Introduction

The Connaught Hotel is a five star property just off London’s famous Oxford Street in glitzy Mayfair. The hotel first opened in 1897 and has seen several owners over the years. The property is currently owned by the Maybourne Group. It has 121 rooms.

Afternoon Tea at Jean Georges

The afternoon tea at The Connought is served in Jean Georges Restaurant on the ground floor, overlooking Carlos Square and the Christmas decorations. As we arrive, the receptionist takes our coats and guides us to an intimate table for two. She returns a short while later with a small envelope containing our receipt for the coats.

To start, there is a choice of various Billecart-Salmon champagnes or a mocktail with everything but the kitchen sink and gingerbread spice in it. I go with the mocktail, which is rather nice. The gingerbread gives it a very unusual flavour. Other than that, though, it’s just a bit too sweet.

Instead of my usual Earl Grey, I decide to order a Darjeeling Second Flush, which is a lovely and nicely balanced tea. Once the tea is concluded, I also order a cappuccino and some sparkling water.

The afternoon tea starts with an amuse bouche of chanterelles espuma on a mushroom flan. This is a lovely dish with a strong and pungent flavour of mushroom. It’s incredibly light!

The sandwiches are served separately, as a kind of first course. From bottom to top we have cucumber with mustard seed and grilled capers, boiled egg yolks with white truffle, smoked salmon with avocado and hummus, chicken with black truffle, and salted beef with mustard. The sandwiches are very nice. When our server comes to remove our plates, she inquires which ones were our favourites and suggests bringing us more. Given that we’re only starting, we both decline the offer for more finger sandwiches.

Next, the scones and the sweets are brought out together. There are two plain scones and two scones with raisins. They’re excellent and certainly among the best I’ve ever had. They’re sumptuously buttery and oh so fluffy. The scones are served with clotted cream and home made preserves – strawberry with rhubarb and mandarine with vanilla.

Next on the étagère are two plates with five sweets. Each guest gets their own plate, even though just the one would have been more than plenty. All have a Christmas vibe. The red one is filled with orange cream on a graham biscuit base. The yellow one is mango, lime, and coconut and the Christmas tree is a pistachio cheesecake. The flat, brown one is called a Mont Blanc and is based on chestnut vermicelles. The brown, long one is a traditional chocolate eclair.

And then at the top are two star shaped gingerbread biscuits and a bowl of melted chocolate for dipping.

By the time we’re done, we’re both struggling. I don’t think I could eat another bite! This has been a lovely afternoon tea. There’s a lot of food and all of it is exceptionally good. Our server commends us for polishing off everything, telling us that many guests end up “capitulating”.

I ask for the bill, which is brought to me with two small boxes of teabags with the hotel’s current Christmas blend as a parting gift.

Once we’re done, we collect our coats and walk the short distance to Oxford Street to take in all the lights… and it’s crazy! If you think Oxford Street just before Christmas is busy, think again, because Oxford Street just after Christmas is crazier, with all the bargain hunters out in frenzied full force. But it sure is pretty.

Conclusion

The whole world seemingly congregates in London over Christmas, and they really do a good job of it. Nobody does Christmas quite like the Londoners, with all the beautiful lights, the nicely decorated storefronts with their opulent and extravagant abundance. The afternoon tea at The Connaught was lovely, and only added to the atmosphere.