Afternoon Tea at Café Royal

Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea, that most quintessential of English customs was introduced to England in 1840 by the seventh Duchess of Bedford, a close friend of Queen Victoria. The Duchess asked for a tray of tea, bread and butter and cake, to be brought to her room in the mid-afternoon, so that she might quell "that sinking feeling" she felt between lunch and her household's evening meal. She began inviting her high society friends to join her and it quickly became a fashionable social event. Traditional Afternoon Tea £70; with a glass of N.V Veuve Clicquot, Brut £80; with a glass of N.V Veuve Clicquot, Rosé £85; with a glass of N.V Ruinart Blanc de Blanc £90; Traditional Afternoon Tea with Hotel Café Royal Tea Set £150

Traditional Afternoon Tea

Amuse-Bouche

• Truffle Gougère

  Truffle mousse, parmesan choux

A Selection of Tea Sandwiches

• Smoked Salmon

  Scottish smoked salmon, dill infused cream cheese, marinated Persian cucumber, lemon bread

• Coronation Chicken

  Coronation chicken, curry sauce, raisins, cocoa bread

• Egg and Truffle

  Clarence Court Brown egg, Lincolnshire poacher, truffle, brioche bread

• Roast Beef

  Roast beef, horseradish, tomato bread

Palate Cleanser

• Blood Orange Sorbet

  Cocoa nibs crumble

Traditional Scones

• Plain and Raisin Scones

  Strawberry preserve, Early Grey tea jelly, clotted cream

Sweet Delicacies

• Rhubarb

  Buttermilk mousse, rhubarb confit

• Chocolate Sablé

  Pistachio praline, cocoa sablé

• Cox Apple Façon Tatin

  Vanilla sablé, whipped crème fraîche

• Exotic Fruit Entremet

  Coconut sponge, mango and bergamot gel

Vegetarian and Vegan Afternoon Tea

Amuse-Bouche

• Spiced Pumpkin Panna Cotta

  Poached baby figs, chestnuts

A Selection of Tea Sandwiches

Vegan tea sandwiches are served on wholemeal bread

• Curried Tofu

  Tofu, curry sauce, raisins, cocoa bread

• Persian Cucumber

  Baby cucumber, whipped mint

• Courgette

  Grilled courgette, aubergine caviar, sumac, lemon scented bread

• Pumpkin

  Roasted pumpkin, chickpea hummus, toasted pumpkin seeds

Palate Cleanser

• Blood Orange Sorbet

  Cocoa nibs crumble

Traditional Scones

• Plain and Raisin Scones

  Strawberry preserve, Early Grey tea jelly, vegan cream

Sweet Delicacies

• Rhubarb

  Vanilla mousse, rhubarb confit

• Chocolate Sablé

  Pistachio praline, cocoa Chantilly

• Cox Apple Façon Tatin

  Vanilla sablé, whipped vegan cream

• Exotic Fruit Crème Brûlée

  Coconut, mango and bergamot gel

Teas and Infusions

Hotel Café Royal has partnered with Camellia's Tea House; an artisan tea company based in London that specialises in creating bespoke specialty and wellness teas. They source the finest quality teas, herbs, spices and flowers from around the world and use fresh, small batch blends to capture the vitality of the ingredients

White Tea

• Bai Mu Dan

  This tea is also known as White Peony and comes from China's southeastern Jiangxi province. Composed mostly of tea buds, it is a delicate and refined tea. This delectable tea has multi-coloured leaves, ranging from faint green to pale brown, create a clear, light-yellow cup with a pleasantly sweet aroma and smooth, mellow flavour with a hint of spiciness and even a touch of nuttiness

• White Apricot

  This enchanting, signature fusion tea combines the refined character of a white tea with the honey like sweetness of apricot pieces. The distinct flowery undertones of marigold and rose round off the flavour, creating a truly delicious and refreshing white fusion tea, that will lift the senses and delight the palate

Black Tea

• Hotel Café Royal Breakfast Blend

  Our finest English Breakfast tea is a delicious combination of high altitude grown broken orange pekoe black teas which have been blended to produce a full-bodied tea with delicate flowery and spicy undertones. Can be enjoyed with or without milk

• Earl Grey

  Earl Grey is one of the most widely drunk teas in the world. Its distinct flavour is a result of combining high quality Chinese black tea and oil of bergamot, originally used to protect the flavour from mould and tar during long sea voyages. This beautifully scented tea with its flowery and citrusy flavour remains the embodiment of the finest English teas

• Lapsang Souchong

  A unique black tea from the Fujian province in China, made of mountain-grown tea leaves and smoked over pine needles. The leaves are smoke-dried over pinewood fires, and this gives it a distinctive strong, smoky flavour, reminiscent of a campfire or a barbecue, with a long and lasting finish

