Tale As Old As Time: Beauty and the Beast Afternoon Tea

This year has been the year for Beauty and the Beast fans. With the live action remake of the animated film showing in cinemas from March, various merchandise collaborations etc, it made complete sense to mix in afternoon tea with a Beauty and the Beast theme. The Kensington Hotel were the ones with this ingenious idea and not surprisingly it has been extremely popular, so much so that this was originally meant to be a roughly two week attraction, but it was then extended to June and now until November! I was hugely fortunate to get a table booking in May, particularly as I missed out on the first round of bookings. This was back in March and next thing I new May had come round and my Mum and I were heading up to London!

I have never been to The Kensington Hotel before, but honestly it was such a lovely hotel. Everything was beautifully presented. It was one of those hotels that you want to come back to and stay the night. Another thing that really stood out was the service. The staff were so friendly and helpful and made us feel so welcome from the moment we stepped in to the hotel. 

With prices starting at £35 per head and £45 per head with a glass of champagne, I was pleasantly surprised at the cost. The whole experienced was centered around the 'Be Our Guest' scene from the film.  I was honestly so excited and couldn't quite believe I was there. My Mum and I were shown in first so I was able to get some shots of where we were.

The room was lovely mid sized library and scattered throughout, I was delighted to see Beauty and Beast memorabilia. There was Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mr Potts and of course Chip. Such lovely touches to add to the experience. I was actually quite surprised at how few tables there were, but it actually made the whole experience feel more special and actually quite peaceful, but might explain why tickets sold out so quick!

My Mum and I decided to go with the champagne option, simply because how often do you get the chance to drink champagne? I can testify it was extremely lovely and also if you really don't won't to go with that option of the afternoon tea, you have no worries of the staff making you feel pressured to have champagne. We actually had to ask, which was so refreshing as the majority of afternoon teas I have had in London have always worded it to make you feel you have to have it.

Another little touch I really liked was the blue and white china teacups. I of course now want that exact same teaset and am currently on the hunt. We were show to a lovely little table in the corner by the wall and what I liked about it was that everything was so spacious, you weren't put on top of anyone and again made the experience more special and intimate.

We had an allocated time of one hour and forty five minutes, but this felt fine and we left with time to spare as it were and you of course weren't rushed out or anything.

First up we were served our main savoury dishes. This is something I have been noticing recently and I quite like breaking the sweets and savouries up a bit. These are also more substantial than just the sandwiches you are normally served as your savoury dish and I think it's a nice touch. The waiter explained to us what each one was and how they were tied into the film. There was bite sized venison pie which was a reference to Gaston and all the stag heads his has. Then (as the song goes) Beef ragu and Cheese soufflé- I bet you're singing that in your head now. All absolutely delicious. 

The tea my Mum and I chose was the Gemaicha green tea which had 'top grade Sencha with organic Japanese toasted brown rice'. It tasted lovely and complimented our food.

The full menu can be found on their website.

Next up it was the main event, the sweets (not forgetting of course, the sandwiches). We were also presented with some the characters. I so badly wanted to take Chip home with me- I still haven't been lucky enough to bag one from Primark. Chip also encouraged us to try the grey stuff which I can confirm tasted delicious.

Other treats included vanilla & gold jelly, chocolate clock tart chocolate ganache in the shape of Cogsworth and spiced snowball macaron coconut & chocolate. I think my favourites were the grey stuff and the chocolate ganache in the shape of Cogsworth. In addition to this there was Marie’s sweet brioche baguette served with apricot preserve & chocolate pot. I couldn't eat the brioche baguette due to my nut allergy so I was presented with some delicious scones instead. I decided to try them with the chocolate pot sauce and it was definitely a winner for me.

The sandwiches were potted argyle smoked salmon & crème fraîche, roast devon red chicken with cranberry, cucumber & cream cheese and egg mayonnaise & cress. There was just the right amount to make you feel comfortably full and no need to ask for more.

Image taken from Buro247

At the end we were presented with a speculoos dress made with marzipan, which of course mirrors the style of Belle's yellow dress. I was honestly so sad to leave as I had had such a wonderful time.

The whole experience felt kinda magical and very Disney esk. I really hope they extend dates beyond November so that more people can go and experience this as well.