I love going for afternoon tea and have tried quite a few over the years, so I’m always interested when there’s an official collaboration. When I saw that The Lanesborough had created a Bridgerton afternoon tea in partnership with Netflix and Shondaland with the menu inspired by the series, I really wanted to try it out. My husband also loves afternoon tea so we decided to make it into a birthday celebration for him.
Afternoon tea is served in The Lanesborough Grill, which is such a lovely setting. The room is really light with a glass roof, chandeliers, and columns making it feel spacious and bright. It also naturally works with the Bridgerton theme!
The afternoon stand was decorated with flowers and ivy, with the sandwiches underneath and all the colourful cakes and pastries above. It looked beautiful when it arrived so obviously I had to take quite a few photos before we could actually eat anything.
We started with the sandwiches which included truffled egg mayonnaise and watercress, poached cornfed chicken with chive and sour cream, smoked salmon with horseradish and dill, and cucumber with garlic and herb cream. There was also a cream cheese and kale tartlet.
I’m one of those people who enjoys the savoury part of afternoon tea just as much as the cakes. I like having the traditional fillings, but it’s always nice when there are a couple of slightly different flavours in there too. If you’re like us and always feel like you could eat a couple more sandwiches than provided, they always offer to bring more of your favourites.
Afterwards we had homemade scones served with fruit preserves and clotted Devonshire cream, which is when I enjoy something from the tea menu. I chose the special Bridgerton tea blend with black tea and floral, fruity and rose notes.
The cakes were where you could really see the Bridgerton inspiration, with each one based around different characters and elements from the series. There was The Social Butterfly, inspired by Penelope Featherington, as well as Colin’s Travels, The Book of Eloise and The Lady Whistledown. There was so much detail put into the presentation that they were almost too pretty to eat!
However, they didn’t just concentrate on making everything look good for the theme, I’ve tried themed afternoon teas before where the presentation ends up being more memorable than the food, whereas this still felt like the sort of afternoon tea I’d expect from a luxury London hotel. The theme didn’t take away from the flavours, textures, or quality of the food.
I tried the Friends to Lovers Cocktail, a twist on a margarita made with coconut tequila, cherry, cranberry, honey and fresh lime. It came with a white feather inspired by Lady Whistledown’s quill, which was such a simple detail but looked really pretty next to the afternoon tea stand.
I think themed afternoon teas can be a little hit or miss. I love that the theme gives you something different to a traditional afternoon tea, but I don’t want everything to be so focused on the theme that the actual experience gets lost. In this case it was the perfect balance.
The hotel is already so grand and traditional that it feels like a natural setting for Bridgerton. Then you have the flowers on the stand, the character-inspired cakes, the special drinks, and little details such as Lady Whistledown’s feather to bring everything together.
If you love Bridgerton, you’ll obviously appreciate all the references and little details, but I don’t think you necessarily have to be a huge fan of the series to enjoy it. The hotel is beautiful, the flavours were lovely and everything was wonderfully presented.
Rebecca x
