Having made the most of the last couple of months coming up to Christmas by sampling some of the best festive afternoon teas around town, I was pleased to squeeze in one final festive review for 2019 with a visit to one of my favourite hotels in London, the historic St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. It has been a good couple of years since I last had afternoon tea at this iconic venue and it was nice to return and review their exclusive festive afternoon tea, served in the recently refurbished The Hansom, the city’s latest cocktail bar and all-day hub in the heart of King’s Cross.
The Hansom once provided the cobbled driveway of the original St Pancras Station. This Victorian heritage and backstory lends character and style in today’s offering, a magnificent venue blending modern aesthetics with neo-gothic architecture. The vast space with its renowned high vaulted ceilings with Barlow Blue ironwork and tall windows was beautifully illuminated by natural light, the bright space intimately broken up with sculpted screens. Modern furnishings in a soothing palette of gentle greens and purple occupied the space contrasted by a centralised bar at the end, elegantly crafted in marble with darkened brass and leather detailing.
As Christmas is the most magical time of the year, it only seemed right to start off our afternoon tea experience with a glass of Perrier Jouët champagne, accompanied by a pot of Waikato Oolong, one of their seasonal teas. The selection of savoury sandwiches included:
Egg & truffle mayonnaise with chives on spinach bread
Roast Norfolk turkey, wild cranberry & thyme compote with watercress on walnut bread
Chapel & Swan smoked salmon, lemon crème fraîche & dill on dark bread
Cucumber, Maldon salt butter & mint on lemon bread
Crayfish, avocado, citrus mayonnaise & broadleaf cress served on brioche.
The freshly baked plain and raisin scones were golden and had a nice texture, served with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry preserves.
Last but not least, the mouth-watering variety of vibrant sweet delights included an extremely rich and indulgent double chocolate Fondant Fancy parcel, a vanilla and raspberry celebration wreath, a pink strawberry and coconut bauble, a white chocolate and cranberry opera cake, and my favourite of them all, the dark chocolate and mandarin mousse presented in the shape of a Christmas tree which had a light and airy texture.
The festive afternoon tea at The Hansom is available until 5th January 2020 and is priced at £38.00 per person, with a £50.00 option available which includes a glass of Perrier Jouët champagne.
- My Festive Afternoon Tea experience at The Hansom was complimentary – views and photos are my own.
