Afternoon Tea at Ametsa, Como The Halkin, London

Cuisine: Afternoon Tea
Location: Belgravia
Price: £££
Food: 4/5
Style Points: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5

The Story

Afternoon tea is one of life’s wonderful delights and I love nothing more than spending an autumn afternoon sampling little delicacies and sipping an assortment of fragrant teas to instantly give me a feeling of comfort and warmth. Of course, a glass of champagne or two is always welcome! Although traditional afternoon tea often consists of finger sandwiches, warm scones, and plenty of cake, the talented team at Ametsa in the beautiful hotel COMO The Halkin have decided to shake things up with their own unique Spanish twist. 

Located in the luxury Belgravia neighbourhood and just a few minutes walk away from Buckingham Palace, the boutique hotel is in the perfect location to enjoy afternoon tea.

Their menu draws on the principles of Basque cuisine and is designed by the hotel’s talented head chef Ruben Briones.

The newly renovated Halkin bar and lounge, where the afternoon tea is served, is spacious and ultra modern in design with soft white leather furnishings and touches of pink marble throughout. Lots of large windows overlooking the street mean that the space is nicely lit. 

The Food?

Before starting proceedings, we tried a couple of their Sipsmith Cocktails - Ametsa Royale and Tea Collins. The former was Sipsmith Sloe Gin and Rose Cava and was strong yet very flavoursome. The latter was Hibicus Infused Gin flavoured with Darjeeling Tea, Lemon Juice and Ginger Ale. This was probably my favourite of the two, a cocktail that’s complex in flavour and wonderfully sweet from the hibiscus and aromatic from the ginger ale. A great start to any afternoon.

The Savoury Selection comes on two plates and includes six individual morsels of food, each providing their unique flavour combinations. I have to say that each one was delicious and so different from one another. The Iberico Ham Croquettes were incredible - silky smooth potato mash with lots of salty iberico ham running through it. I could have happily eaten a plate of them and still have ordered more! 

The simply named Egg and Waffle was a fried quail’s egg that oozed out onto a savoury waffle topped with a lovely sweet chili jam. It was a fantastic pairing of sweet and savoury flavours.

The ‘Txangurro’ in a Shell was a revelation for me. Spider crab cooked with Spanish flavours placed inside a pink crispy shell and topped with ‘sea foam.’ It tasted like one of my childhood favourites, the prawn cocktail crisps Skips, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Food should take you back in time to a place where you were happy and this is what this dish did for me. 

There is a wide selection of tea from Jing Tea on offer that will satisfy everyone’s palate including white, green, black, and fresh herbal infusions. We tried the Organic Jade Sword, Black Chai, Keemun and Whole Rose, Fresh Mint, and Fresh Ginger and Honey. Each one was fabulous and all served with silver teaware and fine china teacups. 

After a brief interval to reflect on our savoury delights, we were presented with the Sweet Selection - six more uniquely flavoured Spanish creations. This time it was a bit of a mixed bag and I had a few that I preferred over others. The Catalan Cream was essentially a Spanish Crème Brûlée and was super creamy and rich with vanilla. I’m not particularly fond of crème brûlée but this was absolutely delicious and the perfect pudding for a cold and windy day. 

The Piquillo and Chocolate Cake was a standout for me because it expertly mixed chocolate with the heat and spice of piquillo peppers. The cake oozed like a chocolate fondant cake and the spicy dark chocolate flavour was a winning combination for me. 

The Mango Torrija was essentially a bread pudding with a layer of mango gel. I’m not a fan of bread-based puddings and this was no exception and I couldn’t taste mango from the gel. I was also a little disappointed with the Chocolate with Churros. Churros are supposed to be warm and fluffy in the middle and crunchy and sweet on the outside but this one was cold and soft and not very sweet at all. It didn’t help that it was served in the chocolate so it was soggy to begin with. I did like the dark bitter chocolate sauce however but the churro should have been the star.

Although the savoury was my preferred course, like with the teas, there is a sweet dish to please every palate and I just happen to be a bit of a snob when it comes to dessert!

The Price?

On its own, the Spanish Afternoon Tea is £34 per person or £40 with a glass of Cava, £42 with a Sipsmith Cocktail, and £50 with a glass of Tattinger Brut Reserve. Compare this to some of the prices of afternoon tea around London and you’ll find that this is very reasonable and definitely worth the price given that you can try as many teas as you like and will be full by the end. 

Overall?

I absolutely loved trying Ametsa’s Spanish afternoon tea. Each component looked beautiful and unique and each definitely tasted original. I was also pleasantly surprised that I was full after what looked like several small portions of food. But those small portions definitely added up!

If I had to sum up my experience in one word, it has to be ‘revelation.’ I tried some combinations of flavours that I’ve never tried before and I loved most of them. Even if you aren’t partial to afternoon tea, it is definitely worth experiencing as you’ll try flavours that you’ve never tried before and chances are you’ll love a few of them.

Ametsa afternoon tea is available every day between 2.30pm until 5.00pm.

Book your table for Afternoon Tea at Ametsa.
Address: COMO The Halkin, London, 5-6 Halkin St, London SW1X 7DJ
Phone: 020 7333 1234
Closest tube station: Hyde Park Corner

My Afternoon Tea at Ametsa was complimentary, all opinions are my own.