I discovered London’s secret afternoon tea
Why The Secret Garden tea at Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences is pure magic
I love an afternoon tea and was very excited to discover a secret one tucked away in one of London’s top hotels, which was pure magic.
The Secret Garden Afternoon Tea, at Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences, is a magical journey based around Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic children’s book.
You enter through a pretty floral courtyard in the five-star hotel in St James’s and then go into the tea salon, in Kona restaurant.
It’s a series of interconnected rooms in a beautiful grey and green décor and the tables are decorated with Miranda Kerr Royal Albert china and adorned with teapots full of flowers and other quirky touches, as well as copies of the novel.
The magical journey begins with a menu designed like the gates to the secret garden – you open them to be greeted with a paper butterfly fluttering out, in a super-sweet touch. Next, you search for a hidden key and when you find it, use it to open a wooden box, which contains a chocolate key sitting on a bed of biscuit soil.
After that, the whimsical food journey gets underway, with an absolutely delightful series of sandwiches and pastries. The sandwiches are perfectly light and delicate – I enjoyed the herb roast chicken sandwich, egg and pea sandwich and cucumber, beetroot and basil butter on tomato bread. My favourite was the oak smoked salmon, avocado and dill cream cheese on spinach bread.
Everything is presented on a beautiful cake stand, designed like an ornate bird cage and the cakes are the absolute stand-out. The little edible flower pot with brownie “earth” and white chocolate flowers is fabulous, as is the lime cake with mango ganache. The cakes are decorated with edible flowers, butterflies and gold leaf – it’s just delightful.
The cakes and pastries are accompanied by a choice of tea – you can go for all the traditional choices, or the tea-paired options from Bird & Blend Tea Co, such as Lady Lavender black tea, Dozy Girl lavender and chamomile tea or Summer of Love fruity green tea. We tried the latter two and they were perfect accompaniments to the treats.
While other afternoon teas usually offer an optional glass of bubbles, The Secret Garden Gin Distillery partnered with Kona to make its own gins. We tried The Secret Garden Lemon Verbena with grapefruit and rosemary tonic and the Apothecary Rose gin with Pomelo and pink pepper tonic. Both were excellent, delicately tangy and cut through the sweetness of the cakes, perfectly.
The final flourish comes with the scones course – they are delivered in their own smoked cloche and presented with a flourish, before being spritzed with elderflower and then drizzled with lavender honey. It’s great theatre and lots of fun. The scones are delicate little offerings of mixed berries with clotted cream and jam.
We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon tea – it was a lovely way to spend a few hours. Like a tea theatre, it was fun to go on a culinary journey and experience some of the magic of a childhood classic brought to life. Special thanks to our waitress, Gabriela, who was super-attentive and refilled the tea several times to make sure it was always piping hot. The service was five-star.
I was a guest of Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences.
How to book: The Secret Garden Afternoon Tea is £75 per person. Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences, taj51buckinghamgate.co.uk