Kensington Hotel Fashion Afternoon Tea.

Last Sunday my friend Catherine and I (yes, we both have the same name), went to try out the Kensington Hotel Fashion Forward Afternoon Tea, which has been created in celebration of the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty Exhibition at the V&A, which is just around the corner. The afternoon tea included the standard afternoon tea fare, as well as cakes and pastries inspired by McQueen’s iconic designs. I’ve been to the Kensington Hotel a couple of times before, and I just adore the contemporary boutique decor and luxury aspects.
Kensington Hotel London
After a bit of a slow start, our tea arrived; I opted for the Hibiscus which was delicious, while the other Catherine went for the English Breakfast. 
Kensington Hotel London Afternoon Tea
Then the tea stand appeared on our table, and our eyes grew wide at the huge amount of food in front of us. We had four sandwiches each, two scones (one plan and one fruit), three canape style treats, and then five cakes and pastries each. e a c h.
Kensington Hotel London Alexander McQueen Afternoon Tea
We decided it would be best if we just went for it, so we both decided to try and finish the whole lot. So we started with the sandwiches. They contained the traditional fail-safe fillings; chicken, salmon, egg, and cream cheese & cucumber. All of them were really very yummy, 
Kensington Hotel London Afternoon Tea
Then it was time for the trio of delicious canape treats; Dorset crab and artichoke cocktail, foie gras cornet with mango, and quail eggs adorned with edible gold (paying homage to the Bird’s nest headdress made with Swarovski Gemstones for Alexander McQueen Autumn/Winter 2006). This was where we had the biggest first world problem I think we’ve ever had “Oh…your lips are covered in gold…does that mean mine are too!?” “Yes, yours are as well!” “Ugh!”. I mean it’s not a bad thing to have your lips covered in edible gold, just a small inconvenience as it makes you look a bit silly. 
Kensington Hotel London Fashion Forward Afternoon Tea
Anyway, after our canape treats we decided to have a short break and sip on our rose champagne while chatting about the latest goings on. Our conversations usually always revolve around men (why is finding a decent man in London so bloody hard!?) and clubland and what events we have coming up. Naturally there is almost always a bit of bitching too (yes, we are horrible people – maybe that’s why we can’t find decent men). I feel so sorry for the people who were sat next to us.
Kensington Hotel London Champagne Afternoon Tea
After our champagne break (which lasted all of 2 minutes), we started on the scones. I decided to forgo the plain scone and just have the fruit one, and save myself for the cakes and pastries. I was already feeling quite full, and I’m not much of a scone person anyway. The fruit scone I did have however, was perfect.
Kensington Hotel London Afternoon Tea Scones

Kensington Hotel London Afternoon Tea Scones
Finally we got to my favourite part – the cakes and pastries! I loved all of them, especially the red velvet and rose water cake/muffin presented in the style of the Butterfly Hat by Philip Treacy (as seen at McQueen’s Spring/Summer collection in 2008), and the buttermilk pannacotta with raspberry! Ugh, I could eat them all over again. But I musn’t, for I will get fatter. And I have numerous bikinis to get into in September (more about this soon!).
Kensington Hotel London Alexander McQueen Afternoon Tea
We had such a lovely afternoon at the Kensington Hotel! It’s such a calming place, and I love how it feels very understated and boutiquey, rather than screaming ‘huge hotel full of tourists’. 
Kensington Hotel London
It would be the perfect place for an afternoon tea with a group of girl friends. The Kensington Hotel Forward Afternoon Tea is available for £35pp, and is running until 2nd August 2015. Although the service was patchy and quite slow at times, the food surpassed itself, especially the cakes! 
What’s your favourite place for afternoon tea?

Find me: Twitter | Youtube | Facebook | Bloglovin | Pinterest | Google+ | Instagram


*Our afternoon tea was complimentary, but as always my views are completely my own.

Click to add a blog post for Town House - The Kensington Hotel on Zomato

Follow:
Catherine Lux
Catherine Lux

Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of SEO at Havas Media Group by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.

Find me on: Web | Instagram

Share:

21 Comments

  1. Unknown
    June 3, 2015 / 9:56 am

    WHY did I read this before breakfast? I'm now craving an afternoon tea at 10am! This looks incredible – it looks like such a great tea time treat!

