Food / London / Love / Reviews / Travel / United Kingdom

UK’s Highest Afternoon Tea with a Toddler

It was my birthday over the weekend, and S whisked us to U.K’s tallest building in London, The Shard, for the ultimateĀ indulgence: Afternoon Tea with a toddler šŸ˜. TÄŖNG, located in the Shangri-La Hotel is situated on the 35th floor offering spectacular views of London. To much of #JasperBean’s delight, London looked like legos from where we were.

London View from The Shard

London River View from The Shard
If you know me or have been reading my blog, then you will know I absolutely adore afternoon tea! I recently went to an afternoon tea class learning how to make those little yummies too! Just think about it, the fresh bread and fillings, scones with lashings of clotted cream and jam and then to top it off, the beautiful desserts and pastries all washed down with an extensive range of fragrant leafy teas of your choice or wine (at an additional cost). I couldn’t possibly choose which menu to go for, so we sampled both the Traditional English Tea and Asian Inspired Afternoon Tea.


What was on the menu?

Traditional English Afternoon Tea


Sandwiches:

  • Smoked Salmon with dill andĀ crĆØme fraĆ®che
  • Roast Angus Beef with grain mustard and onion jam
  • Honey Roast Ham with tomato chutney and watercress
  • Organic Duck egg with mayonnaise and truffle
  • Vintage Chedder with piccalilli

Scones:

  • Classic plain scone
  • Golden raisin scone
  • English clotted cream and strawberry jam

Pastries:

  • Yuzu praline macaron with caramalised hazelnut, marmalade and black sesame
  • Spiced gingerbread, pear mousse and caramelĀ crĆØmeux
  • Mandarin mousse and spiced prune compote tart
  • Chocolate plaisir (Milk chocolate mousse, marinated raisins licorice brĆ»lĆ©e, Pedro Ximinez)
  • Cassis violet choux with blackcurrant compote and vanillaĀ crĆØme

Price: Ā£56

Asian Inspired Afternoon Tea

Asian Inspired Afternoon Tea at Ting
In placed of sandwiches, there was a range of savouries:

  • Sugar cured Angus striploin in a Rendang brioche bun
  • Beetroot Cured Salmon with sesame and yuzu on dark rye
  • Shredded smoked duck, coconut and sesame in a mango rice paper roll
  • Crab tart with ginger and sweet chilli
  • Taro spring roll with peanut and chilli dip

Scones:

  • Classic plain scone
  • Golden raisin scone
  • English clotted cream and gooseberry and elderflower jam

Pastries:

  • Vietnamese coffee cremeux choux with arabica crunch
  • Mascarpone mousse and gooseberry compote tart
  • Pandan exotisme gateau with coconut jaconde and pandanĀ crĆØme
  • Mango passion ganache macaron
  • Pink guava mousse with tropical compote and passion curd

Price: Ā£58

We were also treated to an interesting lemonade tea, which we didn’t really like. What specifically pique our interest was the box of dry ice that came with it! Needless to say, me and #JasperBean was super excited when they poured some liquid into it and a flurry of cool cloudy vapour started to escape.

Toddler fascinated with Dry Ice

Toddler fascinated with Dry Ice

Toddler fascinated with Dry Ice
The cost is competitively priced to Afternoon Tea’s around the city like Sketch, The Ritz, Mondrian London and Rosewood, with the added bonus of dining against a bretahtaking backdrop of London. Therefore, I think it was well worth the price because although we weren’t on the 69th 0r 72nd floor viewing platforms obviously we didn’t have to pay extra for the view either. Of course, you can book general admission to The View From The Shard starting from Ā£20.95-Ā£25.95 for an adult and Ā£19.95-Ā£24.95 for a child, but bear in mind, you don’t get any yummy scones or desserts included for that price!


Toddler Friendly?

