After months of lockdown (and afternoon tea deprivation) I couldn’t wait to get back into the food and drink scene, and what better place to celebrate summer dining on the terrace than enjoying the Summer Afternoon Tea at Dalloway Terrace.
Located in the Bloomsbury Hotel, their stylish terrace is named after the famous character created by Virginia Woolf, an author synonymous with this sophisticated venue. The weather was quite fickle-minded when we visited that day (typical British weather), but thankfully the terrace had a retractable roof and walls, so guest can always enjoy their beautiful al fresco space, come rain or shine! And not forgetting to mention their vibrant flower wall which always works a treat for Instagrammers, me included.
Physical menus have now been replaced by QR codes which we could conveniently scan to view the menus from our smartphones. Inspired by quintessential classics, the afternoon tea menu has been created by the Head Pastry Chef, Chris Dodd, who also kindly popped out to greet us and explain the menu.
Glasses of chilled Perrier-Jouet champagne were swiftly brought to our table – the perfect way to toast my first afternoon tea outing in over 4 months!
The tea menu consisted of a range of black, green, white, and herbal tea infusions from Rare Tea Company – I went for the 2nd Flush Muscatel sourced from Temi Estate in the Sikkim region, located high in the Indian Himalayas at the border with Darjeeling and Tibet. Although not as famous as its Darjeeling neighbours, it was nonetheless a delicious and fragrant black tea that I very much enjoyed.
We started with the selection of savoury sandwiches with a variety of classic fillings:
Honey roast Yorkshire ham, Colman’s English Mustard on wholemeal bread
Copper Maran egg & chive mayonnaise on soft white bread
Chapel & Swan smoked salmon & lemon crème fraîche on granary bread
English cucumber & dill cream cheese on pain de Mie
You just can’t go wrong with the classics and I could never resist my favourite smoked salmon sandwich.
It was certainly a joy to tuck into the freshly baked plain and raisin buttermilk scones which had a lovely light and fluffy texture, served with Devonshire clotted cream and Scottish raspberry jam.
Last but not least, we dived into the sweets which I always save (the best) for last. There was a cherry & almond bakewell, a moist red velvet & raspberry cake, a light choux bun that was filled with a decadent chocolate and Chantilly cream filling, and my favourite amongst them all, the summer strawberry & pistachio tart, the perfect combination of two of my favourite ingredients, contained within a delicate, buttery base.
The Summer Afternoon Tea menu, priced from £30 per person, is available daily from 3pm-5pm – gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options are also available upon request (minimum of 24 hours’ notice required). Reservations are now mandatory and bookings can be made via the Afternoontea.co.uk website.
- My afternoon tea experience at Dalloway Terrace was complimentary – views and photos are my own.
