REVIEW: The Alexander Hamilton Afternoon Tea at The Lanesborough

If there was ever a chance that I wasn’t every bit in love with afternoon tea, I certainly am now. I really do love this British tradition and having seen it evolve over the last 10 years it’s quite simply amazing the things you can eat with a glass of Champagne and a cup of tea now. Many years ago even in modern London, afternoon tea was simply scones, tea, traditional cakes and lots of tea. But not now.

Somewhere during that time a glass of Champagne became the new celebratory way to start an afternoon tea, English breakfast tea started to grab dust on the back shelves while green tea and exotic herbal infusions took over and the cakes have since become works of art, often looking too good to eat. Well almost. With that in mind we recently returned to my favourite London hotel, The Lanesborough to enjoy their newest afternoon tea – The Alexander Hamilton Afternoon Tea – starting with a glass of Champagne.

This special and very delicious afternoon tea was launched to celebrate the opening of the hit musical Hamilton at the nearby Victoria Palace Theatre and its creations inspired by the characters and events bought to life by the Broadway phenomenon – all created by Céleste’s head pastry chef Gabriel Le Quang.

With our tea chosen (fresh mint for me) we tucked into our selection of classic finger sandwiches. I’m a bit of a stickler when it comes to bread and especially when enjoying afternoon tea. Too many times are sandwiches pre-prepared and left stale, but not here. They tasted as if they were filled & cut to order and each slice was very well-seasoned.

The classic egg mayonnaise was nicely packed, cucumber with mint was refreshingly addictive, the smoked salmon richly flavoured and both the ham with cheese and coronation chicken fingers being very moreish. We even ordered a second round.

Keeping at least one tradition alive, and that’s scones before sweets – we very much enjoyed these perfectly glazed creations from the kitchen. Raised to just the right height, oh-so crumbly and the clotted cream & jam toppings were lovely. Scones came in two flavours for you to choose from, plain and cranberry – the latter being my favourite.

One of my absolute favourite tiers was one of the most indulgent. These stunning Caribs chocolate stars were full of crunch and rich bitter flavours of cocoa. But the star was the mini pecan banoffee pies. I could have eaten these all over again and then taken a box more home.

If this afternoon tea ever needed one descriptor, decadence would have to be it. Admittedly we’d over indulged a little too much on a second round of fingers sandwiches and so feeling a little full by this point – but that didn’t stop us tucking into yet another tier of sweet treats. Arguably the most iconic creation of this afternoon tea was the red lady in the hat accessorised with some pink pearls, whom I assume Maria Reynolds was the inspiration for. Thankfully this stunning religieuse patisserie creation tasted just as good as it looked and was filled with an oozing grapefruit cream centre.

But with each bite, the exquisite looking patisseries simply got better. Exotic lace cupcakes were as light as a fluffy cloud, while the blackberry cheesecake will be the most decadent and refined you’re ever likely to come across. We loved them so much we even held back so we could enjoy those last bites back at home with a cup of coffee later that evening.

We really adored our afternoon once again here at The Lanesborough and which has only cemented this being one of London’s best hotels and most glamorous restaurants. This special Alexander Hamilton Afternoon Tea is well worth the experience and I highly recommend to anyone looking for a special treat and wanting to enjoy the stunning creations by the very talented head pastry chef, Gabriel Le Quang. We know we’ll certainly be returning very soon indeed and an overnight stay at this London landmark is well overdue.