There are few London traditions more enduring than afternoon tea, and in the elegant surroundings of The Kensington Hotel, this quintessentially British ritual feels as though it has found a particularly fitting home.
OUR VERDICT
Justin De Souza
Tucked away on Queen’s Gate in the heart of South Kensington, The Kensington occupies a collection of handsome Victorian townhouses, and its drawing rooms provide the perfect backdrop for an unhurried afternoon of tea, cakes and chat. With open fireplaces, high ceilings, colourful artwork and crisp white linen-laid tables, the atmosphere manages to feel both grand and relaxed.
It's quiet when we visit on a mid-week lunchtime in August. We’re here to try the hotel’s newly reimagined afternoon tea – a celebration of a traditional British summer season inspired by the strawberries and cream of Wimbledon, the pageantry of Royal Ascot and the colours and flavours of a summer garden picnic.
Sam Laurie
We begin with the classic finger sandwiches – Chapel & Swan smoked salmon with chive cream cheese; roast Wiltshire ham with mustard mayonnaise; cucumber with mint crème fraîche; and egg mayo with watercress on a brioche roll, all neatly prepared and pleasingly fresh.
Then come the scones – the true test of any afternoon tea. Happily, The Kensington passes with flying colours. Warm, light and generously accompanied by jam and Cornish clotted cream, the fruit and plain scones are served with a little explanation from the waitress about the ‘cream or jam first’ conundrum that tourists seem to enjoy.
Sam Laurie
The pastry selection brings a little more theatre to proceedings with a selection of beautifully crafted raspberry and elderflower tarts, chocolate éclairs with caramel cream, a rose and pistachio Battenburg cake and Eton Mess pavlova with strawberry and fresh mint.
Our favourite is the éclair – delicious soft and fluffy choux pastry, with a glistening chocolate ganache.
We wash it down with a flute of Nyetimber Classic Cuvée – the Sussex sparkling that has won numerous international trophies. The lovely, delicate pale gold fizz with toasty undertones goes perfectly with the sweet treats.
Sam Laurie
Of course, no afternoon tea would be complete without a good pot of tea.
The Kensington has a choice of three black teas – English Breakfast, Earl Grey or Indian Cloud Tea (a Darjeeling-like blend from the cloudy hills of Meghalaya), along with a Jasmine Silver Tip white tea and Chamomile and Rooibos herbals.
When we hesitate over which one, the waitress encourages us to try a few. Marvellously, there's no limit to refills.
Over a leisurely couple of hours, lots of tea and half the cakes (the rest are packed up for us in a take-home box), we leave feeling like we've had a wholly enjoyable out-of-normal-life experience.
At £85 per person, this is undoubtedly an indulgence. But location is everything. It's a mere hop from here to a host of the city's finest museums –the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum – and to the luxury shopping streets of South Kensington. Combine a day of culture with a couple of hours in this gorgeous setting and you won't go far wrong.
Price: £85 per person, 12pm-5pm daily; The Kensington Hotel, 109–113 Queen's Gate, London SW7 5LP
