Today was a naughty day....
It's been a rubbish year this year and with many of us not being able to see our friends and families it's going to be a very strange Christmas. Therefore we all deserve lots of treats and today we booked to take my niece, who is currently living with us whilst on break from Uni - her mum (my sister) lives in the South of France so she is staying in the UK with us, along with my two stepsons - Will & Olly for a festive afternoon tea at Oakley Hall.
Photo taken from Oakley Hall's Facebook page
Afternoon Tea Addict
I am definitely an afternoon tea addict and critic - it's one of my favourite pleasures in life. I think it's because when you go for afternoon tea you sit and enjoy it in a relaxed way, unlike when you go out for a meal you don't feel rushed and you can enjoy the food at your own leisure. Bizarrely it's the only time I can consume two teapots of tea without dashing to the toilet constantly. For me, it's always Earl Grey, which absolutely must be served with tea leaves. I have been for a few afternoon teas whereby they have served it using teabags - I am sorry but if you are paying between £20+ it's to me offensive to give me a teabag. I can do that a home, well I can do tea leaves at home too but it should be compulsory. Today's afternoon tea did not let us down. The service was fantastic and the staff were all wearing masks and kept their distance as much as they could. The setting was much improved since my last visit, they have renovated their restaurant with a mixture of sofa type benches and new comfy chairs. It looks way more modern now and have a much nicer vibe. I should have taken some photos but I was too busy enjoying myself.
By the way, let's discuss china teacups, there is definitely something different about having tea leaves and a china tea cup. I remember my grandma telling me in my younger years that tea should always be served in a china cup and tomatoes taste best when hard. I didn't appreciate these tips at the time as she died before I turned 18. I wish I could have enjoyed afternoon tea with her as I know she would have loved it, I can just imagine us having afternoon tea at Claridge's - sipping our tea from the exquisite china teacups. By the way she was absolutely spot on about the tomatoes - I never ate them as a child but nowadays if a cherry tomato isn't hard, it does not go passed my lips!
Back to today, we each had a Christmas cracker - anyone else think that crackers are such a letdown!? I have yet to see a reasonably priced cracker that is actually worth buying. Who wants the plastic tat that comes in the standard ones? No one I am sure, we buy them out of habit. Someone really should invest more interesting ones. The Hotel Chocolat ones are cute but way overpriced for two chocolates each. We have purchased the racing Santa ones before but once you've done that once the novelty wears off... perhaps some of the game companies could come up with more interesting ones? Don't we look dashing with our crowns on!
Anyways back to our delicious afternoon tea - the sandwiches were as they should be - small, finger size and tasty. I've had afternoon tea sandwiches before that were cut way too big. These should melt in your mouth and not fill you up too much that you can't enjoy your cakes. The best ones I've ever had were at Claridges and Four Seasons (both highly recommended for afternoon tea). Today's consisted of turkey and cranberry, egg mayo, smoked salmon and cream cheese (mine had cucumber instead of the cheese) and a cheese one but mine was replaced with roasted veg and hummus which I swapped with my husband's egg one as chickpea and my stomach are not a combination lol!
I have an afternoon tea routine, I like to work my way up so I start with the sandwiches, then the cakes and finally the scones. The teenagers with us today started with the cakes and scones - they dived straight in and had probably eaten half whilst we were taking a slower pace with our sandwiches. I also like it when me and my husband eat the same cakes at the same time so we can compare notes (sad I know). Today was the first time, I had been truly beaten as I couldn't eat all of the cakes, there were so many. I was well and truly stuffed, in fact between us we left about 8 cakes/scones which was great for my son and eldest stepson who didn't come with us, as we had a nice doggy bag to home with.
My favourite afternoon tea places so far are:
Claridge's - this is a real treat. Stu took me there as a Christmas present a few years ago. It is quite the experience and one you should definitely try. It's not cheap but it's unlimited and you will definitely enjoy every moment of it. You have a personal waitress/waiter who won't let you even fill your own teacup up. Everything is perfect and you feel very special sitting in their tearoom.
Four Seasons Hotel, Hampshire - another quality afternoon tea - image shows my review and photos from my visit there with friends
Chesterfield Soho - a very novel experience, I took my husband there for their Original Sweetshop Afternoon Tea - it was amazing, such a fantastic, slightly different afternoon tea
Tylney Hall, Hampshire - another great venue and quality afternoon tea, we've stayed overnight here before and it's definitely worth visiting.
Old Government House, Guernsey - if you are taking a trip to Guernsey then you won't be disappointed with the afternoon tea on offer here. In fact the hotel is amazing, the service was brilliant throughout the hotel and Guernsey itself is a lovely place to visit.
We have had afternoon tea in many other lovely places and I've also experienced some awful afternoon teas. My tip is go for places that charge at least £20 per person otherwise you don't get a quality experience. There are some places on my 'wish list' to try which include Pennyhill Park (Surrey), Aviator Hotel (Farnborough), The Savoy (London) and probably many more!
Let me know where your favourite place to go is in the comments - always looking for recommendations.
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