Overall, our experience was pretty toddler friendly.Ā  The staff and setting was relaxed, friendly and welcoming. We were seated in The Lounge on sofas by the window, so this was perfect for a restless toddler who didn’t liked being strapped to a high chair. There was a generous amount of space for us to move around. We didn’t feel like we were crowded or had to talk over other diners to be heard. It felt realy comfortable, as if we were at home. Which is very fitting, as the name of the restaurant, TÄŖNG, actually means “living room” in Chinese.

Toddler Friendly Food at Ting

Selection of beautiful desserts at Ting
In the photo below, you can kind of guess our table is much lower than an ordinary dining table, therefore #JasperBean can easily reach his hands to the middle of the table and wipe everything off. However, this wasn’t an issue here as our table overlooked London Bridge Station which provided a transport fanatic with an endless amount of train, bus, helicopter and people watching opportunities.

Tradition and Asian Inspired Afternoon Tea overlooking London's Skyline
At one point, #JasperBean thought it was the right thing to just lie on the floor in the middle of the room. To my relief, we weren’t located in the main restaurant area and there was only 2 other tables of diners around us, but more to my surprise, the staff and diners didn’t even bat an eyelid and laughed with him as well. As per usual Shangri-La standards, the staff remained calm, professional and welcoming throughout our stay and the rest of the restaurant was filled with the enchanting sound of a live piano session which meant even more fun and dance for my little boy.

However

My only criticism of the restaurant was that there was a lack of baby changing facilities. I understand that having one of those clunky changing tables may ruin the overall look and feel in the toilets. Therefore if you have a young baby, you may consider giving this place a miss (unless you don’t mind changing your baby on their sofas in the restaurant…). But saying that, there are plenty of baby changing facilities in London Bridge Station.

Fortunately, #JasperBean changes quite easily whilst standing up. So this wasn’t a problem for us because there was plenty of room in the toilet cubicles to easily manoeuvre ourselves. To much of my little boys’ amazement and shock, the toilets were also hi-tech, so everytime I pressed a button and it made a noise, he would cling on me a little tighter and squirm. Of course, a trip to the toilet gave us a chance to catch another side of London’s skyline. I’ve also been told that the urinals in the men’s room also provided floor-to-ceiling views of London. So it’s not everyday you can bare all to London without getting into trouble. šŸ˜Š

Good to know:

  • Afternoon Tea availability: Daily from 12pm to 4pm.
  • Dietary requirements can be met, notice preferred but not mandatory.
  • A gluten free Afternoon tea option is available with advance notice.
  • Menus as always are subject to change based on seasonal availability.
  • Prices correct at time of publishing.
  • The restaurant also offers breakfast and an all-day dining menu until 11:30pm.
  • Halal menu available in the restaurant, however you need to email them ahead and request for this.
  • The lifts that take you up are some of the fastest in the world, moving at 6 metres per second, so remember to swallow or have a sip of water whilst going up.
  • Address: Level 35 Shangri-La Hotel, The Shard, 31 St Thomas Street, London, SE1 9QU
  • Closest Underground Station: London Bridge




Have you been to The Shard or specifically TÄŖNG? Did you have a good experience or one you would rather forget? Where else would you recommend afternoon tea’s around the world?

London Shard and Tower Bridge
Thank you for reading and until next time…

Love, MsMamaBean x

All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own and are not influenced by any company or people in any way.


This post is linked up to the following linkys:

 

Comments

17 July 2017 at 9:31 pm

That all looks do delicious and what a wonderful view! Well done your little one on being so well behaved. #ToAdventure & #BigPinkLink



17 July 2017 at 9:51 pm

I hope you had an amazing day here same with your kid. The view was facinating. Enjoy!



17 July 2017 at 9:57 pm

Aww! Great post! The view was amazing.



suzanna
17 July 2017 at 10:48 pm

Wow, that was some menu for afternoon tea. Although I’m not very keen on heights so this is probably not a day out for me!
#bigpinklink



18 July 2017 at 1:12 am

The view looks wonderful! I would like to try the food and visit! šŸ™‚ Great review.