• Darjeeling Goomtee

  This black tea blend is a classic Earl Grey with a slight, fruity twist. The oil of bergamot is enhanced by the warm flavour of sweet oranges, producing a soft and balanced black tea which is further adorned with real, noble tea-tree blossoms

Green Tea

• Japan Sencha

  Sencha, which means 'steamed tea', is by far the most popular tea in Japan. Sencha tea leaves are flat and thin, with a pine-like, needle shape and a strong grassy aroma. The tea has a tender, vegetal taste with distinct grassy tones and underlying sweet notes, with a hint of pine nuts to finish

• Lung Ching 'Dragonwell'

  Lung Ching is one of the most famous Chinese green teas worldwide, renowned for its quality and remarkable flavour. True Lung Ching tea, with its unique flat and crisp leaves, is grown only in the Hangzhou area in Zhejiang province. This light tea smoothly combines the classic green tea character with a sweet and slightly fruity aroma

• Jasmine Pearls

  This tea comes from the Fujian province and is also known as "Phoenix Dragon Pearls". The dragon represents the green tea whilst the beauty of the phoenix is found in the jasmine flowers. The jasmine flowers are blended with tea leaves and hand-rolled together. As the pearls unfold, a wonderfully sweet jasmine fragrance is released

Oolong Tea

• Milky Oolong

  This Gold Taste award winning China Milky Oolong tea has a delicious and distinctive flavour with vanilla undertones. This extraordinary tea is characterised by a milky and smooth infusion and is a true delight to all the senses

• Yuzu Oolong

  This bespoke signature fusion tea has interesting base notes of Ceylon Tea and Formosa Oolong, offering a whole new, harmonious taste experience. The delicate flavour of this refined tea is balanced beautifully with fruity and tangy yuzu notes, a fresh tropical pineapple taste and finished with a light citrusy tang

Rooibos Tea

• Rooibos Vanilla

  Rooibos originates from South Africa and it is a caffeine-free alternative to tea, rich in minerals and vitamins. This high-grade redbush tea is characterized by a bright red cup and creamy sweetness with the rich and warm fragrance of vanilla

• Rooibos Immunity Blend

  Strengthening and tangy, this handmade Rooibos blend is a healthy, caffeine free alternative to tea, that is packed with vitamins and antioxidants. The addition of rose hips, hibiscus flowers and ginger, further support boosting the immune system, as well as giving the tea taste a tangy and spicy profile with woody sweet undertones, which is both invigorating and warming

Healthy Infusion Tea

• Chamomile Flowers

  A Gold Taste Award-winning Chamomile Flowers tea whereby the lovely, delicate flowers produce a beautiful golden cup with a creamy and sweet infusion. Chamomile tea is an all-time favourite when it comes to calming the nerves, soothing irritability and relieving pain in the digestive system. It is also believed to have both anti-inflammatory and anti-septic properties. Traditionally it has been known to ease colds and flu, symptoms associated to allergy, cystitis and eczema

• Peppermint

  A Gold Taste Award-winning Chamomile Flowers tea whereby the lovely, delicate flowers produce a beautiful golden cup with a creamy and sweet infusion. Chamomile tea is an all-time favourite when it comes to calming the nerves, soothing irritability and relieving pain in the digestive system. The infusion is fantastically cleansing and uplifting, with a long minty fresh finish

• English Country Garden

  It is a refreshing and light herbal infusion, with gentle but complex floral notes, and a pleasantly long, fragrant finish. A simple rose bud floats in the cup marrying together the delicate floral notes of chamomile, rose buds, rose petals, elderflower and lavender, with aromatic lemongrass

Drinks

Champagne

• N.V Veuve Clicquot, Yellow Label, Brut

  • 125ml£18.00
  • Bottle£90.00

• N.V Veuve Clicquot, Brut Rosé

  • 125ml£20.00
  • Bottle£110.00

• N.V R de Ruinart, Brut

  • Bottle£125.00

• N.V Ruinart, Brut Rosé

  • Bottle£150.00

• N.V Ruinart, Blanc de Blancs

  • 125ml£25.00
  • Bottle£145.00

• 2012 Dom Pérignon, Brut

  • Bottle£450.00

Non-Alcoholic Bubbles

• So Jenny, Le Manour des Sacres

  • 125ml£13.00
  • Bottle£72.00

Water

• Kingsdown Still or Sparkling

  • 750ml£6.50

Cocktails

• Wilde Scent£20.00

  Roku gin, jasmine, yuzu and Veuve Clicquot

• The Nobleman£18.00

  Glenmorangie 12yo, infused vanilla and coffee, Fair Coffee liqueur and agave nectar