Afternoon Tea at the Corinthia Hotel London Review

One of the most obvious things to do while in London would be to attend an afternoon tea. Originally carried out by the wealthy women of the early nineteenth century to prevent hunger between the big meals of the day, the brunch and the steadily later dinner, it was an almost instant hit among the upper class. Traditionally a mix of sandwiches, scones and cakes are served along with the tea, at least in the high society version introduced by the Duchess of Bedford in the late 1840’s (the working class usually had to limit themselves to scones).

One of the best afternoon teas is served at the Corinthia Hotel London. It opened in 2011 in an impressive old government building (that was actually built as the Metropole Hotel in the 1880’s) situated between Trafalgar Square and Thames Embankment. There’s no question this is a luxury hotel but it doesn’t feel unfriendly or snobbish, only welcoming. The Lobby Lounge is situated right between the two entrences, with the maître d’s desk is on the side of Northumberland Avenue. Upon arrival we were given the choice of where we wanted to sit as the Lounge was not full yet. The personell were very friendly and attentive without being intrusive.

The Lobby Lounge is airy, bright and filled with fresh flowers, creating a very pleasant and contemporary but not overwhelming feeling. It is almost the exact opposite of the dark labyrinth of an entrance that the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge has. Even though the ceiling is high and it was not overcrowded it felt cozy and intimate.

A seating group in the Lobby Lounge.

A seating group in the Lobby Lounge.

For the entire experience we only had two choices to make, if we wanted champagne or not and what kind of tea we desired. The rest is included, including refills for as much cake and sandwiches as you want and you can also bring whatever you don’t eat with you. We chose to start our afternoon tea with a glass of champagne (Laurent-Perrier), with only an extra cost of £5 per person (for £10 extra you can get the rosé version).

From the menu we had a choice of about 30 different sorts of tea. Most of them are different kinds of natural teas, such as darjeeling, ceylon, assam etc. But there are of course the english breakfast variants, some white teas and some flavoured teas. They are served with a pot for each tea sort and they will bring you new tea if it runs out or gets cold. There you also have the opportunity to change tea sort if you would like to try on more than one.

While we were sipping on our champagne they brought in the sandwiches. There was a total of six different variants, and you will certainly notice that they have put a lot of effort inte to the flavours and the making of them. They are all perfectly shaped squares with all the edges of the bread trimmed off, leaving the fluffy and yet moist middle of the breadpane left.

The insides of the sandwiches.

The insides of the sandwiches.

Each piece of sandwich is different from the other in all aspects except for the basic shape and size. Different bread types, different proteins and different kinds of “butter”, with all of the the classics represented; smoked trout with cucumber, smoked salmon with cream cheese and chives, roast beef and creamed horseradish, Lancashire Cheese and piccalilli, coronation chicken and finally the egg mayonnaise with watercress. The most remarkable aspect of them was that they were so similar in concept and execution, refined with subtle flavours and still so different. We tried to figure out our favourite the entire time but it was a really tough call and we went back and forth. In the end I could barely choose my favourite four of them, although the cucumber sandwich might have been the most impressive due to how the natural cucumber taste can be elevated to such a degree. As previously stated you can always ask for more sandwiches, but judging from the cake rack you might want to hold off until after you’re through those.

After the sandwiches were finished they brought in the tea and the dessert “thingy”. On top of the rack were freshly baked scones served with clotted cream and house made strawberry and raspberry jam. The scones were moist, sweet yet not too sweet, delicate and if it weren’t for all the other little pastries I would’ve just kept ordering them, they were delicious and probably among the best I’ve ever eaten.

After the scones it’s on to the dessert. We were given eight different kinds of pastries, all looking more inviting than the next. After the sandwiches and scones (and reading on the internet) our expectations were quite high, but nothing could have prepared us for the experience of eating one little perfect cake after the next and just marvel at how cakes, tarts and other sweet bits that we all know and love have been transformed to the most refined versions possible of themselves.

Standouts were the Hummingbird, a banana and pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting, the Bird’s Nest, a dark chocolate mousse with whiskey cream and a chocolate egg and the May Flowers with Berriolette cremeux, raspberry marshmallow and crispy choux on top.

Spring Fever at the Corinthia Hotel London

Spring Fever at the Corinthia Hotel London

However, nothing could’ve prepared us for the final little pastry lingering on the plate. Neither of us are particularly fond of brownies so we saved it for last in case we weren’t going to be able to eat anything more. But the Spring Fever hazelnut brownie were out of this world, after the first little bite something clicked inside my head and I just couldn’t stop smiling and giggle. Call it endorphins, a foodgasm or whatever, it was truly one of the most memorable bites of my life. The brownie combined with a blond chocolate cremeux layer and the gianduja ganache piping gave the richest, creamy chocolate imaginable while hazelnut feullentine provided textured crunch together with a light brownie base that was everything I don’t expect a brownie to be. Need I say we ordered another one of these?

What particularly stood out at the Corinthia was how they serve a genuine Afternoon Tea, they haven’t transformed the classic dishes (not that I’m against that kind of treatment) but just refined them and the whole experience while still keeping it accessible. They almost undersell themselves, while having one of the most notable displays of technique and concept in the world of pastries available today. I wonder where else you can find these “ordinary” cakes lifted to this level, eat them all and live to tell the tale afterwards.

£50 per person including champagne (£45 without champagne), reservation needed. 1 Whitehall Pl, London, UK. Mon-Fri 14-18, Sat-Sun 12-18 (for afternoon tea). http://www.corinthia.com/hotels/london/dining-and-bars/afternoon-tea/