Welcome to another post about festive afternoon tea. I headed over to the Savoy with one of my friends to indulge in my second festive afternoon tea this year. I last visited the Savoy for festive afternoon tea in 2022 (Festive Afternoon Tea at The Savoy), and this year was very different. The room had been renovated and much more less intimate as so many are packed into a small place, and there is now a bar at the end. I was told that it only opend about three weeks ago.
We had a late sitting for afternoon tea from 5:00. It was proving to be popular, and we had to wait in a queue with others for ten minutes. and some people on the side were waiting for a bar stool. This was not the standard that I was expecting from the Savoy at all, and th service was rushed and not personal. Normally, they offer to take the coats, but nothing like that happened, and we were crammed into seats with the room being at least twice the number of occupants compared to previously.
There was also a lack of decorations; last time, there were trees. This time, they use every bit of floor space for patrons. It just felt impersonal.
We had a glass of champagne to start. We received a selection of different sandwiches, such as cheese and chutney, cucumber with butter, turkey, and cabbage slaw. We also received an egg roll and a parsnip, carrot, and thyme mini muffin. The savouries were good.
The egg one came decorated with gold leaf.
We had live piano music, and a couple of singers and a cello player provided some music. The singers were barely audible as the acoustics were very loud. I wished that they would have played festive music, though. It just did not feel very festive.
Next up were the scones. We received a plain and a raisin scone, and these were both very light. There was strawberry jam, clotted cream, and lemon curd.
The pastries followed. We received the following selection of pastries: Mon Blanc - chestnut cream with meringue; Santa - vanilla cake, chantilly, and redcurrant glaze.
Christmas Bauble - white chocolate mousse, lemon sponge, and blackberry. Chocolate and tonka bean - chocolate sponge and ganache.
Overall, I was a little disappointed as I compared this to my previous visit.
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