I was treated to afternoon tea the other day by Jim, at the Hotel Rafayel on the Left Bank. No, I'd never heard of it either, and it really is tucked away down on the river by Battersea, but that didn't stop it serving up a little hidden gem of an afternoon tea.
We were first served a glass each of a very nice variety of Chamapgne, with a selection of delicious crust-free sandwiches. My favourite was definitely the roasted vegetable and cream cheese.
This savoury "course" was followed by a light and fruity blueberry cheesecake each, which was absolutely divine. There definitely wasn't enough in the shotglasses!
Then came the scones and tea. There is an ongoing debate between Jim and I and Katie, another of my friends, as to what goes on first, the jam or cream, and I just cannot get her to see sense, that of course, it's the cream followed bythe jam - far more colourful!
After two scones each I was struggling. Luckily, I just about managed to sample the next selection of treats, some minature biscuity/fudgey/jam tarty things in all different shapes and flavours.
Finally, with literally only the spaces in my fingers and toes to fill, we made a pathetic attempt at finishing the healthy section of the tea - a gorgeous selection of fresh summer fruits to compliment the fruity theme of the pastries and cheesecake.
I'll definitely be going again. It'll be interesting to see if they alter the tea menu depending on the season. Bring on the winter mince pie afternoon tea if that might be the case!
