The Covent Garden Hotel
Being big Mary Poppins fans, myself and my husband were thrilled to be invited to try the new Mary Poppins inspired tea at The Covent Garden Hotel. The hotel is perfectly situated opposite Neal’s Yard and just a stones throw away from The Prince Edward Theatre where Mary Poppins – The Musical is currently showing.
If you are looking for somewhere unpretentious but stylish, relaxed and welcoming, then this is surely the place. As soon as we entered the restaurant, I immediately noticed the homely ambience, families enjoying Sunday lunch, friends meeting for a catch up and couples celebrating birthdays and the like. The atmosphere was happy and despite being extremely busy, we were immediately seated and presented with the afternoon tea menu.
At just £40 for an afternoon tea and a cocktail in the heart of London, it quickly became apparent on seeing the menu, what good value for money this tea is. Five delicious mini cakes all aptly named after the family-favourite film served alongside a traditional British selection of sandwiches and freshly baked scones.
With family in mind, there were two cocktails to choose from, “A walk in the park” for the “grown-ups”- an apple concoction which reminded me very much of an apple version of Pina Colada and an “Element of Fun” for the little people so they didn’t miss out. The children’s variant was sweet and fruity and something that I know our children would love! Both were served with a floral and fruit decoration for the added special touch.
Alex, the Restaurant Manager, was extremely friendly and was more than keen to accommodate a change in menu for my husband who is vegetarian. When our afternoon tea stand arrived, Alex showed such pride in showing and explaining why and how they had chosen the cakes and the relevance they had to the film.
The sandwiches were immediately inviting having been made using different grains and prominent coloured food to enhance the element of fun in the afternoon tea. The sandwiches were soft, fresh and the uncomplicated choices of Ham, Cucumber, Smoked Salmon and cream cheese and coronation chicken were perfect choices for both adults and children.
The scone choices of plain and sultana were perfectly sized and baked and were served with Clotted Cream, Strawberry preserve and the most beautiful Raspberry Jam.
The top tier and star of our Afternoon Tea comprised of 10 wonderfully presented mini cakes, 2 of each kind. The hat shaped chocolate encasing a wonderful creamy caramel cheesecake filling, we both agreed was our favourite, the dark chocolate worked in perfect harmony with the sweetness of the centre and much to the amusement of my husband, made me “Hmmmm” out load when I bit into it!
The rest of the selection divided our opinions, “Super-cali-fragil-istic-expi-ali-docious” (Apricot Battenberg cake) was another favourite of my husbands, the colours were vibrant and pleasing to the eye and the cake deliciously moist. On more than one occasion, I caught him trying to pinch my one! “A Spoonful of Sugar” was presented beautifully with a magic sprinkling of hundreds and thousands topped with the cutest chocolate spoon, the bite sized roulade was tangy, light and quite simply, yummy, another winner for me!
We enjoyed our last two cakes with our tea, I choose a delightfully fresh Summer Mint tea and my husband opted for the pure green Mao Feng tea. It was pleasing to see that you can also choose to have coffee or hot chocolate with your Afternoon Tea which is perfect if you are bringing children with you.
In summary, The Convent Garden Hotel is a gem located at the heart of the theatre district and only a 3-minute walk to Mary Poppins – The Musical. The restaurant is a wonderfully inviting, comfortable and friendly spot with staff and food quality they should be extremely proud of. At such a reasonable price, I would thoroughly recommend their Afternoon Tea to couples and families who wish to experience this classic English tradition. We had a wonderful Sunday afternoon and can’t wait to return!
We visited in February 2020 and the Mary Poppins afternoon tea is currently available. You can book a table online here.