Afternoon Tea at Dalloway Terrace

Bloomsbury has always been an artistic hub in central London and in the 1900’s leant it’s name to the Bloomsbury Group; a group of artists, creatives and like-minded individuals who used to meet and discuss their mutual interests. In 2017 the meeting place has changed somewhat…a beautiful and utterly Instagrammable space that forms part of the Bloomsbury Hotel. Yes, the Dalloway Terrace is back for the spring and summer season!

After the success of last year’s afternoon tea, the Dalloway Terrace asked me to collaborate again and host a group of my favourite bloggers for a champagne fuelled sandwich, cake and scone fest! SilverSpoon’s Afternoon Tea take two!!

Regular readers will be familiar with the Dalloway Terrace as I’ve written about it several times before. There’s an outdoor space allowing you to take full advantage of the British Summer Time…or there’s a sheltered platform should it start to rain. But they’ve covered all based here…heaters and blankets for when it’s cold…and cool refreshments for when it’s hot. But the terrace isn’t just a beautifully Instagrammable hotspot, there’s some thing very special about it. Whether that’s the friendly and welcoming staff, the delicious food and drink or the fun atmosphere; but there’s something about it that makes it feel like home which is why my friends and I return time and time again.

For the auspicious occasion I’d put together a list of my closest blogger friends. Basically the people I spend the whole time whats-apping when I really should be working…
First to arrive was Gary from The Foodaholic and we popped open a bottle of Perrier-Jöuet Blanc de Blancs to toast what we knew would be a very special day on our favourite terrace. The champagne is a new arrival from the house and the light and bright flavours were the perfect way to celebrate the start of spring. Floral and citrus notes were ideal flavours to enjoy on this sunny day in a blossoming terrace. 
Soon Lauren and Katie and Ben were here, more champagne was poured and we took our seats around the table. Comfortably sat on the garden benches and bistro chairs that give the terrace that conservatory like feeling as Emma and Mina arrived.

With a year since we were last all together, there was plenty to catch up on! Katie and Ben will soon be celebrating a year of marriage, Lauren is storming up the career ladder and Emma has just gone freelance!
Cameras were at the ready as the afternoon tea towers arrived.

Dalloway Terrace was named after one of Virginia Woolf’s most famous characters, a fitting name as she was one of the most well-known of the Bloomsbury Group. The author’s famous quotation ‘One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well’ is something that I definitely live by and we soon got stuck into the finger sandwiches, my favourite part of afternoon tea. With delicious slices of smoked salmon and cream cheese, chicken and tomato, cucumber and egg and cress.
  
Next came the Dalloway Terrace’s famous fluffy scones, both plain and sultana, and important decisions were made over whether the cream or the jam went first.
The champagne was topped up frequently and tea was poured too. I chose a zesty lemongrass infusion, served in the gorgeous grey crockery. 
The savoury selection is always my favourite part of afternoon tea and I was pleased to have the opportunity to try the Doyle Collection’s signature Guinness Bread again, this time topped with smoked salmon. If you’re not familiar with the Doyle Collection, the group encompasses several hotels internationally. Predominantly in London, in addition to The Bloomsbury hotel, there’s also The Kensington and The Marylebone
As well as the champagne, cocktails were ordered and Ben tried this rather interesting artichoke negroni. I’ve seriously never seen a cocktail with an artichoke in it before but he very much enjoyed the punchy spike of gin.

Perfectly photogenic and deliciously tasty was the top-tiered sweet course and soon we dug into the cream filled chocolate eclair, delved spoons into the bramley apple and vanilla seed brulee…
We munched on the mango and passion fruit dome, ate the almond pistachio and financier and chomped on the chocolate and caramelised pecan slice. 
Little was left by this hungry group of bloggers and all there was left was to do a final photo shoot!

Afternoon tea gave way to evening and we’d already stayed way past a responsible hour.

But with smiles on a faces, it was clear what a fantastic time we’d had!

I want to thank the Dalloway Terrace once again for asking me to collaborate with them on this tea with all my favourite bloggers!

Our tea at Dalloway Terrace was complimentary and though I worked in collaboration with them my thoughts are independent. 

PIN FOR LATER:

Dalloway Terrace
16 – 22 Great Russell Street
London
WC1B 3NN

020 7 347 1221