The Stunning Rosewood Hotel, London
The philosophy behind the Slow Food & Living market and brunch means that there is a sense of community, history and an individual story, and delicious, ethically produced goods.
A Japanese Feast at Koji, Fulham
Trendy Fulham has a new-ish Japanese restaurant that looks properly the business and might rival Roka for style. It’s all dark wood and vintage glass, clever lighting and cream, feathered design touches. It’s both gorgeous and understated, and really very elegant.
Tom’s Kitchen, Canary Wharf
The concrete seems unblemished, like someone took a look at the bodies and decided they would be better at the bottom of the river - Tom’s Kitchen is all blond wood and no hot blood.
The East India Company
My favourite is the no-nonsense dark chocolate covered espresso beans, although I wouldn’t kick the chocolate covered strawberries out of bed either.
Afternoon Tea at Ham Yard Hotel
Gone are the traditional sandwiches, replaced instead with sliders of pulled oxtail, flatbreads with welsh rarebit, and butter-fried toast with sautéed mushroom and cheese.
Favourite Things to Drink at T2 Tea
T2 offer various china tea sets and packs of tea, presented in smart packaging which would make the perfect gift for a tea-o-phile (the technical term).
Canton Tea Co – The Matcha Set
Matcha is produced from green tea which is grown in the shade, hand-picked, dried, de-stemmed, and then stone-ground into a fine, emerald powder.
Luxury Chocolates from Lauden
Crisp dark chocolate shells are filled with a reduction of lemon and white chocolate, with flecks of lemon zest throughout, or try the salted caramel squares.
Luxury Tea at Newby
The ‘Gourmet Collection’ from Newby features loose leaf teas contained in jewel-toned tea caddies, which are beautifully pressed into undulating lattices.
NYC Brunch at Hyatt Regency London
The NY inspired brunch starts at a deli counter of cured meats, cheeses, walnut breads and antipasti to desserts of tiramisu, cheesecake, pecan pie and waffles.
Cakes the size of your face at Bubble Room
There are double cocoa treats that shine with the sheer force of chocolateyness that they contain, whilst others have that matte, contented look of being full of baked crème cheese and butter. Nom.
Luxury Tea at Jadu
Jadu is a London-based luxury tea brand with a worldwide following. Named after the ancient Sanskrit word for ‘magic’, their tea is certainly proving to be alluring.
Lunching at Aqua Kyoto, Soho
Spring lamb chops, charred and glossy on the outside and rosy as a sunrise on the inside, are served on a tomato miso reduction with blackened courgette and pickled Japanese rose.
Chocolates from Benoit Nihant
At 74% concentration the chocolate bar from Benoit Nihant is powerful, with a long and smooth melt that slowly reveals hints of stone fruits after the initial cocoa burst.
Laduree – French toast & Chantilly cream
Buttery, eggy french toast under a cloud of Chantilly cream from Laduree, Covent Garden...
Afternoon Tea at One Aldwych
A ruby red ‘Cocktail Charlie’, bubbling away under a cloud of smoking dry ice in a teapot, made up of a mixture of whisky, cherry marnier, chocolate bitters and champagne.
A Stunning Lunch at Dysart, Richmond
Confit leeks with 36-month aged Comté is a proper little number, insistently salty and impossible not to ravage, balanced with risotto and buttery strands of spring-green leek.
Dinner at Holborn Dining Room
Holborn Dining Room provides the perfect foil for head chef Calum Franklin and owner Des McDonald, executive of the Caprice Group, to showcase British favourites.
Afternoon Tea at Lanes of London
Lanes of London, previously criticised for its ‘concept’ heavy menu, ticks all the right boxes for afternoon tea with fresh, hot scones, cakes and sandwiches.
Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel
The soaring atriums are furnished in a clean biscuit-brown wood and with cosseting fireplaces and armchairs, and a pianist adds to the easy atmosphere.
