The Coral Room
Following in the steps of the very instagram-worthy Dalloway Terrace, the Coral Room is the latest offering from the Bloomsbury hotel to serve afternoon tea. Living up to its name, the Coral Room is an opulent, stylish mix of modern art and classic surroundings glowing from the orange toned décor.
Other than the warm hue, the first thing we noticed on arrival at The Coral Room was the bar, looking like something straight out of The Great Gatsby, with its orange leather studded bar stools and smoked mirror glass backdrop, it’s the perfect place for pre-drinks and social media photos to make your friends green with envy.
We were seated to the right of the bar next to a very welcoming open fire and shown the menu. It was apparent straight away that The Coral Room’s seasonal menu had been designed with Autumn and Winter in mind with lots of apple, berries and winter spice dishes included.
Whilst we eagerly awaited the arrival of our Afternoon Tea, we were served a glass of Sparkling Wine and were surprised to learn that The Bloomsbury have over 100 different varieties of the bubbly stuff so if you’re a sparkling wine buff or just want to try something different, this is definitely the place to come!
Our tea arrived next in huge traditional silver teapots and was kindly poured for us, I had opted for my favourite tea, Rooibos and my husband choose a herbal Lemon variety. The teacups, China and even the beautiful gold and rose-pink menus were all of art deco design and complimented the lounge perfectly.
Our food arrived served on traditional three tier brass stands and was beautifully presented, the top desert tier looked delectable, but I decided to do the right thing and start at the bottom and work my way up. The sandwiches were all delightfully fresh and each one made with different bread made even more impressive by the fact that we learnt it was all baked in house. As I am very partial to a Hog Roast, I couldn’t wait to try the Roasted Pork and apple chutney multigrain sandwich. It was, as I thought, a perfect combination. My favourite sandwich by far though was the Turkey breast with cranberry and radish Remoulade served in Guinness bread. The Guinness bread was quite simply amazing, a little like soda bread with a hint of sweetness…. something I have never tried before but will certainly be on the lookout for from now on!
The scones, like the bread, were freshly baked and still warm from the oven. We each had one raisin and one vanilla scone. The scones were served with a generous helping of thick clotted cream and a “black butter” which despite the perturbing name was quite honestly one of my favourite parts about the whole afternoon tea. For me, the Jersey butter tasted like Christmas in a jar, made from apples and Jersey cider, the ingredients were different to that of Christmas pudding, but the spices were similar, and I loved the fact The Coral Room had dared to do something different! Of course, the Jersey Butter may not be to everyone’s liking and there was always the alternative of regular conserve if you requested it.
The festive taste combinations were continued in the sweet selection. The Apple Terrine and wonderful cinnamon spiced financiers reminded me of my childhood Christmases spent at my Grans house, real home baked flavours that delighted the palette and ignited fond memories. Both mine and my husband’s favourite though, was the chocolate mousse served on a bed of clementine gel and candid chestnuts all served up in a galactical sphere of dark chocolate, a perfect blend that tasted out of this world!
We have had Afternoon Tea at The Bloomsbury Hotel before and have always been impressed with the quality of the service, surroundings and food but I personally feel that The Coral Room afternoon tea excelled itself and couldn’t be faulted. The menu was exceptional, the staff, courteous and welcoming and the venue, sumptuous but homely. The Coral Room is the perfect place to spend the afternoon relaxing in London.