Mother’s Day may now be behind us but here at StyleNest we’re firm believers in spoiling our mums whenever we can and what better way to do it than with the afternoon tea at The Rosebery at the prestigious Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.
Upon entering The Rosebury we were struck by the open feel to the room. With it´s high ceiling and large window, which looks onto fashionable Knightsbridge, unlike other tea salons this room was flooded with natural light. Bright and colourful paintings decorated the walls and the pastel colour scheme with highlights of green added to the room´s light, fresh feeling. We loved the oriental influence, and the overall effect was contempory but relaxed.
We were handed menus by our friendly waitress, who talked us through our options for the afternoon. The impressive tea menu, which the Mandarin Oriental have developed with the help of The East India Company, featured a huge range of speciality teas, bespoke blends, and herbal and spa infusions, which could be refilled as much as we want, and changed as we wished throughout the tea. Even more impressively, for any questions that we might have about the tea, there was even the Mandarin Oriental´s very own Tea Master on hand to offer his expert advice. After considering the menu we decided a very smooth and beautifully floral Earl Grey, and the Darjeeling, which was brewed to perfectly to our exact taste and preferences.
Cocktails, champagne, and in keeping with the theme, even Japanese sake were all on the menu, but we ordered traditional champagne to toast. Our cakes and sandwiches soon arrived and were hung on the Japanese tree next to us, and our waiter talked us through the plates, reminding us with a smile that although we could have as many refills as we wanted, we did still have the scones to come. We knew this was sound advice, but everything looked so inviting we weren´t sure we could follow it.
The sandwiches were classic combinations that were simple, but delicous, and we were soon ignoring our waiters advice and ordering more, something we don’t normally do as we are always in too much of a hurry to get to the cakes, but these were too good to stop just yet. When we did move onto the cakes they were equally good, and full of light fresh and fruity flavours. The rose petal infused cream choux bun accompanied our teas perfectly, and was well suited to our eastern surroundings. The retro Black Forest Gateaux made a welcome return and felt lighter and more modern in it´s new daintier size, and with just a hint of fruit with a cherry tuile. The blood orange curd tart had the crispiest pastry that was full of zingy citrus flavours. As only one of each cake had arrived we didn’t feel guilty ordering a refill so we could try them all, but we did soon feel very full. Our waiter had been right, and we wondered if we could continue. However the arrival of our scones, fresh out of the oven and wonderfully warm, soon changed out minds. They were accompanied by clotted cream and homemade preserves, and as well as traditional strawberry jam we were excited to see homemade lemon curd and an unusual rose petal jelly. A selection of seasonal cakes and Madeleines came next, and just when we thought it was over, our waiter surprised us with petit fours, innocent looking chocolates which cracked opened to reveal silky caramel inside. Delicious!
As we waited for our bill, our lovely waitress Ana come to chat for a while, and her warm and friendly manner just further confirmed what we had already commented during our tea, that our afternoon at The Rosebury was one of the most relaxed teas we had experienced. With the fantastic service and the welcoming atmosphere, you feel could sit by the beautiful window all afternoon, trying all of the exotic teas and of course ordering more of the wonderful cakes. In fact, as The Rosebury turns into a cocktail bar once afternoon tea is over, it was tempting to stay, but we will definitely be back another time to enjoy it all again.
The Rosebery at The Mandarin Oriental, 66 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7LA is open from 9am until 11pm Monday to Sunday.
Afternoon tea is served from 1pm until 5:50pm Monday to Sunday, starting from £45. Reservations can be made by calling 0207 201 3828 or go to www.mandarinoriental.com