Lady’s Review of a Chocolate Afternoon Tea in London

Today I want to share my review of a chocolate afternoon tea in London with you. Themed teas are popular in the UK capital, and everything from fashionista teas to summer season teas can be found throughout London. Chocolate teas are always a treat, though, and this one is no exception.

Chocolate Afternoon Tea in London

Afternoon tea is one of my favorite English traditions. The tiered trays of tiny cakes, the warmth and comfort of a steaming cup of tea, and the serene ambiance always make for an enjoyable experience.

London takes afternoon tea seriously, with venues across the city coming up with creative themes and menus. One variation that was launched by The Halkin hotel in Belgravia was a Couture Chocolate Afternoon Tea in London.

The Halkin launched the concept along with celebrity chocolatier William Curley. A veteran of Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, Curley is one of the UK’s foremost chocolate makers.

The Halkin approached Curley about a partnership in which he’d create cakes and pastries for a purely chocolate afternoon tea in London. He agreed and they got to work.

Afternoon Tea Venue

I was invited for a complimentary sample of the finished product, and I headed out to The Halkin on Friday afternoon. A friend and I were seated in the busy (and slightly noisy) Halkin Bar, where afternoon tea was served.

The room featured oversized coffee table books, lifestyle art, and windows that looked like larger-than-life pages from books.

Far from the classical decor of other afternoon tea venues in the UK capital, this was fresh and contemporary.

Chocolate Afternoon Tea

So was the chocolate afternoon tea in London. The selection of teas included a ginger tea, which immediately piqued my curiosity.

A true lover of ginger, I ordered it and drank three full pots. My friend started off with classic Earl Grey, then moved onto one made with jasmine pearls.

The food was served shortly after the tea. The savory component came in the form of a traditional plate of sandwiches. They were followed by fluffy scones with clotted cream and jam.

The sweets were the real highlight of the chocolate afternoon tea in London, though.

There was a chocolate financier with passion fruit curd, an orange-and-chocolate Sachertorte, a sea-salt-caramel-and-raspberry tart, a Black Forest dome cake, and two chocolate macarons.

For the next two hours we indulged in our chocolate afternoon tea in London as only chocoholics can. We started with the macarons, which were perfectly flaky on the outside and rich on the inside.

We then split the chocolate financier, which had an unexpected lightness owing to the tartness of the passion fruit. It was my favorite of the day.

From there we tried the Sachertorte, which was rich and velvety with nice hints of fruit to offset the thickness of the chocolate.

Afterwards we moved onto the tart, which was packed with flavor. The raspberry was a nice touch, and my friend chose it as her favorite.

We’d been warned at the beginning of our chocolate afternoon tea in London that the Black Forest dome was the heaviest of all of the cakes, so we saved it for last.

I’m not sure it was a good idea, though. By the time we got to it we were already on sugar overload. But we managed to eat it, and found that the thick, heavy chocolate was as divine as it looked.

The Verdict

When we finished our chocolate afternoon tea in London, we were completely full and buzzing with energy. I don’t know if there’s such thing as too much chocolate, but we were certainly close to crossing the line.

It was a good thing we were in the capable hands of William Curley. His afternoon tea gave us just enough cocoa-inspired goodies to feel indulgent, but not so many we wouldn’t want to return for more. It was perfect.

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