Inside London #6: teatime at Soho Hotel
Posted by Sarah on August 5th, 2010
Though our hunt for hip hotels is ceaseless, every now and then something comes along and gets in the way. The best coffee in London for example, or the best steak in London, or the best bohemian book launch with cheese (yup, also in London)…
Yesterday’s distraction was tea at the sumptuous Soho Hotel. Afternoon tea is always a treat – the combination of prettily patterned crockery, wafer-thin buttered bread and dainty pastries is enough to make us dizzy – but this one was all the more special: the Ruinart and Miller Harris Sensory Afternoon Tea.
This grand title hints at the holy trinity behind the feast: Lyn Harris, of Miller Harris, who developed teas to match the flavours of Ruinart’s ambrosial champagne, and Kit Kemp of the fabulous Firmdale hotel group, who set her chefs the task of creating sandwiches and cakes that complement both bubbly and brews.
I popped in to Soho Hotel with a Smith sidekick and fell utterly in love with both the tea and the setting. We sat in the Lounge, esconced on plump toile de Jouy sofas, admiring the strawberry and lime-coloured curtains, the oversized lamps and a painting of a Jack Russell looking up its owner’s skirt (nicer than it sounds, promise) by Francois Bard.
Firstly we chose our teas – Thé Violette for me and Thé Bergamot for my companion – then toasted the afternoon and our laden cake stand with slender glasses of Ruinart’s Blanc de Blancs Champagne NV. The sandwiches were seductive: smoked salmon with crème fraîche, cucumber and basil, roast chicken and tarragon mayonnaise and cream cheese with black pepper. Scones were as light as feathers – until we dolloped clotted cream and jam all over them – and the cakes were masterful: peach and vanilla friand, raspberry tartlet, shortbread discs and a lemon cupcake. Just what the doctor (should have) ordered.
We were so happy that we ended up staying long after our plates were bare. In the background, there was the bustle of the bar, just to the right of us were media types discussing hit TV shows in the making and upstairs, boutique boudoirs awaited (we know, because we snooped around a few of them).
So, if you haven’t already, take someone you love to this cool, calm hotel and treat them to a glass of champagne and some edible magic.
* The Ruinart and Miller Harris Sensory Afternoon Tea is £35 per person, available from Soho Hotel, Haymarket Hotel, Charlotte Street Hotel and Covent Garden Hotel until September.*
Sensory Afternoon Tea at Soho Hotel, I like the sound of that!
By Erica
On August 8th, 2010
The Soho is a nice hotel, and all hotels in London have to offer something a little different to make them stand out from all the competition …
By Sinxia
On August 9th, 2010