Franglais27 Tales

This spring seemed to be the season for afternoon teas as I went to 3 of them!

CC Bar, in Mayfair, was the last venue that I visited for afternoon tea in that period. As it is a champagne bar, I definitely thought that I would be in my element! I am still convinced that I must have walked past this bar previously on many occasions as it is discreetly hidden away! It is housed in the Park Lane branch of the London Hilton hotel in Mayfair and it is a very intimate bar in a lounge style.

I visited CC Bar as part of a friend’s pre-maternity leave celebration, which was a non baby shower, and we had the entire bar to ourselves, literally! The afternoon tea package there is the Confessions of a Chocoholic afternoon tea which sounded intriguing! A glass of Pommery champagne was on offer before the courses were delivered, which set the right tone for the rest of the afternoon.

The first courses offered were savoury items comprising sandwiches and toast with smoked salmon, sundried tomatoes and coronation chicken amongst the toppings available. These were available at the end of the bar and presented in a buffet style. This was already a different approach to the other afternoon teas that I had visited where all of the courses were served on a cake stand.

However, the advantages of this approach at CC Bar meant that several options could be sampled, with the possibility of having a second or third helping without having to rely on the one waiter to do so! One savoury item that is a key component of all afternoon teas was missing though: the cucumber sandwiches! Those sandwiches were nowhere to be seen! It is entirely possible that I blinked and missed them as we were a larger group but the afternoon tea did disappoint for me on that point!

Another glass of smooth, Pommery champagne later and I was ready for the scones.

These were similarly presented in buffet style but this was certainly an afternoon tea with a twist as there was also a chocolate sauce available in a pot and instead of jam there was a strawberry sauce to accompany the clotted cream!

The pièce de résistance was still to arrive and given the name for the afternoon tea, I was keen to see the options! Unfortunately, I was having to resist all desserts at the time of the afternoon tea, as I was still in sugar-free mode. But that did not stop me from admiring the stylish cake designs and I have subsequently sampled some of the cakes of which the passion fruit biscuit combination was one of my favourites, which I would recommend! The chocolate ball is also another favourite with a scrumptious cream filling!

If you are a chocolate lover then this afternoon tea is likely to appeal as there were several varieties of chocolate cakes to indulge in!

However, all good things must come to an end and the time arrived where we no longer had exclusive occupation of the bar. One of the highlights for the afternoon was also the chance to take some of the remaining cakes home. I, certainly did not resist!

I would be curious to re-visit the CC bar during its usual opening hours to experience the complete ambience of its champagne bar. I was certainly impressed by the inclusion of the private hire of the entire bar for such occasions. I would certainly return to sample more of the delectable cakes now that I know where this bar is located at the Park Lane Hilton!