18 July 2017 at 10:17 am

That looks amazing! You might also enjoy the Sky Garden in Fenchurch Street. Not as swanky, but the loos did have baby change facilities IIRC.



18 July 2017 at 12:09 pm

What an excellent review. It’s good to know there’s a gluten free option. I’m not but some of the people I’d like to go with are and now there’s no excuse.The no changing facilities in the bathroom is a big cross, there are so many tasteful changing tables, even at the Savoy and Ritz bathrooms. These bathrooms are huge, so there’s no excuse. #DreamTeam



    18 July 2017 at 12:27 pm

    I agree! They should be more accommodating for parents with babies especially when they have the money to spend it on. Would definitely be a big yes for the parents.



18 July 2017 at 3:20 pm

Nita, I do hope you were joking when you said “unless you don’t mind changing your baby on their sofas in the restaurant…” — that is just gross! šŸ˜€ Your little guy is such a darling. And only the mother of a little boy would remark that London looked like Legos from that height! Sounds like a marvelous experience, and I love their tea menu. Adding this to my must-do list.



    18 July 2017 at 3:42 pm

    šŸ˜… I hope no one took me literally when I made that comment! Oops! Yes definitely no public changing, it’s not acceptable! Not even in McDonalds! šŸ˜‚ I hope you get the chance to go and enjoy their hospitality and thanks for reading!



18 July 2017 at 4:42 pm

The food looks pretty good. I LOVE the pictures, especially the breathtaking view of the city from the restaurant.



18 July 2017 at 4:56 pm

This is so sweet! I loved doing things like this with my mom when I was younger! A great way to create memories



18 July 2017 at 5:36 pm

Wow, everything looks so yummy! The view and restaurant look beautiful. Sounds like you guys had a great day



18 July 2017 at 5:54 pm

What a fun birthday weekend! That’s a beautiful view and the food looks delicious!



18 July 2017 at 6:01 pm

Oh wow! What a lovely treat. It looks amazing. #MMBC



emily
18 July 2017 at 7:15 pm

This looks like perfection! Reminds me of going to The Drake hotel in Chicago for high tea with my mom.



18 July 2017 at 9:58 pm

Really informative review and quite shocked about the baby change issue. Looks like a happy day out for you all



18 July 2017 at 10:04 pm

I’ve never been in the Shard but now I want to go. Great pics!

Enjoy the journey!



talkingmums1
19 July 2017 at 3:56 pm

Wow, the views are amazing and those photos of the afternoon tea are making my mouth water x
#DreamTeam



19 July 2017 at 4:47 pm

Oh my goodness that view! And those cakes! It all looks heavenly. The attention to detail looks to be excellent and it’s brilliant to know that your little one was made so welcome. I always hesitate before taking my two anywhere other than soft play just in case haha. It looks like you have all had a wonderful family day together. Thanks for sharing with #DreamTeam x



21 July 2017 at 5:31 pm

Okay, now I’d love to see this up close! The food looked truly like pieces of art. Great review šŸ˜€



22 July 2017 at 4:49 pm

Hi Nita, you were a lucky lady! Both of those afternoon teas sound rather tasty, the roast Angus beef with grain mustard and onion jam sandwiches sound particularly good. What a view you were treated to as well! I can see why little one was fascinated by the dry ice, I think I would have been too.

Thank you for linking up with the #MMBC.

XX



25 July 2017 at 12:07 am

Jasper’s face is so cute! I love how surprised and happy he looks! And that whole menu looks so yummy. Makes me want to go and make tons of yummy desserts now.



    25 July 2017 at 9:04 am

    The menu certainly was very tantalising! I’m glad it makes you want to make lots of yummy desserts! I can’t wait to see your creations too! šŸ˜‹



Let me know what you think!

error: Content is protected! Please contact Mummy Wishes for permission.
%d bloggers like this: