High Palms High Tea: Landmark London Afternoon Tea Review
Afternoon tea. Need I say more?
Afternoon tea is a quintessential part of British history and a favourite meal of mine. Some love brunch. Myself, I love afternoon tea. Afternoon tea was an invention of Lady Anna Bedford, the Duchess of Bedford one of Queen Victoria's ladies in waiting. In the 1800’s dinner was served late, close to 8 pm. The Duchess would become hungry in the afternoon and would ask for a tray of tea, bread, butter, and cake to be brought to her room. This became a habit of her’s. Soon she started to invite friends to join her, and afternoon tea was born.
Disclosure: Thank you Landmark London for collaborating on this post. All thoughts and opinions are always my own.
About the Hotel
Built in 1899, the Landmark London originally opened as the Grand Central Hotel and the last of the great Victorian railway hotels. The Hotel is located in Marylebone next to Marylebone Station.
Location: Landmark London
Restaurant: The Winter Garden Restaurant
Hours: 2.30pm to 5 pm Monday - Friday and 1pm to 5 pm Saturday - Sunday.
About the Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea is served in the Winter Garden. The winter garden is the hotel’s eight storey high glass atrium. The bright cream tones, live piano music and palm trees invite you into the dining space.
We did the Champagne afternoon tea which includes a glass of Palmer & Co. Champagne or Taittinger Rosé Champagne. Alcohol free sparkling wines and sparkling tea are also options. I have never tried sparkling tea but I keep hearing positive reviews.
I tried two teas during my visit. The orange fruits and the Turkish apple. I love fruit tea that does not require sugar or milk. These were both fruity but not overpowering.
Tea started with sandwiches. As a savory girl this is my favourite part of tea. The sandwiches were smoked salmon, cucumber, egg and poached chicken. All where delicious but I got seconds of the chicken and egg.
Next came the scones. There were both blueberry and lemon scones. They came wrapped in a cotton bag to keep them warm. It is hard to say which I preferred. Both were perfectly baked without overpowering flavor. The cream and preserves enhanced the lemon and blueberry flavours. The stand out condiment for the scones was a white chocolate ganache mixed with raspberry. I cannot begin to describe how delicious this was. It reminded me of an old white chocolate and raspberry torte I loved from childhood. 12/10! The restaurant should bottle this and sell it.
Finally we are on to the pastries which are designed by the Pastry Chefs Mauro and Daniel, winners of Bake Off: The Professionals 2023. My favourite dessert of all time is pavlova. The mini pavlova which they made was divine. Crunchy, creamy and fruity is was everything you could ask for. The apricot and yoghurt tartlet was another favourite. The yoghurt topping was unique. It had a whipped texture that was more mousse-like. Since it was yoghurt it added some tang to the sweeter apricot.
Overall this was a truly sensational afternoon tea. From the gorgeous Winter Garden, to the friendly and efficient service and finally the amazing food, I definitely recommend a visit if you are in London!
If you have visited the Landmark for afternoon tea let me know your thoughts. If you have a favourite afternoon tea in London you recommend, let me know!
xx Sam
Photos: Natalia Wisniewska
