Last month I ticked off one of my afternoon tea bucket list venues; The Savoy! I had a bloggers event in the morning and whilst in London, I booked the afternoon tea at The Savoy. I arrived a little before my table was booked and went to The Savoy’s American Bar which is the longest surviving cocktail bar in London.
The American Bar’s cocktail list is based upon songs played by the resident pianist in the Bar. I picked the Crystal Star:
Crystal Star
Cocktail No. 13
The Crystal Star takes its inspiration from the suitably named ‘American Bar Song’ which is written and performed by The Savoy’s resident pianist Jon Nickoll.
The Crystal Star contains:
- Star of Bombay gin
- Chartreuse and geranium cordial
- Muyu Chinotto Nero liqueur
- White port
I was shown to my table in the Thomas Foyer restaurant which was elegantly decorated with a relaxing yet luxurious atmosphere. The table was laid with fine linen and beautiful china. I was given a menu that was thoroughly explained by my server. I was also asked if the afternoon tea was for a special occasion. Later on, other diners were presented with a slice of cake if they were celebrating a birthday for example.
My server explained the afternoon tea came with unlimited loose leaf tea, coffee or hot chocolate. During the afternoon tea, the servers ensured I had fresh tea throughout which was served in a silver teapot alongside a pot of hot water.
The savoury course consisted of:
- English cucumber and goats cheese on juniper berry bread
- Coronation chicken on carrot and coriander bread
- Free-range egg salad, wholegrain mustard mayonnaise on white bread
- Brown shrimps, beetroot remoulade on multigrain bread
- Oak smoked salmon, chive cream cheese and fennel pollen on a lemon brioche
- Butternut squash, honey, and cumin applewood tart
The sandwiches as expected were super fresh and tasty. The chosen bread and the filling ingredients had all been chosen to complement each other perfectly and each bite was perfection. I especially enjoyed the butternut squash applewood tart; it has this sweet yet tangy taste to it.
The sweet courses consisted of:
- Plain and raisin scones with clotted cream, lemon curd, and strawberry jam
- Amalfi lemon and caramelised meringue shortbread biscuit
- Piedmont hazelnut cake with gianduja cremeux and milk chocolate coating
- Mango and passionfruit jelly with banana creme
- Fruit tartlet
- Madeleine
- Earl grey tea cake with bergamot curd
The scones were amazing. Up until now, I have always said the plain scones at the Belfry Golf Club are the best I’ve ever tasted but the Buckets Of Tea Award for the best scone certainly now goes to The savoy!
I picked The Savoy Afternoon Tea which is grown in India and is a statuesque and full-bodied tea blend from Assam and Darjeeling with ‘plenty of structure and malty richness’. the Savoy also serves its own blend of Afternoon Tea, Decaffeinated Cylon, Red Dragon, Earl Grey, and Vanilla Black as well as a selection of Green, Oolong, White, Puerh, and Herbal Infusions.
As well as the traditional afternoon tea, The savoy also serves a Traditional High Tea, Vegan, Vegetarian and Children’s Afternoon Tea.
Afternoon Tea at The Savoy was all I had imagined and more and would certainly return again.
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