adorable!
Aftab and I very much enjoyed the Ice Cream Champagne Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester. As usual the hotel lived up to every expectation; fantastic food, perfect service and the ultimate in luxurious surroundings.
From today until August 14th throughout #AfternoonTeaWeek The Dorchester are running an Instagram competition for the chance to win an Ice Cream Champagne Afternoon Tea experience for two!!
Fingers crossed for a sunny day and upload a photo of your ice cream to Instagram. Follow @TheDorchester and use the hashtags #TheDorchester #AfternoonTeaWeek. The competition will be judged by luxury travel blogger Emily Johnston of Fashion Foie Gras.
The Dorchester
53 Park Lane
London
W1K 1QA
020 7629 8888
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Our afternoon tea was complimentary.
