There were so many great looking afternoon tea spots in London, but we had limited time to try them. It was not easy to select just a few, but we somehow managed. The last afternoon Tea spot we tried was inside Sanderson Hotel. The main entrance led to a very large, open space. To the left was the hotel lobby with all sorts of chairs and sofas, it felt like we were in some kind of chair museum.
To the right, they had a bar with, again, a really interesting chairs. The bar stools had an eye on the back, of all different background. Interesting and also, a bit creepy, especially if you are looking at them at night in a dark…
You pass the bar with these eyes staring back at you, and you will see a nice courtyard with zen garden on your left. Pretty, relaxing, and peaceful space.
At the hostess station, we told them we have a reservation for afternoon tea. A staff checked the reservation, and took us to our table. It was like a large tent, set right next to the large zen garden. It did have an upscale, whimsical feel to it. I liked the greeneries everywhere. A really thoughtful thing I notices was that they had a blanket on each chairs, in case you get a bit too cold in the tent. How lovely!
What added to the “whimsical” part was the design on plates and tea cups. Mine had acrobats flying around everywhere. How fun!
My hubby got a talented zebra, doing some tricks with a ball. It was fun just looking at everyone’s plates and cups.
They had a book and a box on each table, and our book was Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds. It was really there for you to study the British birds, although it was most interesting, but it was utilized as a menu holder. Clever way to introduce their menu in such elegant way.
White box was not just there to hold the book, but it had a nice surprise. It was full of sugar, with a tiny little ballerina in it. What an amazing way to up-cycle an old music box! Loved this!
Once we were settled, a staff brought over the choices of tea in bottles. They were so cute and fun! Each one named in Alice in Wonderland theme. Since this was the Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea, I went with the Mad Hatter tea.
Mad Hatter tea was a green tea, infused with passion fruit, guava, and mango. All the tea came in tea pots with kings and queens faces on it, which was fun. Fruity green tea, which was very nice.
When the three-tiered afternoon tea treats arrived, we were all excited. They were so cute and whimsical! The Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea (£48/person) came with loads of tasty-looking items, and also some scones on the side, resting inside gingham bag to keep warm.
We started with the bottom tier, savory items. It had a couple of sandwiches, scotch egg, and a little juice. They all looked pretty good, and really nice portion size too.
The first one up was Stack of King of Hearts Sandwich, a ham and parmesan croque-monsieur. It was a stack of three thin sandwiches, held together with an adorable toothpick with a heart on top. They were nice and cheesy, with crispy exterior. It was nice and tasty.
Next up was White Rabbit Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwich on pesto bread. It was certainly very creamy with cream cheese, and cucumbers were nice and crunchy. However, I didn’t get much pesto flavor from the fluffy bread.
The last sandwich was Cornish Crab Brioche Roll with spiced avocado and coriander. It had a little kick to it, not much coriander flavor, but all in all, it was very tasty! I thought it was a great way to serve crab. With this type of roll, they can put a good amount of crab meat in it. I really liked this one!
The last savory item was something that was unexpected. Smoked Salmon Scotch Quails Egg with caviar and cream cheese. This was a really fun item, something different from a regular afternoon tea treats. The egg was cooked just right, not too runny, not too hard. Breading and smoked salmon added a wonderful flavor to the egg. Addition of caviar made it extra special. It was such a delight, I could have had another one, or two, or five!
Speaking of something unusual, there was a little bottle of juice on that tier too, with a tag that says “Drink Me.” Well, alrighty then! It was Alice’s Exotic Fruits “Drink Me” Potion. This little baby was very rich, fruity juice. It was thicker than juice, more like smoothie. Very sweet. A bit of sugar rush…
After that, we moved on to the middle tier. All sorts of baked goods, they looked really nice!
I started with the cutest looking one. It was Queen of Hearts Rose and Strawberry Jammy Dodger. It was soft and sweet, lovely little cookies. It looked more adorable than the scary Queen of Hearts.
Then the Mad March Hare Vanilla Pocket Watch Macaroon. It was quite sweet, a bit too sweet to be honest. I could see vanilla bean in the cream, which was nice. I liked the crispy ball on top. A cute design for sure.
The most impressive looking dessert was Mocha Chessboard Gateau. This one was way too sweet for me, it was a like eating overly sweet chocolate. Tweedle Dee Lemon Curd Financier was very moist and elegantly sweet, with a nice, strong lemon flavor that comes through well. I really liked it!
We finally made it up to the top tier! This tier was definitely cute, adorable, and yes, totally whimsical.
I really liked the way this blue guy looked. It was Chocolate and Pistachio Blue Caterpillar. The blue coating gets everywhere like a stain, so be careful handing it… It was like a chocolate bar, didn’t get pistachio flavor…
Then, I tried Wonderland Marshmallow Magic Mushrooms. Can you say that super fast, five times? I tasted strong strawberry flavor. It was sweet and soft, super fluffy! The last but least, Mad Hatters Lost Carrot and Fennel Meringue. It really didn’t have much flavor, other than being overly sweet…
When we were getting close to the end, a staff brought a little flower pots for everyone. It wasn’t just any flower pots, but it was a beautiful, chilled dessert! It was Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Honeycomb on top. It had a great salted caramel flavor, and velvety ice cream. Honeycomb went perfect with the ice cream, while adding a fun crunchy texture. Not overly sweet compared to others. Had a chocolate piece on the bottom to cover the hole on the pot, so that nothing will leak out of there. Really nice way to end the afternoon tea!
And we did not forget our scones! We had some Sanderson’s Warm Scones served with Cornish Clotted Cream and Fruit Preserve. They were nice and big, fluffy and tasty.
The bathroom is a bit of a walk. We had to go back to the host/hostess station and get a direction. Just find a strangely green space up a few stairs. The bathroom was not for a large crowd, only three stools. Very clean and well-lit though.
We had a fun, whimsical afternoon tea here for sure. The quality of each food item was, well, more “style over substance” if you know what I mean. They all looked great, but the flavor was not as strong for most. The savory items had better, stronger flavor than the sweets. Most of the baked goods and desserts were overly sweet. We still enjoyed the experience for sure.
At the beginning, our server told us that if there was anything that we really liked, and want more of, then we can simply ask for them. For not extra charge. What! Great offer, the problem was, we were all quite full after having them all, so we didn’t have extra space in our stomach for more… I would’ve liked to have another one of the Scotch egg, or financier, or crab roll…
Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea at Sanderson – 50 Berners St, Fitzrovia, London, United Kingdom