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The traditional afternoon tea combo of jam scones, Viccy sponges and dinky cucumber sandwiches is a well-loved formula. Why mess with it? The only thing is, it sways heavily in favour of the sweet-toothed among us. However, there is one afternoon tea in London that caters for those with a more savoury palate. And it’s Time Out’s new favourite.
The best afternoon tea in London right now is the all-new ‘Afternoon Cheese’ at the Covent Garden Hotel. British cheeses are the stars of this show, which launched back in May. There’s no scone with cream and jam, and to some that might be considered blasphemy. But for us, its absence is made up for tenfold with the cheddar scone that’s spread with goat’s curd, caramelised onion jelly and chive oil.
The rest of the menu includes goat’s cheese and caramelised onion macarons, a stilton éclair and a Welsh rarebit doughnut, which comes with a bottle of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce. All the cheese has been sourced from the hotel’s next-door neighbour Neal’s Yard Dairy.
Like we said, this tea is best suited for the savoury-toothed among us, but there is one sweet treat included – a Westcombe ricotta cheesecake with seasonal fruit.
To wash it all down, guests can choose to pair the cheeses with a selection of English wines from Kent producer Gusbourne (for an extra £16 per person) or take their pick from the extensive list of teas.
Afternoon Cheese at the Covent Garden Hotel is available from Monday to Sunday between 1pm and 4.45pm, from £56 per person.
Prefer something more traditional? See all of the best afternoon teas in London here.
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