    Lauren xx
    The Lifestyle Diaries

    • Catherine Lux
      June 7, 2015 / 7:40 pm

      Ahh sorry haha! It was such a fab way to spend a Sunday!

      C x

  2. Unknown
    June 3, 2015 / 12:00 pm

    HAHAHA – I think the lips covered in gold thing is the best first world problem I've ever heard! I love the prettiness and attention to detail of every item here, they almost look too good to eat!

    Polly xx
    Follow Your Sunshine

    • Catherine Lux
      June 7, 2015 / 7:41 pm

      I know!!! Ha! I know, everything was just stunning!

      C x

  3. Unknown
    June 3, 2015 / 12:09 pm

    Oh. My. Goodness. This post has the YES factor written all over it. 1. Your writing is hilarious! Indeed, why is it so bloody hard to find a decent bloke in London??! 2. The photos you took are gorgeous, what camera do you use? And 3. Now I want to go!

    Thanks for sharing this lovely post! Honest and funny!

    http://blessedbymeow.blogspot.co.uk

    x

    • Catherine Lux
      June 7, 2015 / 7:42 pm

      Haha! Aw thank you Kirsty! And I know right!! Also I use a Nikon D5200 🙂

      C x

  4. Andrea Petersen
    June 3, 2015 / 2:34 pm

    Oooo it all looks so deliciously edible!! I love that they include savoury canapés as well as sandwiches. I don't know how you forewent your scone though – I could eat a plate of those babies! Glad it was so tasty 🙂 Lots of love, Andrea xxx

    http://www.andreaspassions.com

    • Catherine Lux
      June 7, 2015 / 7:42 pm

      It was gorgeous! Same, it was really nice to have something a little different rather than just sandwiches 🙂

      C x

  5. Angie SilverSpoon
    June 3, 2015 / 3:28 pm

    This looks so gorgeous, I love the way the pastries are so beautiful and intricate! The were really generous with the offering too, no one likes a stingy tea 😉
    Lots of love,
    Angie

    SilverSpoon London

    • Catherine Lux
      June 7, 2015 / 7:44 pm

      Yes, we were so full afterwards it was unreal! Stingy teas certainly suck 😉

      C x

  6. Unknown
    June 3, 2015 / 10:59 pm

    I had a wonderful time here too, came for lunch the same weekend and will be writing about that soon. Would have loved to see a photo of your golden lips!

    Suze | LuxuryColumnist

    • Catherine Lux
      June 7, 2015 / 7:45 pm

      Ah can't wait to see your review! I know, I really wish I'd gotten a photo of it!!

      C x

  7. Unknown
    June 4, 2015 / 5:34 am

    Afternoon tea done well is a cracker – and this one sounds delicious!

    • Catherine Lux
      June 7, 2015 / 7:48 pm

      Completely agree! It was incredible!

      C x

  8. Kate Jordan
    June 4, 2015 / 9:57 am

    Oh wow, this looks like the perfect afternoon tea!

    • Catherine Lux
      June 7, 2015 / 7:48 pm

      It was definitely close to it!!

      C x

  9. LucyAndTheSky
    June 4, 2015 / 3:53 pm

    Don't worry about fitting into bikinis, just buy a bigger bikini! That's my new motto anyway as I discovered this morning that previous years of trying to slim for summer means that this year (when I just cannot be arsed) has left me entirely without a summer wardrobe. Sob sob. The afternoon tea looks so delicious, I love the addition of the canapes! So yum xxx
    Lucy @ La Lingua Italy

    • Catherine Lux
      June 7, 2015 / 7:48 pm

      Haha, excellent advice there Lucy! 😉

      C x

  10. Anonymous
    June 5, 2015 / 4:42 am

    Wow. This afternoon tea sounds interesting and delicious. The design of the food tray is beautiful. I like the cake with the butterfly. The atmosphere in the tea room is also very cozy and relaxing.

    • Catherine Lux
      June 7, 2015 / 7:49 pm

      Yes, the cake with the butterfly was so so yummy!!

      C x

  11. Online Shop
    July 29, 2015 / 8:23 am

    I am happy when reading your blog with updated information! thanks alot and hope that you will post more site that are related to this site..

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *