I have to admit that this was not my first visit to the Langham Hotel in London. I went there for afternoon tea last spring as well, and it was so pleasant I decided it warranted another visit. So when I found myself planning a weekend in London I just had to book a table for an afternoon of indulgence.
Afternoon tea at a posh hotel is not something that I can afford to do every day, but that makes it even more of a treat when I do splash out on something like this. There were two menus to choose from, the Wonderland Afternoon Tea (£38 per person) and the Stephen Webster Bijoux Tea (£49 per person). We chose the Wonderland menu, and did not regret it.
There is an extensive tea menu to choose from (some teas are included in the menu price, whereas others have an additional charge). Luckily you are given plenty of time to make your choices, and should you have any questions there is a tea sommelier at hand to help.
Once we had finally made our tea choices (much more difficult than the food choice), we were rewarded with an amuse bouche; a rhubarb jelly with custard. It was mouth-wateringly delicious. And then our teas and sandwiches arrived in a steady stream of pots, plates and waiters. Our cakes arrived at the same time, standing there – tempting us with their presence.
Being a vegetarian I asked for an alternative to the standard menu, which included fish and meat. This request was no problem at all, and I received sandwiches that looked, and tasted, just as delicious as the standard ones. There was even a refill of sandwiches if we wanted.
Our cups were refilled throughout the meal, and more pots of tea were provided when we ran out. My tea was the rose-bud tea, a deliciously fragrant one.
When we had finished our sandwiches it was time for scones. They were served warm, in a little basket, with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Sometimes scones can be a bit heavy and cloggy; not so these ones. They were light and airy, and melted in our mouths. As did the clotted cream and home-made jam. It was one of those moments when I wished I’d had more room in my tummy; I could have eaten many many more.
Finally it was time for cakes; we had looked at them in anticipation for a very long time (at least it felt like it). The only problem was which one to eat first? I went for the salty popcorn and toffee macaroon, since it sounded a bit dubious and I wanted to get it out of the way first, so that I could enjoy the nicer-sounding ones afterwards. How wrong I was. It was absolutely delicious, possibly the best one out of the lot. Slightly salty but sweet, buttery and more-ish.
After our afternoon tea was devoured we were sat there looking at each other, knowing that we eventually would have to move, but wondering how we were going to manage. I have not felt that full for a long time, although not unpleasantly full, just full in a very content and happy sort of way. We’d been there for a couple of hours, eating our way through mouthful after mouthful of delicious food, being waited on hand and foot, enjoying the complete relaxation and break from reality that The Palm Court at Langham is.
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