Ting A.
Yelp
Visit this afternoon tea spot for Instagrammable pictures but not for high quality tea and small bites. I had wanted to see what the craze was all about, considering so many hotels and restaurants serve afternoon teas. However, the food pales in comparison to what I would get at a decent café.
After browsing a plethora of afternoon tea places, I had picked this one due to its more reasonable price of £40 per person and the terrace prettily decorated with plants. A number of the ones I checked had cost close to or well over £100 and did not seem to present as pleasant of an ambience.
The scones were actually the best out of everything: Tahitian Vanilla & Lemon Scone and Golden Raisin Scone, served with Devonshire clotted cream and Scottish raspberry jam. These were freshly baked and fluffy.
I found the sweets somewhat odd from their consistency and flavor:
- Lemon & Basil: lemon and basil drizzle cake
- Pear & Ginger: ginger cheesecake with pear compote
- Blackberry & Lemongrass: blackberry and lemongrass jelly with lemon grass cream
- Strawberry & Black Pepper: strawberry and black pepper parfait, balsamic glaze
And lastly, the savories were not that impressive either. At the very least the bread was not stale like the reviews from other higher-end afternoon tea places:
- Marinated Cucumber: with cream cheese on spinach bread
- Egg Mayonnaise: with watercress on a colorful brioche roll
- Poached Salmon: with lemongrass crème fraiche on farmhouse bread
- Coronation Chicken: on cocoa and malt bread
To accompany the snacks, each person selects a pot of tea. I picked Lychee Goji Flavored Green Tea (tropical green tea with flavors of cherry, goji berries, pomegranate, cranberry and blue mallow flowers). My brother chose Vanilla Chai (mixed blend of ginger, cardamom and cloves with a taste of vanilla). Both teas lacked impact even after brewing the entire time. If opting in for alcohol, a single glass of champagne costs a whopping £55 or £59.
We had arrived late to our Wednesday 2:45 PM reservation due to the sudden downpour and confusion in finding the Coral Room inside the Bloomsbury Hotel. Enter via the front of the hotel as the the door led by a sign pointing to the Coral Room was locked. The host was understanding and ushered us to our tables. A service charge of £5 per person was added onto the bill.