I often get excited by new hotel openings but no where got me quite so thrilled as the announcement of Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square. A new hotel by my favourite luxury brand right in my home town! When Lauren invited me to try the hotel’s chocolate Easter Afternoon Tea in the Rotunda Lounge I couldn’t wait to check it out!
The hotel is located right in the centre of London close to famous landmarks such as the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the River Thames, making it the perfect location for business travellers and tourists alike. Leading straight from the lobby is the Rotunda Bar, a beautifully dramatic space with a striking art deco feature ceiling and wall details telling the story of the building past as headquarters of The Port of London Authority.
But what really caught my eye was this beautiful rose-gold bar – perhaps London’s most instragrammable bar? But it has substance as well as style with a thoughtful cocktail list put together by Head Bartender Michal Maziarz with the ethos of keeping things simple with minimal ingredients but fantastic flavours. Cocktails such as Forget-Me-Not link to the maritime history of the building recalling the sailors’ wives who wore forget me nots to pay tribute to their husbands at sea.
I’m definitely going to come back to try the cocktails but today was all about afternoon tea!
You can have the tea with or with out champagne but I don’t think this would be an Angie and Lauren day out if there wasn’t at least one glass of fizz. The Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires is the suggested tipple and not one I’d tried before but we loved the sweet notes that complimented our pastry selection perfectly. 
It wasn’t long before our (very lovely) waitress bought along the sandwich and savoury selection.
And really have you ever seen such a beautiful and inventive sandwich platter? I definitely haven’t! Each morsel also contained chocolate of some form though in a subtle way that wasn’t overpowering at all. The roast beef with granny smith compote with verjus and chocolate nibs on a milk bun was a dream and can you imagine my joy at tucking into the Scottish salmon roll with smoked salmon rillette and lime mayonnaise? It was absolutely gorgeous too!
Goat cheese mousse with espelette coulis and bitter chocolate powder on cereal toast was another favourite of mine and it was slight reminiscent of tiramisu. 
I’m not usually a fan of egg sandwiches but this one had been elevated to another level, described as an ‘egg mimosa’ with watercress leaves and truffle oil. The only one that wasn’t really for me was the foie gras terrine with dulcey chocolate and rum gel on pumpernickel though I imagine foie fans would be in heaven.
I sipped a rooibos tea as we moved on to the scone course…
But these weren’t just any scones, they were home made chocolate scones and they came complete with seasonal jams, hazelnut spread and Devonshire clotted cream! They were delicious and tasted more like muffins than scones – the perfect bridge between the savouries and the pastry course.
It’s no wonder we had smiles on faces, the chocolate pastries were truly incredible. Created by Executive Chef Benjamin Brial and Executive Pastry Chef Sylvain Nicolas and using only the finest Valrhona chocolates, we were in for a treat. I think they have been sprinkled with a little of that Four Seasons magic that I’ve come to know and love too. 
They were all wonderful but if I had to choose my favourite it would be the choux bun with tonka mouselline made with 70% Guanaja chocolate. I think next would have to be the caramel crunch with chocolate chantilly that looked a bit like a snickers bar.
The macaron with matcha and orange confit filling was simply glorious and it was made with 35% Ivoire chocolate. Chocolate tart with raspberry and candied ginger was one of my favourite flavour combinations and I had just enough room to try a bit of the chocolate mousse trio with a caramel crisp.
And even after all those gorgeous chocolates, the tea isn’t over as our waitress bought over one last one to sample – a gorgeous cheesecake topped with fruit.
As well as a little herbal tea to help digest all that food. Don’t you just love the gold trimmed crockery too? 
After our tea we went to have a little snoop around La Dame de Pic, the restaurant from Anne Sophie Pic, the only French female chef to currently hold three Michelin stars. Lauren and I are keen to return to try the food there as well as the soon to be opening Asian restaurant at the hotel.
I left more than a bit in love with Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square with it’s beautiful decor incredible food and iconic location. The Easter afternoon tea is only available until 23rd of April so get there soon!!
Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square
10 Trinity Square
London
EC3N 4AJ
Our afternoon tea was complimentary.
