From Seed To Full Bloom | Dominique Ansel’s Afternoon Tea, Belgravia, London
When we heard Dominique Ansel was working on an afternoon tea, we were all ears. Their cakes and pastries (and of course, their Cronuts) are beyond exquisite, so we just knew this was going to be anything but your standard afternoon tea. We were right, there’s nothing average about it and not a sandwich in sight.
Dominique and the team have gone with a Seed to Flower theme – the menu follows the path of a seed growing and blossoming into a fully bloomed flower. There’s three options, depending on how extravagant you’re feeling – ‘Signature’ (£42), ‘Sparkling’ (£55) and ‘Splendid’ (£80). We went for the middle option with a glass of Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé, we’re not huge fans of Champagne but when its top quality bubbles like Laurent-Perrier, it’s a totally different story. Teas from Camellia’s Tea are wonderful too, my Lemon Verbena was a perfectly refreshing cuppa and the silver leaf-shaped strainer was just beautiful.
Even the display stand is bespoke – made especially for Dominique Ansel
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- Seed, shoot and full leaf.
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- Scones and strawberries (Dominique Ansel style)
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- Instagrammer’s heaven
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- Bud and flower
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- Every petal (and meringue ‘kisses’) are attached by hand.
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- Blossom and full bloom
Afternoon tea is held in Dominique Ansel’s floral garden terrace – an Instagrammer’s dream. It becomes even more so once the bespoke three-tiered stand adorned with treats arrives at the table. Just wow.
The journey starts with savoury bites such as the Full Leaf – Cornish crab salad, apple, celery, brioche, baby watercress (which was our highlight). Next up is a ‘break’ for freshly baked perfectly round scones with the most incredible fresh strawberry jam and clotted cream, we could explain more about this part but we really wouldn’t want to ruin the fun.
We must have started at the last remaining tier for what felt like forever, not wanting the experience to end. This layer was by far the prettiest, the Full Bloom with brown butter financier, strawberry jam, rose ganache and rose petals was far too stunning to eat (although obviously we did).
This isn’t the kind of afternoon tea you emerge from busting at the seams, this is a far more delicate and refined affair – we certainly recommend it. But you knew that, we had you at Dominique Ansel, didn’t we?
Find out more here
17-21 Elizabeth Street, Belgravia
London SW1W 9RP
Telephone: 020 7324 7705
Email: info@dominiqueansellondon.com
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Afternoon Tea will be served Thursday – Sunday 12pm-4pm from Friday 4th May.
Book online here
Nearest station: Victoria (6 mins walk)
We ate as guests of Dominique Ansel, this does not affect our review in any way. We always write with complete honesty.
