Style Points: 5/5
Price: £££
Overall: 5/5

Famed as the birthplace of Afternoon Tea, The Palm Court at The Langham London has been serving tea since the Victorian era. With a selection of 30 tea blends, cakes, beautiful pastries, scrumptious scones and delicate finger sandwiches, afternoon tea at The Palm Court has regularly been cited as the best afternoon tea in London.

The hotel is located at the top of Regent Street away from hustle of the shopping area and I noticed that most guests at The Langham seemed to arrive by back cab, but as I walked up to the entrance I couldn’t help but admire the stunning architecture and dazzling entrance. The Palm Court itself is a lavish and decadently designed room with hues of gold and light rose pink, as well as a piano player entertaining the guests.

Would I Want Seconds?

After choosing our tea from the extensive menu as well as ordering a glass of champagne, we were served our amuse bouche, a lemon posset which worked well in cleansing our palates.

The afternoon tea started with a selection of interestingly flavoured speciality sandwiches which included smoked salmon, avocado and wasabi éclair, peppered beef pastrami, red leicester coleslaw, cucumber, cream cheese and chives, marinated artichokes, Burford Brown egg and lightly curried prawn, tomato and watercress. This was quite a large selection so we took our time trying to savour them all. The waiter was also happy to supply alternative sandwiches for special diets.

The table was then expertly and beautifully set for our next course of scones direct from the Palm Court Bakery. They were delivered to our table warm and accompanied by Devonshire clotted cream and strawberry preserve. By this point we were quite full as the sandwiches and the scones were quite heavy but the next course was the collection of pastries and cakes served on the traditional afternoon tea stand which looked irresistible.

The artistically presented collection of treats is styled to look like an afternoon tea set and so included the Wedgwood tea cup, which was made of white chocolate mousse, tropical jelly and dark chocolate sable. There was also a daisy teapot made of cinnamon shortbread cookie, as well as a delicate and subtle tasting Hathaway rose motif created with English Rose and lychee log. 

There was also a white cameo on blue, strawberry and white balsamic Victoria sponge and finally a Kouglof, which included 64% chocolate, raspberry and lightly roasted pistachio financier. Each of these were exquisitely presented and had their own individual taste in fact there is also a suggested order in which to eat them to make sure the flavours are not overpowered.

By this point it was 7pm and so time for the customary Champagne Charlie to appear offering a free glass of champagne to diners to mark the changeover of the day into evening – a lovely and entertaining surprise to end our meal with!

Could I Afford Seconds?

The Wedgewood afternoon tea in the Palm Court at the Langham costs £49 per person. This is in line with the price of afternoon tea at other high end hotels in London. Considering the amount of food served and the quality of service, I would not let the cost put me off making a visit to one of the best afternoon teas in London.

Overall?

I was highly impressed with the afternoon tea at the Palm Court in The Langham, as every item was both intractably created and beautifully presented. In addition the service we received was outstanding, from plying us with cushions to make our seats more comfortable, to catering for dietary requirements, the staff were always friendly and attentive.

This made my whole experience a joy and I only wish I had a larger stomach to be able to finish all the exquisite food that was served to us.

Website: palm-court.co.uk
Address: 1c Portland Place, Regent Street, London, GB W1B 1JA
Closest Tube Station: Oxford Circus

Thank you to the staff at Palm Court, The Langham for a fabulous meal!