My first afternoon tea for the year has set the standard high. Each month, Emma, Rebecca and I host a travel link up and after 12 months of the link up we decided it was time to finally meet the lovely ladies behind the blogs so we organised an afternoon tea at Brown’s Hotel in London; a hotel which isn’t only London’s first ever hotel but is also older than New Zealand.
Now no afternoon tea is complete without a review these days so grab yourself a cup of tea while I give you a sneak peak at the revamped Gluten Free Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel.
Sandwiches
I have a pet hate when it comes to afternoon tea and that is the sponge like texture bread that can be served up and yes Brown’s Hotel used to serve that style bread but since the gluten free afternoon tea has been revamped you now get the softest bread you could wish for!
The fillings were your traditional ham, egg, salmon, cucumber and chicken however I love the traditional fillings as you can’t beat a fabulous egg sarnie!
Scones
Scones are the holy grail of Afternoon Tea and Joanne has cracked the mystery with her gluten free scones. The scones passed my scone test with flying colours – they were easy to cut into (I didn’t need a chainsaw), they weren’t rock hard (so have all my teeth left) and they were extremely tasty.
And yes I put my clotted cream on first! Judge away…
Pastries
How good do these look! Now i have to be honest and say I only ate two of them; bad I know (I was talking too much) but I will be back to eat the whole gluten free cake stand in the future. I tried the jelly and the cheesecake and both were exceptional.
Tea
As we were a big group we were served the traditional Brown’s Afternoon Blend Tea which is supplied by Jing. We were provided with the option of changing to a different tea during the afternoon tea.
We’re regular customers at Brown’s as we make a detour to purchase our Brown’s Hotel blended tea from the hotel every few months and I normally have to drag my other half out of the Tea Room kicking and screaming; it’s his favourite place to have Afternoon Tea in London.
Atmosphere
As we were a large party (of 25 bloggers) we actually had our tea party in the very beautiful Roosevelt Room which is located on the 1st floor which meant we could overlook beautiful Mayfair. This would be the perfect place to host a very classy hens party or baby shower.
Normally the afternoon tea is served in the English Tea Room which is quintessentially English; scones, comfy chairs, roaring fires and soft music = perfection.
Service
The service in our private room was incredible; tea cups were refilled before I even realised that I was almost finished and from the moment I stepped my red sparkly slipper into the hotel I felt extremely welcomed.
I think these three photos summed up our afternoon at Brown’s Hotel – smiles make a hotel grand! A few of us may have ended up in the bar afterwards…
Would I recommend? – totally, I think if repeat service is anything to go from, this was my fourth visit to Brown’s Hotel and it won’t be my last.
Joanne is the new Head Pastry Chef and her gluten free skills can only be likened to that of a gluten free fairy godmother; she has waved her magic wand and revamped the gluten free afternoon tea at Brown’s Hotel for the better!
The Traditional Afternoon Tea starts at £41.50pp and the Champagne Afternoon Tea is from £51.50pp. You can book Afternoon Tea at Brown’s by visiting their website here.
I can’t thank all the staff at Brown’s Hotel for their help with organising the event; it was so stress free and every member of staff that I encountered while organising the afternoon tea and on the day were exceptional. I was so impressed with the service at Brown’s that I’ve actually booked the Hotel Amigo in Brussels (a Rocco Forte property) for next weekend.
And this is what 25 bloggers look like taking photos of Afternoon Tea and why we need a private room!
xx
Disclaimer: We received a discount on the standard Afternoon Tea price however I’m an extremely fussy gluten free eater and I would happily pay the full price to scoff all over again.
If you liked this post on the Gluten Free Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel then why not come and join me on Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest and Bloglovin’ – I won’t bite!
