Atheneum, Piccadilly, London

Visit The Atheneum Website HERE
COST: £28:50 each
The afternoon tea at Atheneum won an award of excellence from the Tea Guild in 2010. I therefore just had to try it out.

From the outside, Atheneum really stands out in Piccadilly. It's the ivy covered building which is starting to resemble a jungle (or maybe even The Rainforest Cafe...?). Inside, it oozes quirky sophistication. As I was a little early, I was shown through to their bar area decked out with pink satin covered walls. When the clock struck three, my friend and I were then taken to their garden room where you sit in your own personal lounge area and are greeted by a beautifully laid table and substantial tea menu.

The one thing that stands out about this afternoon tea is choice. A waiter brought over a platter of sandwiches and we chose exactly which ones we wanted and how many (with no wasted sandwiches). You can even have seconds and thirds (maybe more, but we needed to leave room for cakes!). Scones with an orange blossom twist were lovely, with homemade preserves and lemon curd. We are also served up some warm toasted crumpets. Then came the cakes trolley. Instead of being given a selection of cakes on a cake stand, we had a whole cake trolley wheeled to us and again we got to choose the cakes that we actually wanted rather than what, in some tea rooms, are just given to you. A nice touch.

Overall a lovely experience. Probably helped by the 20% discount offer we enjoyed. It's all about choice and I would definitely return.