Autumn Afternoon Tea at Emmeline's Lounge, Conrad London St. James

I have mentioned many a times before that autumn is my favourite season, and with the leaves turning beautifully bright again my friend Laura and I planned a proper autumnal day in London last weekend. I'm posting a blog on all things autumn you can enjoy in the city soon, but one of the things we did was so cool (and photogenic) that it deserves its own post: Autumn Afternoon Tea at Emmeline's Lounge in the Conrad London St. James.



We'd been to the Conrad London St. James a few times before for blogging events, most recently the Bloggers Festival, but it was lovely to enjoy the peacefulness of Emmeline's Lounge, which was a lot more serene than a busy blogging event. And after spending the morning strolling across Hampstead Heath we were definitely ready for a break and relaxation time.



Before the food arrived it was time to choose our teas and I went for the Earl Grey With Blue Flowers, which was described as a blend of Chinese Earl Grey with blue, and mallor flowers, and a hint of orange. I love Earl Grey and orange flavoured tea, and I was intrigued by the blue flowers. Unfortunately they weren't vividly blue like I expected, but rather they'd given the tea a faint greyish tint. I loved my choice as it was neutral enough to compliment both the sweet and savoury canapes, while still having its own distinct flavour.




When our food arrived, I was super impressed by the choice on offer and the colourful display. The autumn theme was perfect and I absolutely loved the savoury treats in particular. On the top we had Pheasant, Pumpkin & Toffee Apple Pasty With Sage, which was slightly gamey and wild but still quite subtle in flavour and was absolutely scrumptious (probably my favourite of the bunch). Next to it was a delicious Smoked Mackerel Pate & Pickled Cucumber With Toasted Brioche. I loved this one so much that I asked for extra brioche so I could finish the pate!



I normally eat my sweets and savouries separately at an afternoon tea, but decided to mix things up this weekend and the Madeleines were the perfect choice after the heaviness of the pheasant and the pate. There was a zesty lemony one to refresh the palette, and a super light plain one that tasted like eating a fluffy cloud. Yum.



Next up were the sandwiches, which are usually my favourite bit of an afternoon tea so I was very much looking forward to this, I especially loved how each of the different finger sandwiches were on a different type of bread, it looked fun on the plate and really added to the uniqueness of the flavours. My favs were the Rare Roast Hereford Beef, Watercress & Horseradish on Caramelised Onion Bread; the Free Range Egg & Mayonnaise With Mustard Cress on Country Loaf; and the Honey & Mustard Wiltshire Ham on Cranberry Bread. They were incredible, so much so I may have eaten Laura's egg sandwich too... While I loved the idea of beetroot bread, the pickled cucumber on it was not for me – and while salmon is usually my favourite, I wasn't a huge fan of the dark rye bread it was on. Luckily I did enjoy the majority of them though!



And, at last, it was time for the stars of the afternoon: Chocolate & Cherry Forest; Pumpkin & Mascarpone Tartlet; and the piece the resistance, the Mini Candy Apples. At this stage I was getting quite full, not going to lie, so I just had a bite of the chocolate dessert because it was super rich. I also only ate the crunchy toffee from the apple because the cream inside was a tad too sickly sweet for me, but oh my gosh I devoured the pumpkin tartlet and am craving another one as I type this. I thought it'd be overly sugary but the cinnamon and other spices used gave the little chunks of pumpkin hiding inside a bit of a kick, which was delightful and made me think of freshly baked apple pie.



The afternoon tea was topped off by warm plain and fruit scones with clotted cream, lemon curd and strawberry compote. Scones are one of my favourite courses of an afternoon tea and while these ones were gorgeous and still warm when served I only managed to have half of one before I had to admit defeat. I don't think I've ever been able to finish an afternoon tea in full, have you?! Perhaps one day... 😉

I absolutely loved the colours and flavours of this very autumnal afternoon tea and would heartily recommend it. It's priced at £35pp and can be enjoyed at Emmeline's Lounge in the Conrad London St. James, 22-28 Broadway, Westminster, London SW1H 0BH (opposite St. James Park Station) until 26 November 2017. After that the menu will change for their Winter Afternoon Tea, which also looks delightful and I might have to check out too!

🎵 Listening to: My Chemical Romance –Famous Last Words
🔹 Mood: Sleepy