Tuesday 11 October 2011

Afternoon Tea at Sketch - Mini Review


A couple of Friday's ago I went to Sketch for Afternoon Tea. This is a brief review as my time at Sketch was limited due to having to get to another appointment but I wanted to share my experience with you nonetheless.

Sketch is perfectly situated for shoppers and tourists alike, its home being a big white regency style building in Conduit St just off of Regent St. London

The afternoon tea was booked for 5pm, I have never been to Sketch but have heard how fab it is and so was really looking forward to trying it out. As we walked in we thought we had a table in The Parlour - this is described as a quirky and eccentric room where you can lounge on Louis XV seating. I had a tiny peek into this cute room and have to admit I was a tad disappointed that I wasn't going to be enjoying afternoon tea in there. It has a very appealing patisserie counter full of tempting cakes.

We were taken down the stairs to The Glade, this room is described as a Swarovski encrusted and sunset-strewn woodland bar. It certainly was full of wood, but it had a nice ambiance and warmth and I found my chair comfortable. We soon settled down and selected the afternoon tea menu 'lighter option' for 2 people costing £52. My companion opted for the Earl Grey tea and I chose to drink the 'Taiwan Oriental Beauty' Oolong  tea which was a delicate, honeyed, sweet tea. There is a good selection of teas to choose from which is pleasing to see.

Background noise came in the form of live music from a musician and accompanying singer. This was a real treat as she was a wonderful singer and the songs were modern, although at times it was a little noisy making it difficult to talk and be heard. However, we were positioned right next to the music so I am not sure how noisy it was for other people in the room.

Afternoon tea comprised of a selection of finger sandwiches, mini rolls and larger long roll containing fillings such as smoked salmon, cucumber, cooked ham and Dijon mustard and egg mayonnaise. It was nice to be offered rolls as well as the more traditional finger sandwich. We then enjoyed 2 fruit scones, served with jam and clotted cream on spoons! 

On the centre tier of the cake stand were four mini cakes calling out to me to eat them .. and they were quite simply delicious. My favourite pastry was the one that has the little crunchy balls on top in my photograph. I could have probably eaten another 1 or 2.. 

The crockery is quirky, as you can see in the picture, the cake stand was made of teacups, saucers and larger plates! The plates we ate from were printed with scroll writing. It was a real mish mash but from this venue somehow I expected something a little unusual and I wasn't disappointed.

I really enjoyed my Sketch afternoon tea experience. Set in a fabulous and cool venue, it was relaxed, fun and whilst I still feasted on a traditional afternoon tea it had enough differences to set it apart from others.

I plan on returning very soon and heading to The Parlour to try it all over again!

If you are looking for a traditional afternoon tea, this is most definitely not it. However, if you are looking for something a little different from your afternoon tea then I suggest you make a visit Sketch.

2 comments:

  1. I love afternoon tea! This weekend Em & I were in Leeds and walked past a Patisserie Valerie, I asked her to stop so I could have a look, she grabbed my arm and said "god mum, no, we're fat you can't look at cakes when you're fat, people will laugh!" which made me lol!

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  2. My girls and I love Sketch! It's a lovely quirky place to treat them to a decadent cake and cup of tea when I'm feeling flush ...not often enough unfortunately. Even the staff are gorgeous!
    x

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