Yesterday i went on a trip with a group of Cake makers and cake Crawlers for Afternoon Tea at Bea’s of Bloomsbury in St pauls London. I met some new People and met some i had met before. I have no issue being the only Male in the group but is annoying when the server keeps addressing the group as ladies when the group is mixed. After all i am ADAM NOT MADAM hahahah
I decided to go for floral ensemble and bow tie as i thought the place would exude elegance and simplicity and a traditional afternoon tea setting vintage almost.
I have previously been to 2 other Teas so know the basics of what to expect on offer. Usually there are Sandwiches or quiche or fancy Brioche toasts, Scones Jam Cream and some pastries cake slices to expect and TEA!
So when you go for Tea you go for one the ambience and atmosphere and number 2 the food whether it be themed or just a traditional Afternoon Tea.
In the case of Beas it is more a less a Cake shop/cafe that serves Afternoon tea as well. It has fancy chairs upstairs and quirky Teapot lighting hanging from the ceiling. Tables bistro style outside and downstairs also. It is rather small and does have the feel of a cafe where you eat and go, rather than the Sophisticated elegance of a traditional afternoon tea. The signage is not very clear all but writing on the door and side window ( which is missing) The website tells you to look for the hanging Teapot outside which is not there!
For large groups you have this long table, rather like a royal banquet table. It is laid out nicely with water and crockery, jam sugar etc. Some places do not even give you water free so point to them for that, however not sure how long the water has been sitting there! would have been nice to have been cold and given on arrival.
For the menu you have a choice of Teas with booze, Gluten free, Vegtarian etc
having a Nut allergy myself to just Almonds i mentioned it and the server was very attentive substituting things, and i even got a whole cake stand to myself! a few things must have had nuts as i had just one or two different from the group. You can choose from a selection of Teas to accompany your Cakes. The teapot is rather small an the cup and the weirdest rectangle teabag i have ever seen !
I got English Breakfast Tea and my selection came before anyone elses. I had expected the lot to be all one one cake stand, i guess they have a shortage of stands! as the Savoury selection came on boards. Apparently the Yogurt for the Avocado one has nuts so i ended up with Avocado on its own, fig Parma ham relish and i asked for 2 Smoked Salmon instead of the Egg Mayonnaise. So they were very accommodating.
They are Brioche stye rolls they were okay, i would have liked Sandwiches but makes a change i suppose.
Then the sweet selection came and i was a little bit speechless thinking is that it?
in total there are about 10 items in the whole Tea 4 savoury and i guess 6 sweet
I like to get the best value for my money and the savvy person inside me was thinking i could get many cakes for £24.50 and here i am with 10 quite small items. The selection included 2 mini brownies, a Blondie, a random Meringue , a Passionfruit Cupcake, Scone jam cream and a Custard Tart with a Peach in it!
so how was they?
Being a Cake maker and Baker makes me a worse critic than most. The Scone was okay still warm with Jam and CLOTTED Cream no complaints there. The Passionfruit Cupcake was nice and did taste of Passionfruit in the Buttercream my favorite piece. The Brownies were a little dry as was the Blondie. The random Meringue i thought was a swirl of Cream it was small and flat and a total miss for me. A meringue kiss would have been better with some actual flavour this was just coloured blue like a iced gem.
The Custard Tart with some silvery stuff on it and a Peach in the middle was nice.
The rest of the group had a Pistachio Cupcake and a Rose one and another square cake i did not have because of the nuts. It is just avoiding Almond but oh well.
In overall i would not go back or suggest it as a Tea outing, it is just really a cafe, for the value i personally would say to get a cake or baked treat for downstairs and a cuppa for better value. The baked stuff tasted okay and I would probably buy something if i was around, maybe the Pistachio cupcake but as a venue for afternoon tea no.
It does not have the elegance or sophistication of going for an Afternoon tea, it does have nice decor but you could have been in a cafe eating the same stuff or restaurant. The view is not that great from upstairs the view of St pauls is obstructed by trees and other than you have the view of the street and cars.
Random choice of music from Dolly parton then jazz
The long table also makes it awkward to talk to people at the other end of the table or get out should they need the loo. But with a larger party that would be the case in most PLACES anyway, a round table would have been so much better.
You also do not get top ups on the Cakes and savoury selection, most places replenish them happily. I know there could come a point when you keep asking for more and they say no getting a little greedy. You get one Refill on the tea which is not clear anywhere on the menu and being a little teapot and cup i got around 2 cups.
The service was good for me with my nut intolerance and did not wait long for the food.
However it does say on the menu YOUR CHOICE OF Patisseries so being given a selection is hardly my own choice. It is either a selection given or you choose not both. So a little misleading in places. As having the choice i probably would not have chosen Brownies or a random meringue!
With so many Afternoon teas to choose from you never know what to expect from what is advertised and it is half the cost of some. But better value is found elsewhere
Adampastryguy 