As far as New Years Resolutions go I think I picked a bloomin’ marvellous resolution; to eat more Afternoon Tea. Yes that’s right folks, I was going to eat MORE! After eating over 20 Gluten Free Afternoon Tea’s in the past eleven months I think I can give you some pretty good advice on the best Gluten Free Afternoon Teas on offer. You can find my Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Review post for 2014 here.
So here we go – I have broken it down into three categories; the Good, the Bad and the Ugly!
The Good
The Goring Hotel
Without a doubt the best gluten free Afternoon Tea that I experienced this year; the service and the food were impeccable. This was the first hotel that bought my gluten free Afternoon Tea out on a cake stand rather than having 3-4 plates scattered all over the table; it was so nice to be treated like a normal person! I loved that there was minimal fuss to the proceedings and that my Afternoon Tea arrived at the same time as the normal one.
Everything was to die for and I can not recommend this Afternoon Tea enough. You can read my full review of the Afternoon Tea here and if you would like to make a booking you can do so by clicking on this link.
St James Hotel and Club
When I read that there was a hotel that was offering a Gluten Free Afternoon Tea and they didn’t need 24 hours notice to get it prepared I was pretty darn excited (you just need to contact them prior to midday on the day of your visit; how cool is that!).
Okay if you think that is pretty impressive, well the price is rather marvellous as well, £19pp and the food is beautifully made (not a Bakewell tart or dodgy stale chocolate brownie in sight!), for this price refills are not included however I had to request a doggy bag as I found the Afternoon Tea rather filling.
You can read my full review of the Afternoon Tea here and if you would like to make a booking you can do so by clicking on this link.
While I always give out The Goring Hotel and St James Hotel and Club as the best Afternoon Tea’s I have tried this year, here are some more delightful establishments that offer lovely Afternoon Teas that I would totally recommend.
The Ampersand
For me this was a great Afternoon Tea especially if you are in the South Kensington area; the Drawing Rooms are quirky and the food is amazing and all made on site. You can read my full review here and if you would like to make a booking you can do so by clicking on this link.
The Berkeley
This was my birthday treat and what I liked about it was that they still tried to provide the fashionista treats that they offered on the normal Afternoon Tea; the gluten free sandwiches were incredible however no scones are provided but don’t fret as refills are provided. I need to go back to check out their new season’s Afternoon Tea. You can read my full review here and if you would like to make a booking you can do so by clicking on this link.
The Balmoral, Edinburgh
I should probably warn you that I do travel for cake! (This Kiwi has wings!) Yes up to Scotland to try out this yummy Afternoon Tea and I can’t recommend this highly enough as they proved a point that there are so many fantastic gluten free treats that can be offered in an Afternoon Tea along with brilliant customer service. Okay the scones were slightly under cooked however the hotel gave me a discount on the tea (this is the first and only time this has happened and I have eaten a number of under cooked scones). You can read my full review here and if you would like to make a booking you can do so by clicking on this link.
The Corinthia Hotel
When it comes to elegance The Corinthia has it in droves, as it was a hot summers day (yes oddly enough it happens occasionally in London!) we sat outside in the court yard garden which was really blissful. I loved the presentation of the Afternoon Tea along with the strawberries that were picked straight from the court yard garden. And yes we did return so G could eat the burger! You can read my full review here and if you would like to make a booking you can do so by clicking on this link.
The Chesterfield Mayfair
As far as themed Afternoon Tea’s go this was pretty darn good and once again there wasn’t too much difference between the gluten free and normal versions of the Afternoon Teas. I loved the variety of gluten free pastries that were on offer and the service was top notch, we stayed until just before 9pm! You can read my full review here and if you would like to make a booking you can do so by clicking on this link.
The Royal Horseguards Hotel
If you are looking for a truly girly Afternoon Tea then this is the one for you, the hotel has the prettiest tea cups in London. The scones and pastries were delicious and the sandwich fillings threw a little curve ball on the traditional fillings which is great. For me the hotel is definitely one of London’s hidden Afternoon Tea gems. I highly recommend the White, Pear & Ginger tea! You can read my full review here and if you would like to make a booking by clicking on this link.
Teapots in Olney, Buckinghamshire
One of the delightful places that I visited this year was Teapots, a quirky Tearoom in Buckinghamshire and I can’t recommend this Tea Room highly enough as what they offered was a gluten free Afternoon Tea that was exactly the same as their normal Afternoon Tea hence no food envy! You can read my full review here and if you would like to make a booking you can do so by clicking on this link.
The Bad
Claridge’s Hotel
You are probably thinking, WHAT!!??
This is my favourite place to have Afternoon Tea in London however after the success of the Inside Claridge’s documentary in 2012 you now need to be sprinkled in fairy gold dust to get a booking. Every year we visit the Mecca of Afternoon Tea however 2013 wasn’t to be our year so I haven’t had a chance to experience their gluten free offerings however I did try their gluten free scones last year in The Fumior Bar and they were amazing. Fingers crossed I can get a booking in 2014 otherwise I’m booking myself in for a night at Claridge’s and ordering Afternoon Tea from Room Service! Updated: I finally did get a booking and it was fabulous as you would expect; you can read my full review on the gluten free Afternoon Tea at Claridge’s by clicking right here!
The only reason Claridge’s is under bad at the moment is because I can’t get a booking! If you think you are sprinkled with fairy gold dust then you can make a booking by clicking on this link.
The Ugly
The Connaught
This is the reason why I started this particular New Year’s Resolution; I had an awful experience at the hotel and yes we were offered a discount on our bill on check out however take a moment to read my review here. The reason why I added them to the Ugly section was that they promised when they had their new menu (which they have done for quite some time) they would invite us back in, needless to say we have never had the invite. If you would like to take a chance and make a booking then you can do so by clicking on this link.
Sketch
Sketch seems to be a bloggers favourite however if you are gluten free then please avoid this establishment unless you are happy to waste £34 on a stale Afternoon Tea, you get charged for more hot water for your tea and they add a charity donation onto your bill without offering any explanation what charity they are asking you to support (I don’t mind supporting charities however please provide information before adding it to the bottom of the bill please!). You can read my full review here however if you wish to visit their fancy toilets you can make a booking by clicking on this link.
I was thinking of googling “Boot Camp” to try and get rid of this cake tummy and then thought the only Boot Camp I wish to attend is one where they help you find the perfect pair of winter boots. So instead I am going to google “Luxury Fat Camp” now as I need an Afternoon Tea Detox!
So what do you think of my listing? Are there any establishments that you think I need to check out? And should I continue with this New Year’s Resolution in 2014?
xx
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