Lovely tea shop in Kensington! I cannot emphasize this enough. The atmosphere is lovely, the food is good quality, the prices are so reasonable, and the service is mostly friendly (though it can deteriorate a bit when they get busy).
Tea experiences abound in London. If you live in London, tea is a big part of your life. And afternoon tea is something you will inevitably experience. There is no shortage of restaurants and cafes that offer afternoon tea experiences and the vast majority of them are like this:
£35-50 per person, super fancy setting, set menu with no customizations, formal service.
And what’s included? Your choice of tea, finger sandwiches, scones, and pastries/cakes. I’m not saying it’s expensive because you don’t get a lot of food (though that is also true – you do not get £50 worth of food), but it’s expensive because no matter who you are, you probably will not like at least some of the things you’re served and you’re stuck with it because you have no choice.
If you can afford it, I say absolutely go for it. You will get good service, be surrounded by fanciness, and feel posh. You will also likely have a good time and a memorable experience. But most people can’t afford it and there’s little to do about it. Candella, on the other hand, is totally the best of both worlds.
First, like I said, the place itself is lovely. The decor is so cute and quaint. The cup and saucers, the plates, the chairs and tables, everything is charming. But, unlike most places, you can not only choose everything you want, you don’t have to get everything included. The more you get included, the more expensive it is.
If you want, you can just order tea. Or just tea and scones. Or just tea and cake. Or just tea, scones, and sandwiches. Or the whole thing – tea, scones, sandwiches, and cake. It’s all up to you! And if you order the sandwiches, you can pick exactly what you want. And if you order the cake, you can also pick exactly what you want.
We ordered the “traditional afternoon tea” option, which includes a pot of tea, two scones, and finger sandwiches of your choice, for the incredibly amazing price of £15.95.
Their tea menu is so overwhelmingly large you’ll most likely have to ask for advice. As usual, it’s divided into black, red, green, white, and sweet teas. When I asked for advice, our server brought over a number of teas for me to sniff. He explained each one to me and we settled upon a flowery green tea.
The scones are served traditionally: warmed with strawberry jam (which was topped with pomegranate seeds) and clotted cream. One plain scone and one fruit scone. The scones were delicious – the plain one was not dry and not too sweet at all. Soft and warm.
It’s also served with a choice of two types of finger sandwiches. Choices include: smoked salmon, cream cheese, dill and lemon or ham and mustard. We chose two of the same sandwich – the cucumber, feta cheese, and mint sandwich. The sandwiches were served on both white and wheat bread and each was cut into four squares.
We ended up adding one slice of chocolate cake for just £2.50. The cakes are made in-house and fresh daily. Unfortunately, I didn’t think the chocolate cake was great. Didn’t have the strongest chocolate flavor and was a bit dry. But that wasn’t as important as the actual tea experience anyway. I wouldn’t consider it a deterrent from going back.
Word to the wise: make a reservation. The place is small (8 or 10 tables maximum) and fills up during peak times. When we went, they weren’t taking any more parties without a reservation and a “full” sign was placed on the door.
I highly recommend this place. It’s an under the radar gem!
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