Floris London Summer Afternoon Tea at Great Scotland Yard Hotel (with Vegan Option)

Floris London Summer Afternoon Tea at Great Scotland Yard Hotel (with Vegan Option) | AD

Earlier this week, I hopped onto a train to London with a friend for an exceptional afternoon tea experience at Great Scotland Yard Hotel.

Great Scotland Yard Hotel is a 5-star hotel in London. The hotel is situated in an iconic 1820’s Grade II listed building and offers 151 rooms and suites. There’s also a 5-storey detached private residence called Great Scotland Yard Townhouse.

The hotel is beautifully decorated in an interesting style that combines tradition with modern luxury. The hotel has a Scandinavian restaurant called Ekstedt at the Yard by Swedish Michelin starred chef Niklas Ekstedt, a distinctive cocktail bar called The 40 Elephants, a hidden whisky bar called Síbín, and the delightful afternoon tea lounge called The Parlour.

The hotel feels so luxurious, classy and welcoming. I love the unique style and interesting details that you can spot wherever you look. Everything was spotless and all the members of staff that we met were attentive and friendly.

Now, to The Parlour for afternoon tea! The Parlour is a room which draws on tales of Britain’s Victorian explorers. It’s beautifully decorated and a pleasure to spend time in.

Just like the hotel, the afternoon tea is very special. It’s a multi-sensory afternoon tea in partnership with the iconic perfumery Floris London. The afternoon tea has been inspired by the historical British perfumers’ luxury fragrance, Sirena, and created by the hotel’s Senior Sous Pastry Chef, Alexandra Ellis. The exclusive Sirena scent is fresh and floral, with a tropical blend of jasmine, marine and bergamot, punctuated with pink peppercorn. Guests can experience these delicate, top notes while indulging in this truly extraordinary afternoon tea.

You can find out exactly what’s on the sumptuous menu below. The savoury items are served first, followed by the cakes, pastries, and scones.

Savoury:

• Peas and lardons quiche
• Chicken coronation on brown bread
• Smoked salmon, dill, crème fraiche on malted bread
• Egg truffle mayo and chives on pain de mie
• Shallot and Montgomery cheddar Yorkshire Pudding

Assortment of Tea Cakes & Pastries:

• Summer berry choux and elderflower mousse
• Rose and pistachio layered cake
• Jasmine and bergamot mousse

Warm Scones:

• Freshly baked plain and raisin scones
• Cornish clotted cream and summer berry jam

There’s a Vegan option and Gluten Free option too which is great. I’m a lacto vegetarian myself so I chose the vegan option (more about this soon!) and my friend had the regular menu but swapped the smoked salmon sandwich for a fish-free option.

My friend said that everything was delicious and she was very impressed with the stunning pastries especially. So delicate and with wonderful flavours combinations! They were all decorated with flowers which looks great and fits the theme perfectly.

The vegan afternoon tea was just as impressive! I don’t have the menu written down but I will do my best to remember the details. On the top layer, you can see a delicious onion bhaji which was so crispy and flavoursome. On the middle layer, there was a hummus and little gem lettuce sandwich on white bread and a courgette sandwich on brown bread. On the bottom layer, there was a bruschetta and a pickle sandwich on brown bread. All full of flavour and very tasty.

Now onto the vegan cake and pastry selection. For me, the sweet selection is one of the most important parts of an afternoon tea and these vegan treats did not disappoint. Just like the cakes from the regular menu, the vegan ones were delightfully decorated with flowers of different colours. The flavours were amazing too!

The vegan sweet options included a carrot cake, a rectangular chocolate shell filled with chocolate cake and a rich chocolate ganache (I believe) and topped with strawberries and a thick pink mousse, and a round chocolate dipped biscuit shell filled with a light mousse and topped with the tastiest raspberries I have ever had. All the flavours worked so well together and everything was luscious.

Like the regular option, the vegan afternoon tea came with two warm scones (one with raisins), served with jam and a vegan cream alternative which was nice.

There were loads of different teas to choose from in the menu. We opted for Earl Grey and a white tea with peony. They were loose leaf teas prepared in the kitchen, then served in teapots, poured over a tea strainer into your cup to catch any loose leaves. We also had champagne with our afternoon tea which made it feel even more special.

Floris London Summer Afternoon Tea can be booked online or by phone. Pricing starts at £59 for a standard booking and £70 for a Champagne booking. There’s also a Bottomless Champagne booking option for £95 for an hour and a half. The Floris London Summer Afternoon Tea is available to book 7 days a week from July 3rd – September 2023. On Sunday’s guests also have the opportunity to bring their dogs for Dog Afternoon Tea.

The Floris London Summer Afternoon Tea at Great Scotland Yard Hotel was a fantastic experience in all ways. Thank you for having us!

Collaboration. I was invited for this afternoon tea. All my reviews are 100% honest and, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Some of the photos were taken by my friend and some by myself.