The story of a girl who lives above her means: afternoon tea

Review: Barbican Afternoon tea

Last Sunday I took the tube into Central London to the Barbican and met Lily along with the other blogging buddies for a spot of afternoon tea to help celebrate her birthday. It was a lovely sunny day so we sat outside to enjoy the view over the lakes.

For only £13.95 you were given unlimited tea and a selection of sandwiches and cakes. The scone was ah-mazing! The service was a little hit and miss but the cakes made up for it. The sandwiches were a variety of fillings such a cucumber, smoked salmon and cheese, ham and mustard and egg cress. The ham and mustard ones were my favourite - they had just the right amount of kick. The lemon cheesecake went down a treat - tangy and creamy always make a good combination. I wasn't too keen on the custard-like filling of the éclair - I much prefer whipped cream in the middle.

It's nice little treat if you're in the area at the weekend. We all need an indulgence on a Sunday!

Have you ever eaten at the Barbican?

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Burger Afternoon Tea at BRGR.CO

BRGR.CO had been on my list of burger joints to visit for a fair few months so when the word on the grapevine was they were starting to offer burger afternoon tea, the blogger buds and I booked ourselves in. Using the excuse of Sarah's birthday, we arrived last Saturday with high expectations. Unfortunately we (Sarah, Hannah, Elodie, Lily and Aisling) left highly disappointed.

Having arrived at 3pm it took us half an hour to get our much needed glass of prosecco and iced tea - even then we had to flag the waiter down to recieve them. After listening to our bellies grumbling for an hour and 15 minutes we finally had our burger afternoon tea put in front off us. Again after asking twice where our food was. Considering we had already pre-booked, this was appalling. They knew exactly how many people were coming and the fact that it was busy shouldn't have made a difference. After we complained we were given a complimentary bottle of prosecco, while it was a nice touch I would have preferred money off our bill as three of our party didn't actually drink.

The food itself was good if not a little lukewarm. The dessert was the best part - I could eat a million and one of those mini doughnuts. I did think they could have been a bit more meat in the sliders especially the chicken. The beef burger was a little dry but I really enjoyed the lobster slider as it made a nice change. The avocado was a nice touch. I would have preferred there to be a better ratio of meat to the bun. The chips were a good size portion and were pretty fluffy on the inside which is always a good thing.

I won't be rushing back to BRGR.CO anytime in the future which is a shame as the regular menu did look tasty. I'd rather spend my money somewhere where I feel a bit more valued as a customer.

I'm actually guest posting over at Sarah's blog today while she swans off on holiday. Check it out if you're interested in an immense carrot cake recipe. You'll struggle not to eat the whole loaf!

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Afternoon tea anyone?

Last week I was very kindly invited for a spot of afternoon (or evening!) tea at the Millennium Knightsbridge Hotel. I was over the moon to be invited as afternoon tea is my favourite thing in the world - doesn't everything taste so much nice in miniatures?! Before we got down to business we were treated a few glasses of pink champange which went down very nicely after a long day at work. Then it was on to a tour of the fabulous hotel! Aisling, Lily, Sarah and I were gobsmacked at the beautiful view over London. You could see for miles! It was certainly a talking point.

We were led to the Tangerine Cafe Bar where we were given the history behind the notion of afternoon tea and the proper etiquette. It was very hard to not scoff all the treats in one go given our rumbling tummies! Millennium have tried to put a twist on the event with three types of mini scones available. We were given a selection of chocolate, savoury or raisin scones. The first one was my favourite - I may have had three... I was really impressed with the chocolate cup especially as everything was edible! At £17.50 for two people, it really is quite the bargain as it's amazing value for money.

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This girl is on fire

Outfit:

Black midi lace dress: Primark

Grey fur trimmed cape: Marks and Spencer

Black suede pointed pumps: Topshop

Black tights: Primark

My nan was given a voucher for High Tea for her birthday so I tagged along - never miss out on scones with clotted cream and jam! It was in a lovely venue called Mulberry House not far from my house, proving Essex is far more than Oompa Loompa tans and Sugar Hut. For just over £13 we were given a tray of sandwiches - smoked salmon always get a thumbs up from me - and an assortment of different cakes and scones. I can confirm that the mini carrott cake went down very well as did the mini eclair. Anyone else think cakes taste so much nicer in miniature form?