This week was the auspicious event of my (3-inches-taller)
little sister turning 21. And did we celebrated by going out and getting
trashed? Did she stumble home at 5am, hair a messy halo, one shoe on, having
vomited on the night-bus? Did she heck! We went for friggin’ afternoon tea, coz
we’re classy as hell.*
Afternoon Tea is something of an institution here in the UK,
and rightly so. It’s been around since the early 1800s, to combat what Anna –
the 7th Duchess of Bedford – labelled “that sinking feeling” that
one experiences in the late afternoon. You know the one, the post-lunch, pre-dinner
slump. And what better way to fill a gap between meals than with…another meal!
Anna, you Bedford babe.
There are hundreds of places all across London where you can
enjoy an Afternoon Tea of varying quality. Some of the best you can find at www.afternoontea.co.uk Yup, that’s
an actual thing. And that’s where we found Liv’s birthday tea – at the
Serpentine Sackler Gallery by Hyde Park.
The Serpentine comprises two contemporary and modern art
galleries and is nestled in the heart of the very-beautiful Kensington Gardens.
Our tea was in The Magazine Restaurant which is attached to one of the
galleries – the Serpentine Sackler – which was designed by Zaha Hadid in 2013.
The gallery itself lies in a gunpowder store from 1805 and houses art,
architecture, and design exhibitions throughout the year.
The restaurant is just
beautiful. Modern, light, airy, with a lovely convivial atmosphere without
being too loud or close. The whole experience was elegance itself. The six of
us arrived, were ushered to our (oddly-shaped but pleasantly large) table and given
a cocktail. Which is the best way to start anything, as far as I’m concerned.
There was a wee bit of a wait for the food but I just took that as reassurance
that it hadn’t been pre-made and then left to wilt. And wilt is the right word
as the menu was Chelsea-Flower-Show-themed, which I thought was charming. From
borage and nasturtium flowers on the canapés, to the thyme syrup in the
cocktail, mint in the smoothie, and orange-blossom in the patisserie it was
delicately and artfully themed.
And the food was delicious – if you can call it “food” it
was all so tiny! It was like going to the perfect cocktail party, where you
don’t have to pretend to listen to small talk while actually keeping an eye out
for the person with the canapés, instead you got a tray full of them and were
done with it! The strawberry, mango, lime, and mint smoothie was the highlight
for me. Fresh, aromatic and….served in a really cute bottle with a straw. Woo!
Now, if you’re going to go for a fancy-pants afternoon tea,
you have to wear a fancy-pants outfit. So I donned my fanciest pants paired
them with this lovely, summery white number from ASOS and blue suede heels
customised with my hilarious and wonderful clip-on shoe pompoms from Cheeky
Poppins. I felt like one classy lady and I didn’t even spill anything, WIN!
Just to clear up – this is the first post in a new series
known as “Outandaboutfits” for those bits of London life which aren’t
location-specific and aren’t all about food, but more about capturing the other
aspects of London life (not that it’s all white dresses and scones, but I’m
hardly going to do a post about watching RuPaul, while eating toast in my
pyjamas, am I?)
*Disclaimer - she may well also have celebrated in the above fashion, but if she did I
wasn’t invited because I am too old and uncool. And classy as hell. ;)
Opening times = Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-6pm
Admission = Free!
Admission = Free!
Closest Tube station = Lancaster Gate and Marble Arch
No comments:
Post a Comment