The Chocoholic Afternoon Tea at Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square

There is a sparkly brand new Four Seasons Hotel in London, located at a very special and swanky venue – in a Grade II Listed building at Ten Trinity Square, which was once the 1922 headquarters of the Port of London Authority. It overlooks the River Thames at Tower Hill, in the south-eastern corner of the City. In fact, we enjoyed the views of the Tower of London and glimpses of Tower Bridge before setting foot in to the grand building.

As stunning as the architecture is on the exterior, the interior is even more show stopping and as you walk into the building you feel like you are entering an interior lover’s dream. This is what I love about the Four Seasons brand – you always feel that wow factor whenever you walk into the hotel.

Through this lovely section is the Rotunda, where there is the most beautiful bar I have seen, as well as a lounge area, the venue for our Afternoon Tea.

As we visited during the Easter long weekend, there were two Afternoon Tea varieties available – a special limited edition one for Easter called The Chocoholic Afternoon Tea, as well as The Royal Afternoon Tea. We were keen to try the Chocoholic one and so we sat back and relaxed whilst the lovely David, our waiter that afternoon, talked us through the courses and poured us some lovely chilled champagne.

Our choice of champagne was the The Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires 1995 Vintage and it was really lovely and we toasted to a wonderful afternoon ahead.

As it was Easter, the bar had also prepared a special cocktail complete with mini eggs attached to the side of the glass for all the guests. It was made to mimic an Easter garden and it was utterly delectable. I thought this was a wonderful gesture as it made the experience feel that much more personal and special to mark the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

We then selected our choice of teas from the rather impressive and extensive choice available. I went for a White Tea and picked the Jasmine Silver Tip, whilst Amit went for a Black Tea – the Shire Highlands Hand Rolled from Malawi.

 

 

First to arrive were our selection of sandwiches and it all arrived and just looked show stopping. I don’t think I have ever seen such a pretty assortment of savouries at an Afternoon Tea quite like this one as usually the focus is always on the pastries!

I mean wow! You’d be forgiven for thinking that this platter was a mix of savoury and sweet as they were all delicately decorated. Each of the selection have an element of chocolate incorporated into them which I thought was really innovative and clever.

The choices were Roasted Beef, Goat Cheese Mousse, Foie Gras Terrine, Egg Mimosa and Scottish Salmon Rolls. Before we dug in David, our waiter, instructed us to lift up our side plates and look underneath. There was a map and he then he explained the history of the venue in which we were enjoying our afternoon tea and how goods were registered in the very room in which we were seated.

He also pointed out aspects around the room and details on the walls which were there for Feng Shui. I found this really fascinating and he had me captivated and wanting to know more about the history of the building, as well as the Four Seasons brand. What I did take away was that he absolutely loves working for this hotel brand and you could totally see the passion and enthusiasm in his facial expressions of glee and delight.

I then thoroughly enjoyed trying each of the sandwiches and my favourite was definitely the Egg Mimosa. It had truffle in it and is by far the best egg sandwich I have had in my life hands down because the addition of truffle is just pure genius! Amit loved it too, so much so that he asked if he could have one more!

Then after a short pause while we reflected on our scrumptious savouries, the pastry course arrived! I love it when an Afternoon Tea stand arrives at the table. I always find it so exciting to see the various shapes, colours and designs of each of the pastries and this one was beautiful!

The pastries were at the top tier, the homemade chocolate scones were in the middle tier, and the various ramekins filled with clotted cream, seasonal jam and chocolate hazelnut spread adorned the bottom tier.

I loved the attention to detail and had a clear favourite and that was the Orange hued choux bun with tonka mouselline and made with 70% Guanaja chocolate. Each of the pastries are created using Valrhona chocolates.

I also loved the Chocolate tart with raspberry and candied ginger. The combination of flavours was perfect and we were truly in chocolate heaven.

The other pastries included a chocolate mousse trio, a Macaroon with Matcha and Orange confit, and a Caramel Crunch with chocolate chantilly . I also really liked the light and fluffy texture of the mousse trio. It was truly a special selection of pastries and the scones were gorgeous too!

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the Rotunda is a gorgeous space – it is luxurious with an art deco feel and elegant interiors. I definitely want to come back for cocktails at the bar as I love its striking design and its “Instagram worthiness.”

The Chocoholic Afternoon Tea is on till the 23 April so get yourself booked in quick. Alternatively the Royal Afternoon Tea sounds lovely too.

The Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square can be found at:

Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square
10 Trinity Square
London
EC3N 4AJ

Disclaimer: Our afternoon tea was complimentary. All views and photos are my own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Trader’s High Tea at Cinnamon Bazaar

I am a massive Afternoon Tea fan and absolutely love the tradition of sitting through various course at a leisurely pace and sipping on countless cups of tea whilst indulging. For a different take on the classic High Tea, I absolutely loved the Trader’s High Tea at the colourful and vibrant Cinnamon Bazaar, found on Maiden Lane in Covent Garden.

Away from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding streets, you can escape into a tranquil, colourful space and enjoy some incredible food while chatting away. The service is always excellent – attentive without being intrusive, and I just adore the decor.

The Trader’s High Tea is excellent value at £15 per person, and for an additional £5 each you can kick off the meal with style by enjoying the signature Cinnamon Bellini, which is delicious.

Down to the important aspect – the tea, you can choose between a selection of the finest JING teas or opt for the traditional Indian Masala Chai, which is freshly brewed in-house with ginger and cardamom. We chose the Masala Chai and the intoxicating aroma was enough to put us at ease and sit back and relax. I lost count of how many cups I had as it was just amazing.

We both opted for the non-vegetarian menu and so to start with we had Tandoori chicken and chutney sandwich, and a Bhangra lamb slider. The vegetarian choices were Paneer naan pizza and a Bengali beetroot burger, which I would love to try next time too. My personal favourite from the two was the Tandoori chicken and chutney sandwich. It was just so delectable.

The next course was chaats and we had anAloo tikki chaat, which is spiced potato cake with curried white peas andchickpea sev, as well as Samosa chaat, which is a mix of Punjabi vegetable samosa, curried white peas and drizzled with tangy tamarind chutney. I had tried these chaats before when I visited for dinner, but this was Amit’s first experience of Cinnamon Bazaar and he loved them as much as I did.

We were already so stuffed by this point but we soldiered on for the sweet course, which was a Carrot halwa roll and a Dark chocolate and walnut cake. The cake was just so delightful and dreamy!

If you didn’t want to do the 3 course Trader’s High Tea and instead fancied chaats you could ask to see Chamiya, the movable hand-painted cart serving a range of street-food cold chaat dishes. How pretty is that?

We thoroughly enjoyed our High Tea experience and left feeling very full. It is such a good menu and a really great way to spend an afternoon after a busy day shopping, as a pre-theatre treat or even as an alternative way to catch up with friends or family.

The Trader’s High Tea is served daily from 3pm to 5:30pm and I would recommend it to anyone seeking a fun, alternative type of Afternoon Tea as well as a taster of the fabulous dishes that Cinnamon Bazaar has to offer. For more information about the Trader’s High Tea as well as Cinnamon Bazaar, visit their website.

Disclaimer: Our Trader’s High Tea was complimentary, but all views and photos are my own.