“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” The Portrait of a Lady

I couldn’t agree more with that quote by Henry James. Whenever someone mentions afternoon tea, I get excited and I just can’t resist it. This time, I tried the Art inspired afternoon tea at Rosewood London Hotel which won the Best Contemporary Afternoon Tea 2017. The rich and decadent afternoon tea is served in the equally lavish yet welcoming Mirror Room restaurant.

Rosewood

Rosewood has quirky interiors that represent and reflects the British history and culture. The eclectic mix of new and old art throughout the hotel works very well. Together it creates a unique balance of interest and familiarity. The attention to detail does not stop with the interior design, but extends to the modern and classic mix of crystal, china and silverware laid on the tables. Once you are able to drag your eyes off the prism mirrors covering the ceiling and prop yourself up from their lush long couches. You can start deciding whether you would like traditional tea and choose from their extensive tea selection or champagne (R de Ruinart/rosé) with your meal.

Executive Pastry Chef, Mark Perkins, has taken inspiration from London and the hotel and created 5 incredible pieces. Each influenced and crafted to resemble works of London’s most renowned and respected iconic modern artists.

Art Afternoon Tea

As with any afternoon tea, we always start with a selection of traditional sandwiches:

• Maldon smoked salmon, cream cheese and lemon
• Le Madru ham, Comté and wholegrain mustard
• Coronation chicken, curry and sultanas
• Avocado, tomatoes and basil
• Egg mayonnaise and chives

More sandwiches was kindly offered, but we politely declined and moved onto the scones. The plain and raisin scones were both a delight! They are one of the best I have had in any afternoon tea (in the world!). They are freshly baked everyday in their paastry kitchen and served with Cornish clotted cream, lemon curd and homemade strawberry jam. These are absolutely perfectly made in size, taste and texture and made my afternoon tea experience more complete.

What we really came for

It’s all about the art – the concept and the execution. The reason this afternoon tea was voted the Best Contemporary Afternoon Tea.

Yayoi Kusama

“All the eternal love I have for pumpkins”. Milk chocolate mousse, passion fruit cremeux with chocolate set on chocolate sable biscuit

Banksy

“Girl with a balloon”. Chocolate cube filled with vanilla cream choux, salted caramel, chocolate cremeux

Alexander Calder

Mobile sculpture. Pistachio bavarois, cherry jelly, pistachio sponge sprayed with red chocolate decorated as a Calder mobile

Damien Hirst

Spot painting. Cassis jelly, yuzu curd, white chocolate tart finished with Hirst dot decoration

Mark Rothko

Abstract Expressionism. Layered coconut sponge, raspberry, coconut mousse, decorated with raspberry chocolate

The pastries were all very rich and luxurious, maybe even a bit more than I had expected. This would be a great afternoon tea choice, if you’re a big fan of desserts and dark chocolate.

Verdict

Personally, this is not one of my favourite afternoon teas, but definitely one of the prettiest. If you love art and desserts with rich complex flavours, then you would definitely enjoy this. The ambience of the Mirror Room was comfortable, relaxing and classy. The staff were attentive and friendly and you get a dose of food and culture in a single sitting. What more could you ask for?

Price starts from £50.00, which is on par with similar afternoon tea’s in London, such as Ting at the Shard. You will find the Mirror Room restaurant open 7 days a week, but please book before you go. You can find out more on their website.

Have you recently visited the Mirror Room or tried their Art afternoon tea? What did you think? Do you think they deserved the award? And would you attempt at making your own Art afternoon tea?

Thanks for reading and until next time…

Love, MsMamaBean x

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