Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester

Happy afternoon tea week lovelies!! I can’t express how lucky I feel to be part of an era where this is an actual thing! As if there was any excuse to have an afternoon tea.

One of my loveliest friends I have known for a very long time, A is leaving London and moving to Canada with her amazing hubby! What better way to send of your friend of all those years than with an afternoon tea at my most favourite place in London, The Dorchester.

I have to admit that this is my go to for a guaranteed great afternoon tea experience, and when A told me that she hadnt been to The Dorchester for tea, it was decided that’s exactly what we would do.

As soon as you walk in, you’ll know what I mean, the flowers are gorgeous, the settings just… I have no words for this sight so I’ll just show you…

So elegant and regal, this view of The Promenade gets me every single time. Jaws on floor and drool down our faces, we were led to our table in the foyer of the hotel which is where the afternoon tea is set. As if it couldn’t get any better, the pianist started blaring out the nicest tunes.

I had requested halal meat upon making the booking so it made me really happy when we were informed that everything that was prepared for us was halal and appropriate for us.

We each chose our teas, I went for my standard choice of Dragon Pearl Jasmine tea and A went for The Dorchester blend

We were made to wait a little but it only built up the excitement. Within a short time, our waiter came out with a tray with all the sandwiches and served us one of each – Smoked Salmon, Chicken Corronation, Egg Cress, Cucumber and Cheese and Hummus and Red Peppers.

I have to say, I don’t remember the sandwiches being this good from the last time but they blew me away all over again. They were all good in their own right but my favourite was the Chicken Corronation and Egg Cress – 2 very standard sandwich flavours but the chicken was so succulent and full of flavour, the chicken was not dry at all and I had to get a few more of them. I am not a major fan of egg (which is a bit of a hinderence when I ocassionally have failed attempts are low carb diets!) but the Egg Cress sandwich was amazing! So creamy and so tasty, my attention was more on the flavour than on the fact that I don’t like egg – a huge achievement in my eyes! The breads were also great, so soft and felt like they were right out of the oven.

We chewed on these for a while, requesting more of our favourite ones (A’s fave was the Hummus and red Pepper). In fact we didn’t even have to request more sandwiches, our waiter was clearly telepathic and just came over with them and, well, it would have been rude to say no!

Next we were brought a bit of a surprise palate cleanser…

Such a brilliant little treat – Strawberry Shortcake Mousse. And it was beautiful. So creamy yet so light. It was only a few spoonfuls but as a palate cleanser it was enough.

And then our waiter brought it out and my heart almost skipped a beat…

I knew what this meant, the moment I always wait for at every afternoon tea, it was finally happening – the scones!! And out they came, along with the cakes and pastries..

First for the scones – for me, the scones are what make or break an afternoon tea. We were presented with 2 types of fresh out of the oven scones – Raisin and Plain. I hate raisins so its always going to be the plain It was one of the best scones I have had and I have had a fair few. It was soft, not too crumbly and to top it off, the clotted cream was BEAUTIFUL!! *Insert heart enoji*

The french pastires were also great – Strawberry and Cream Pastry, Lemon Sorbet, Chocolate and Almond Macaroon. My favourite was the Strawberry and Cream Pastry, so light, fresh and delicious!

While we were devouring the scones and sweets, I saw something from the corner of my eye that made my heart skip a beat for the second time…

Apart from the fact that the cuteness of these little cones got me hey were super delish but so many flavours to choose from! I had a rasberry and mojito flavour which was just yum if you like a tangy flavour.

We were progressively getting stuffed (and jeans progressively tighter at this point), so much so that I pretty much had to stuff the rest of my 3rd scone down my throat. Tough times.

Just then, out came the cake I had asked them to bring for A, only problem was it said “Happy Birthday” rather than my original message “It’s not Goodbye”. I don’t think A cared, she was just happy to see a cake, any cake .. chocolate nonetheless! Our waiter was very apologetic and totally made up for the mix up by gicing A a little gift to take away with her – a cake that said “Bon Voyage”. How sweet!!

Overall, it was such a great afternoon. I had a lovely time with A, but much more than that, everything about this afternoon very quickly made The Dorchester afternoon tea my favourite in London. What made it all the more special kicking Claridges off the top of the list was the service. Our waiter, Shaam was a delight. He was so accomodating and so pleasant to speak to.

And as if that wasn’t enough, you know I love pretty washrooms…

So, here is the verdict…

Food – 8 out of 10 
Service – 9 out of 10 
Price -7 out of 10
Atmosphere – 9 out of 10 
Experience – 8 out of 10

Overall, giving Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester  a total TLH score of 9 out of 10.

Address: 53 Park Lane, London, W1K 1QA
Website: https://www.dorchestercollection.com/
Halal Status: Halal meat can be requested with 48 hours notice
Closest Station: Marble Arch (Central Line) or Green Park (Jubilee, Victoria or Picadilly Line

Leave me some love if you enjoyed reading this and let me know if you’ve been to The Dorchester.

The Dorchester has some very exciting things coming up – September brings in their flower afternoon tea and between 24-28 October, the Engliah National Ballet school will be teaming up with The Dorchester for the long awaited Sleeping Beauty Afternoon Tea! So excited about that!

Also, did you know that the Dorchester is holding a competition to win an afternoon tea for two in celebration  of Afternoon Tea Week. Check out my Instagram page for more information.   

Follow me on Instagram if you’re not already @thelondonhaloodie

Lots of love,

TLH