Lady’s Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester Review

I’m eligible for UK citizenship in just a few short weeks, so I’ve decided to indulge in a famous British pastime: afternoon tea at The Dorchester hotel on Park Lane in London.

Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester Review

The Dorchester is one of the most famous places for afternoon tea in London, and when they invited me to review it, I didn’t hesitate to say yes.

The Promenade, a beautiful restaurant that runs the length of the hotel in an extravaganza of marble columns and overstuffed chairs, draws locals and visitors alike to sit for tea to the music of a live pianist.

I arrived with a friend yesterday afternoon to be greeted by an animated server that not only doted on us in exactly the way we would expect during afternoon tea, but also made our experience lighthearted and fun with a touch of humor.

The Afternoon Tea

Two glasses of champagne arrived in due time, and we chose pots of the signature Dorchester Blend tea and the lemon herbal infusion to follow.

They were kept fresh and hot throughout the course of our time there, with no less than three fresh pots and cups being furnished during a two-hour period.

The Food

On the food side of things, the sandwiches were a selection of the very traditional, from cucumber to chicken. All were good, and we didn’t hesitate to say yes to seconds when the tray came around again.

The scones were hot from the oven, and served with delicious pots of strawberry and mixed berry jam with clotted cream. We could have eaten them for hours had there not been a delicious-looking tray of sweets right above them.

From a raspberry tart with lychee jelly to a condensed milk cake with fig, the selection was a mix of the traditional and the unexpected.

In some ways this was a good thing—I particularly enjoyed a chocolate and banana pastry—and in others, not as much—the condensed milk and fig wasn’t my favorite.

The Dorchester Afternoon Tea: The Verict

But overall the afternoon tea at The Dorchester was exactly what we had hoped for from an afternoon tea at one of London’s top luxury hotels.

The ambiance was just right, the service excellent, and the food so moreish that we had to wave the white flag when our server offered to bring more sweet treats to the table.

Leaving the hotel, we walked to Hyde Park Corner though a sea of NFL jerseys here for the upcoming American football game.

While my inner American still felt a connection to them, my future Brit was satisfied with my choice of afternoon tea at The Dorchester. Maybe all my years of living in London have rubbed off on me after all.

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