Paddington Afternoon Tea At The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

With the release of Paddington Bear The Movie this November The Mandarin Oriental in London presents their delightful Paddington themed Afternoon Tea. I personally loved Paddington Bear as a child so I was very excited when I heard the news about the film, now I just need to make time to see it!

However, I was lucky enough to be invited to try this special afternoon tea in the exceptionally elegant, refined and contemporary venue of The Rosebery at The Mandarin Oriental. The Mandarin Oriental is perfectly situated in the heart of Knightsbridge in close proximity to Harrods and literally opposite to Harvey Nichols. I cannot think of a better way to end a day of shopping than afternoon tea here.

The Rosebery

This outstanding menu was a masterful feast, and a feast it really was. The sandwiches were unlimited (but we didn't want to have too many and spoil the sweets!) my favourites were the festive Turkey and Sage and the Crab and Crayfish Brioche Rolls, they were exceptionally tasty. I liked the way that the sandwiches were presented in an alternative way to the usual finger shaped sandwiches.

Tea 

I chose to drink the Green Tea with Custard Apple at first and then opted to change to the Afternoon Blend once I had moved on from the sandwiches to the sweets. These were great choices, both made great companions to the food and neither needed milk or sugar to enjoy them.

We also tried the fruity tasting Blend 68 which is a White Tea Blended with Tropical Fruits

The scones were the absolute perfect size and warm to the table, we had a choice of three jams to enjoy  - Strawberry & Raspberry, Lemon Curd and Rose Petal Jam and of course the essential clotted cream. We absolutely adored the Rose Jam with Clotted Cream combination the best, it tasted so, so good! The scones were incredibly light and some of the best I have ever tasted.

The pastries were incredibly cute and well thought, each one having a connection to the Paddington Bear theme. I couldn't say which was my favourite as I loved them all..oh ok, if pushed I was rather partial to the Paddington Bear Hat which under held a delicious and sweet maple choux bun.

And if that isn't enough, you are then brought even more cake! see below for more details.

What we ate -

Sandwiches
Slow roasted Norfolk bronze turkey with sage and cranberry
Smoked salmon tartar with creme fraiche and dill
Cotswold egg and mustard cress
St Tola goats cheese, roast pumpkin, red onion confit
Portland crab and crayfish fondue on brioche
Wiltshire cured ham and air dried tomatoes

Pastries
Find my Teddy brownies...
(Crunchy brownie, Banana compote, jivara milk chocolate Chantilly)
Pack your suitcase
(Caramelised cinnamon and java pepper ganache, muscovado and chocolate sable)
My favourite rolled marmalade sandwich
(Rolled sponge, orange marmalade, candy ginger chantilly)
Paddington pots
(Saffron honey brule, pear and quince compote)

Maple Hat Bun

(Choux pastry, sesame seeds crumble)

Cakes and Scones
Carrot cake
Christmas cake
Cranberry and plain scones

I loved the tweaks to a traditional afternoon tea, from the rolled sandwiches to the gorgeous and clever ornamental branch stand that held our birdcage like cake stand which meant our table was free for our plates and tea. The service was friendly and attentive, with special thanks given to our waiter (Guillaume) who was really quite exceptional and made our afternoon tea a real pleasure. The whole afternoon was spent feeling incredibly relaxed in stylish surroundings and was utterly delightful and delectable.

Would we return? Absolutely. 

Paddington Afternoon Tea at The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park costs £48 per person and is available until January 15th 2015.