We booked a table for 3 people on Sunday for afternoon tea at 4:00 pm. Reservations did not seem to be needed as the inside was pretty empty, although the seats outdoors were filled. What I liked about this place right off the bat is that we did not each have to order a tower. We ordered 1 tower amongst the 3 of us and then ordered a couple of other things.
The tower (£16) came with 1 lemon macaroon, 1 tiny sliver of a chocolate tart, 1 even tinier vanilla/strawberry cupcake, 1 raisin scone, 1 chicken sandwich (curry, raisins, chicken, mayo), 1 smoked salmon sandwich, and 1 cucumber and butter sandwich. None of us are that crazy about tea food, so 1 tower amongst the 3 of us was perfect. We also ordered 1 extra side of scones (3 fruit scones for £7) and 1 americano.
I will say that everything was great quality. The sandwiches and mini desserts were great for what they were and the ingredients were fresh. The scones were good, not great (a bit dry – and why no plain scone option?), and were served with the traditional sides of clotted cream and strawberry jam, both of which were great quality. The tower is served with your choice of one of about ten teas. We chose jasmine, which was white tea based. It was a nice jasmine tea. Americano was good quality, albeit tiny.
Ambiance is nice and it would be extra nice to sit outside in the courtyard (though the inside is quite nice as well). Clean, modern, upscale. The service is good, but nothing spectacular. We had a nice experience and would recommend it particularly because of the quality, ambiance, and flexibility of the place.
