The Rosewood London is currently hosting the ‘Art Afternoon Tea, the John Booth Collection’, which is full of delicious sandwiches, delicate teas, and beautifully crafted patisserie.
Last weekend, I went on a solo trip into London where I spent the day walking around, visited the little-known Garden Museum, and did some much needed retail therapy in central. When I was planning my day out and finding somewhere to eat, I wanted to treat myself to a special afternoon tea, which I hadn’t done in a long time.
I will admit, I did look at The Ritz initially. I’ve heard such good things and I wanted to experience that poshness, but it was too last minute and they were fully booked.
I then went on a deep dive of popular London afternoon teas, and stumbled across the Art Afternoon Tea at the Rosewood Hotel. The photos of the artistic patisserie for this afternoon tea were what drew me in and made me book a reservation. And I’m so glad I did, because it was a lovely experience!
Fully titled the ‘Art Afternoon Tea, the John Booth Collection’ and hosted in the hotel’s Mirror Room, this artsy afternoon tea comes from the minds of the Rosewood’s Executive Pastry Chef, Mark Perkins, and his team, as well as London-based artist, John Booth.
The Rosewood Hotel can be found just a two minute walk away from the Holborn tube station, near the British Museum and Covent Garden. It is a central location in London and very easy to access on public transport.
The standard Art Afternoon Tea is £75. There are also a few add-ons that you could do to make the experience more special. I did the R de Ruinart Art Afternoon Tea for £85, where I was greeted with a glass of champagne on arrival. There are also 0% alcohol, cocktail, and rosé options.
Any afternoon tea is incomplete without a delicious brew. I am quite picky with my tea options, as a lot of teas hurt my stomach, so I only have a select few that I can enjoy. Green teas are always a great go-to for me, so I was excited to try a fancy one from the menu. I ended up choosing the Emperor's Palace green tea, and it was lovely.
Here is the Rosewood’s description of the tea: “As part of the prestigious Nobel Tea Chest collection curated by the London Tea Exchange, this tea was specially selected to represent Japan at the behest of His Majesty Emperor Akihito. Typically reserved only for state visits or guests at the Emperor's palace, it remains a rarity, savored by very few. Renowned for its unparalleled taste and distinctive character, this green tea is unlike any other.”
For the first course, I was provided with six little savory options. I’ve listed them below in my preferred order. All of the sandwiches were delicious! My favorite, the cheese tart, was rich and creamy with a tangy chutney in the center. Although I love a smoked salmon sandwich, it is at the bottom of my list because it was a lot blander than the rest, and I felt like the other options had much better flavor profiles.
Alsop & Walker Idle Hour Cheese, Chutney, Filigrano Tart
Cucumber, Cream Cheese, Olive Tapenade, Pickled Courgette, Turmeric Bread
Free Range Chicken, Parsley Mayonnaise, Garlic, Shallot, Paprika, Tomato Bread
Wiltshire Ham, Wholegrain Mustard Mayonnaise, Cornichons, Brown Bread
H. Foreman’s Smoked Salmon, Crème Fraîche, Avocado Purée, Charcoal Bread
I was asked if I wanted to have seconds of any of the sandwiches, and I wasn't planning to, but the cheese tart and cucumber sandwich were so good that I had to try them again. In the end, it might have been a bit too much and made me a lot fuller at the end of the meal, but it was definitely worth it.
The next course was scones and two small biscuit desserts. The scones were warm and fluffy, and there was one plain and one raisin. Well, when I say ‘raisin’, there were only two small raisins in the whole scone, so it was basically two plain. But they were delicious, so I didn’t really mind. There was also some lemon curd, raspberry jam, and clotted cream to spread on the scones. I much preferred the clotted cream and jam.
The two biscuits were a strawberry shortbread and an amarena bourbon. The strawberry shortbread was light and delicate, with a flavorful strawberry compote inside and a yummy white chocolate flower on top. I didn’t expect to like the amarena bourbon because of the booze, but it was actually really nice! It had a crunchy cookie, a tart cherry flavor throughout with a juicy cherry on top, and there was just the slightest hint of alcohol within the chocolate.
Before my last course, I ordered a new type of tea - a Huang Ya yellow tea. Yellow teas are a rare variety and this tea was described as, “Exclusively sourced for London Tea Exchange, the production method of the Huang Ya is a closely guarded secret. Only three yellow teas survive today. Out of the three the rarest of them all is the Huang Ya Yellow Tea. Typically sweet, with notes of roasted nuts, herbs, and honey.”
The stars of the show, and what drew me to this afternoon tea in the first place, were the next to come out. It was time for the art-inspired patisserie. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed when mine came out because I was only given two instead of three.
I am allergic to peanuts, so when restaurants ask me if I have any allergies, I of course mention it. I’m not deathly allergic or even have an epi-pen, but I do have bad reactions, like itchy skin and foggy headaches, if consumed by accident. Peanuts weren’t anywhere on the menu, but I thought I’d mention it just in case. I did also make it very clear that I can have every other nut, so it shouldn’t be an issue.
They ended up giving me a nut-free version, which I completely understand why they did, but they cut a whole dessert in the process. I really wanted to try the Painter’s Palette with the vanilla cheesecake and raspberry jelly. And the funny thing was this dessert had no nuts to begin with, but the Tropical Tulip, which I did get, had pistachios in the original version. I did think it was wrong to fully cut a dessert for people with nut allergies and to not even take off some money for it. I still paid full price when I was missing one of the key pieces of the whole afternoon tea.
In the nut free duo, there was The Twins and the Tropical Tulip desserts. The Twins was a two-sided sticky toffee pudding-like cake, with a chocolate date sponge and a vanilla custard. The Tropical Tulip was red and pink with a delicious mango mousse and orange passion fruit jelly. I absolutely loved this one, as this is one of my favorite flavor combinations.
At the end of the meal, I had half of each patisserie left over, which the staff were more than happy to wrap up in a nice box for me to bring home to my boyfriend. I was a bit worried, because I know fancier experiences like this can be a bit harder to bring stuff home from.
Overall, the Mirror Room where the Art Afternoon Tea was held in had a warm ambiance and peaceful music. My reservation started at 2:45PM, and it was not too loud or too busy, and it continued like that until I left around 4:30PM. The staff were nice and helpful, and were very attentive without feeling like they were on top of you.
Of course there were a couple things that I would have changed, like the third patisserie, but I thought that it was a really creative and delicious experience. I would definitely go back (and try to get the Painter’s Palette) and I know my family would love to give it a try as well. I was sending photos as the different courses arrived, and my mom said right away that she wants to go the next time she is visiting. I highly recommend going yourself!
Comments