Review: Afternoon Tea at the Sheraton Grand, Mayfair, London
On an unseasonably warm day in early February, we looked into our diaries and discovered to our delight that we had an Afternoon Tea booked in the heart of London’s Mayfair, at the majestic Sheraton Grand, no less. The combination of the hotel’s name having the word ‘Grand’ in it, coupled with the merit of it’s placement being in the most expensive neighbourhood on the monopoly board excited us – assuring us that it would be befitting of the levels of grandeur to which we’ve come to love.
Indeed, The Sheraton Grand hotel, which is itself grand in stature, towering majestically overlooking London’s Green Park, feels luxurious even upon first entering through the doors. Our feet sunk into the squishy, velvety, carpet, and, feeling similarly squishy and velvety ourselves, we glided through the main atrium, past a roaring fire, and into the Palm Court restaurant on the centre of the ground floor. Compared to some afternoon tea locations, we absolutely loved the low, soft lighting, plush furniture, high ceilings, and distinct ‘great gatsby’-eque 1920’s style embellishments and stylishness. The original restaurant opening it’s doors in 1927, the height of the jazz age.
After our lovely host took our coats to the cloakroom and we selected our teas from one of twenty seven lovely blends, we settled down to have a good old chat whilst we waited for our champagne to arrive. It’s of note that the location of the Sheraton is just a hop, skip and a jump from the theatres of Covent Garden, and we’d managed to take in a matinee show before eating, so we had loads to talk about. The fact that it’s so close to the heart of the nightlife of London, coupled with the hotel offering sittings to tea from 2pm all the way through to 6pm makes it really convenient if you want to make a day of being in the capital.
We started sipping on our Tiramisu Rooibos, and Jasmine teas, happily, but we didn’t have long to wait until – pop! – the champagne bottle appeared and our cut crystal chalices were filled to the brim with our favourite golden substance; Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial. Then, in a flash, out whizzed our silver tiered trays filled with edible goodies.
We’d built up an appetite at the theatre, so we heartily tucked into our sandwiches, which were absolutely delicious and the perfect ‘goldilocks’ just-right balance of not-too-soggy but not-too-dry. Unlike some high teas, where this brilliant carb is an afterthought, the bread really stood out as very high quality. So did the fillings, which included classics such as Gammon with mustard, free range egg mayonnaise, and oak smoked salmon with dill, capers, and lemon butter. We polished them off rather quickly… but a helpful waiter popped out with a ‘refill’ to which we were very grateful… but we mustn’t dwindle too long on those sarnies, there are scones to be eaten!
Four fluffball scones were served in their own little monogrammed cotton bag to keep them warm, which we thought was a cute and classy touch, and were delights from start to finish. Plain and classic, or the raisin variety that we were served were both equally as yummy, and we loved playing with the selection of spreads, which included two kinds of jam, and a fresh, creamy, lemon curd.
To finish, we always, always end with the cakes, and, although the rest of the Sheraton’s high tea was very ‘classic’, we felt the cakes were intriguingly unusual and almost ‘vintage’ in their styling. The crispy-soft ‘Paris-Brest’ was a favourite of ours, which in all our years of afternoon teas we’d never eaten before, and chocolate addicts we thought, would go wild for the chocolate cake, rather lavishly named the ‘1927 Sheraton glamour reborn chocolate ganache’…. Try saying that with your mouth full!
We didn’t really want to leave The Palm Court after we’d finished, and we could have easily melted happily into the velvet chairs for a little snooze, but eventually, there did come a time where we asked for our coats… but then immediately put them back in the cloakroom, in favour of a martini at the delightful adjoining, buzzing hotel bar, cheekily named the ‘Smith and Whisltle’! When we did eventually stumble giddily into our uber, warmly waved off by the hotel’s charming staff, we both agreed that The Sheraton Park Lane had so much to offer of it’s high tea, and we can’t wait to return again soon.
