Mary Quant Afternoon Tea at The Pelham London - Starhotels Collezione
Afternoon tea is a quintessentially English tradition and one of the best places to enjoy one is in London. London offers an incredible choice of afternoon teas from budget-friendly ones to extravagant ones in distinguished hotels and from an experience in a vintage bus to one served in a museum!
The Pelham, in South Kensington, which is a part of the Starhotels group, launched Mary Quant Afternoon Tea last week. Inspired by Victoria & Albert Museum's Mary Quant Exhibition and designed in partnership with La Fête, the afternoon tea features a colourful selection of savouries and luxurious sweet treats, prepared by the hotel's Michelin-starred Chef Alfredo Russo and his team. Here at The Globe Trotter, we love our fancy teas and cakes, so on a lovely, sunny day, we headed to South Kensington to try the Mary Quant Afternoon Tea.
The Mary Quant exhibition at the V&A Museum
A quick intro about Mary Quant and the exhibition before we move on to the afternoon tea. Mary Quant is an international fashion icon who is known for revolutionising fashion and popularising the miniskirt in the 1960s. She is also credited for popularising hot pants. Her clothes were all about expressing individuality, breaking away from traditional stereotypes and also about making fashion accessible to all. The exhibition at the V&A museum traces Mary Quant's career from 1955-1974 and features over 120 garments and accessories, including some pieces from the designer's personal collection.
For those interested in visiting the exhibition, it runs until Sunday, 16 February 2020. Tickets are priced from £12.
The Pelham London
Located in the heart of South Kensington, The Pelham is a 5-star boutique hotel. It is close to the Victoria & Albert Museum and a short walk away from Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Gardens. The hotel is a part of the Starhotels Collezione which includes hotels in other locations like New York, Paris, Milan, Rome, Florence, Venice, Siena, Trieste and Vicenza.
The Mary Quant Afternoon Tea
Upon arrival at The Pelham, we were greeted warmly and taken to the library which is where the afternoon tea was served. With intricate dark wood panelling and packed with comfy sofas, lots of reading material and other curios, the library was a distinctly atmospheric location for the afternoon tea.
There was a good selection of teas on offer - a range of black, white and green teas, fruit infusions & wellness teas and Pelham's signature tea. Bhavin chose 'Beautiful Skin', a wellness tea, which was a delicious blend of chamomile and elderflower with herbs such as red clover, nettle, dandelion and chickweed. The tea is believed to help promote healthy skin! I opted for 'Very Berry' a fruit tea with a selection of berries and other dried fruit like papaya. It was lovely. A must try if you are a berry lover.
For guests who are interested in a cocktail/mocktail, there are two options - the 'Forever Mini' cocktail which combines rum, gin, blue Curacao, vodka, tequila, lemonade and orange garnish & a mocktail 'Plastic Fantastic' which is also palette cleanser.
The savouries were flavourful. Based on our dietary preferences, we were served an egg & mayo sandwich and a courgette sandwich on spinach bread. The sandwiches included in the original menu included chive, butter and salmon finger sandwich and cooked ham and light mustard finger sandwich on spinach bread. In addition to the sandwiches, there were 'Quant's Crayons', colourful mini buns filled with cherry tomato and mild cheddar and cucumber and aromatic cheese. These mini buns inspired by Quant's makeup line looked amazing and tasted great as well.
The scones (a duo of plain & raisin scones) were lovely. Fluffy and crumbly, they were accompanied by a choice of toppings - clotted cream, strawberry jam, apricot jam and blackcurrant jam.
Admittedly it was the sweet treats and pastries that won us over. We had been looking forward to sampling what Chef Alfredo Russo and his team had created and we weren't disappointed. 'Bazaar', an open macaron topped with whipped cream, a variety of raspberries and raspberry coulis that came presented in a Mary Quant-inspired nail varnish bottle was lovely. Other sweets that we were served included 'The Daisy', a lemon curd tartlet topped with crunchy meringue and fondant daisy and 'Dress of the Year 1963' which was a banana cake topped with dried banana, a fondant dress and a tube of caramel sauce! Both beautifully presented, delicious and eye-catching. My favourite was 'The Dame', a classic Victoria sponge with buttercream and strawberry jam filling and topped with an almond marzipan flower. It was an absolute treat! And oh, there was an edible dark chocolate lipstick as well in reference to Quant's Brush lipstick advert from the sixties.
The painstaking attention to detail with each item on the menu was evident and it was fun to relate the savory and sweet treats to Mary Quant's fashion journey.
I must also mention the staff here. They were attentive without being intrusive, allowing us to enjoy the afternoon tea at our leisure. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience at The Pelham.
There was a good selection of teas on offer - a range of black, white and green teas, fruit infusions & wellness teas and Pelham's signature tea. Bhavin chose 'Beautiful Skin', a wellness tea, which was a delicious blend of chamomile and elderflower with herbs such as red clover, nettle, dandelion and chickweed. The tea is believed to help promote healthy skin! I opted for 'Very Berry' a fruit tea with a selection of berries and other dried fruit like papaya. It was lovely. A must try if you are a berry lover.
For guests who are interested in a cocktail/mocktail, there are two options - the 'Forever Mini' cocktail which combines rum, gin, blue Curacao, vodka, tequila, lemonade and orange garnish & a mocktail 'Plastic Fantastic' which is also palette cleanser.
The savouries were flavourful. Based on our dietary preferences, we were served an egg & mayo sandwich and a courgette sandwich on spinach bread. The sandwiches included in the original menu included chive, butter and salmon finger sandwich and cooked ham and light mustard finger sandwich on spinach bread. In addition to the sandwiches, there were 'Quant's Crayons', colourful mini buns filled with cherry tomato and mild cheddar and cucumber and aromatic cheese. These mini buns inspired by Quant's makeup line looked amazing and tasted great as well.
The scones (a duo of plain & raisin scones) were lovely. Fluffy and crumbly, they were accompanied by a choice of toppings - clotted cream, strawberry jam, apricot jam and blackcurrant jam.
Admittedly it was the sweet treats and pastries that won us over. We had been looking forward to sampling what Chef Alfredo Russo and his team had created and we weren't disappointed. 'Bazaar', an open macaron topped with whipped cream, a variety of raspberries and raspberry coulis that came presented in a Mary Quant-inspired nail varnish bottle was lovely. Other sweets that we were served included 'The Daisy', a lemon curd tartlet topped with crunchy meringue and fondant daisy and 'Dress of the Year 1963' which was a banana cake topped with dried banana, a fondant dress and a tube of caramel sauce! Both beautifully presented, delicious and eye-catching. My favourite was 'The Dame', a classic Victoria sponge with buttercream and strawberry jam filling and topped with an almond marzipan flower. It was an absolute treat! And oh, there was an edible dark chocolate lipstick as well in reference to Quant's Brush lipstick advert from the sixties.
The painstaking attention to detail with each item on the menu was evident and it was fun to relate the savory and sweet treats to Mary Quant's fashion journey.
I must also mention the staff here. They were attentive without being intrusive, allowing us to enjoy the afternoon tea at our leisure. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience at The Pelham.
Book your afternoon tea experience at The Pelham
The Mary Quant Afternoon Tea is priced at
For more information, current prices and for bookings, visit starhotelscollezione.com.
The Pelham | 15 Cromwell Place, South Kensington, London - SW7 2LA
Phone | +44 (0) 20 7589 8288
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