Isn’t it true that you never visit the things right on your back doorstep so finally after months of talking about it, I made a booking for Afternoon Tea at Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire.
There was a special occasion, I was meeting Georgie for the very first time and I knew that I had to take her out somewhere special that included a white tablecloth. Georgie is a friend of my parents and well my mum is slightly obsessed with white tablecloths at afternoon tea…there is a lack of them in New Zealand apparently… (mum once cancelled christmas on christmas day when she lost the christmas tablecloth…mum had also lost her voice which made the christmas day meltdown all the funnier…was I allowed to share that story mum? Needless to say she’s never lived it down since!).
^^The Honeymooners!
Sandwiches
The gluten free sandwiches weren’t too bad however a few sarnies were a little dry around the edges. The sandwiches contained traditional fillings of salmon, beef, egg, cucumber and I’m not sure what the fifth filling was…it was like a cream cheese however it wasn’t very nice at all.
Scones
The gluten free scones passed my scone test – there were a little tough to cut into but I didn’t need a chainsaw (I think they had been sitting out for a bit as they were dry around the edges), they didn’t break a tooth and they were yummy. Strawberry jam and clotted cream were provided with the scones and luckily there was plenty to go around.
Sorry about the naked scones…we were talking so much that I forgot to take a photo of them all dressed up in their finery!
Pastries
The gluten free pastries consisted of a mini meringue, fruit sticks, a macaron and ginger cake.
Unfortunately the ginger cake was a tad dry around the edges making me think that my cake stand has been sitting around for a while but I still ate it anyway…I’m not a fussy eater…it’s cake!
For the Gluten Eating Monsters
Georgie and G both scoffed their way through the fully loaded gluten afternoon tea which they both enjoyed; I think G may have scoffed a lot more than Georgie though. G did say he found one of the breads was a little dry around the edges.
For the Diabetics
Only thinking of my tummy, I didn’t realise that Brian was Diabetic so Luton Hoo managed to whip up a Diabetic Afternoon Tea on the spot which was fabulous as they had no warning! A big thumbs up to the hotel for this…it does look impressive.
Tea
After our trip to Hong Kong, all I now want to do is drink Jasmine Tea…it’s super tasty and you can’t go wrong with a green tea…apparently its good for you…so in my head that means if I drink copious amounts of green tea then the afternoon tea is basically calorie free.
Atmosphere
Luton Hoo is just glorious and the afternoon tea salon is pure opulence with comfy sofas to curl up in while surrounded by gorgeous paintings and pretty china; what more could a girl want!
Service
The service was great and our tea cups were topped up throughout the afternoon tea. The staff were extremely knowledge about the history of Luton Hoo and I learnt that Winston Churchill was hosted at the property and that Four Weddings and Funeral was also filmed within the property…I love that film!
Snooping around inside Luton Hoo
I like a good snooping session especially on a full tummy and just how gorgeous is this staircase!
Shoefie time!
If it’s a beautiful day then you must go for a walk through the Capability Brown gardens on the estate!
Would I recommend the Afternoon Tea at Luton Hoo – totally, we had heard mixed things about the afternoon tea at Luton Hoo so it was a pleasant surprise on how much we enjoyed the experience. G has already said he wants to go back!
Afternoon Tea at Luton Hoo starts from £29.50 pp which I think is pretty darn good value.
xx
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