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. Start us off with the basics. What's it like here? A neighborhood pad in London's theater-land with the laid-back drama and classical elegance of a country manor. It’s from the Firmdale stable, who have livened up the city’s hotel scene no end with their whizzy, colorful designs. The handsome red-brick building was once a French hospital in the late 1800s, and the look here is now subtly plush and rich in lots of old-world detail: antique tapestries; needlepoint curtains framing the reception desk like a stage; old Punch hand-drawn cartoons on the walls; a grand mother-of-pearl-inlaid writing desk in the drawing room. Who's behind the hotel? The Firmdale group has 10 hotels across London and New York. Each has its own character and design nuances all spearheaded by creative director Kit Kemp, from a molten-like modern sculpture by Tony Cragg in the 18th-century, Nash-designed Haymarket Hotel to the color-popping Brazilian folk art and vintage Swedish furniture in Ham Yard. If given the option, what room should we be staying in? The fourth-floor Terrace Suite has all the hallmarks of Kit Kemp’s love of layers of textured textiles. The headboard is as long as the bed, there’s a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf in the sitting room of the suite, all hardback and with authors ranging from Michael Palin to T.S. Eliot (Kemp describes books as the best wallpaper a room can have), and a woven rug in hot pink and orange which looks antique. Is the restaurant on site worth a trip? Instead of fireworks or innovative tweezer food, Brasserie Max serves solid, tasty modern-European dishes—the roasted cod with razor clams and a creamy basil sauce feels healthy enough that you can order triple-cooked chips on the side. It’s not a destination restaurant but does a solid trade in afternoon tea and after-work cocktails at the zinc-topped bar. The breakfast menu (included) is huge and includes super-traditional kedgeree and please-everyone bacon sandwiches as well as more zeitgeisty vegan options with crispy tofu and chili-baked beans. How's the service? The waiting staff in the bar and restaurant were particularly friendly and clearly had an ongoing rapport with regular guests. The Danish manager Helle Jensen is brilliantly jolly, confessing to not yet having seen Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, although the hotel’s weekly film club has already shown it three times. What kind of people are we likely to see staying here? Any fun or notable guests? This hotel is in the heart of London’s theater-land, so it gets a thespian crowd to match (Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet and Peter Jackson have all stayed). There are also advertising execs in faux-fur-lined Gucci loafers and monogrammed luggage having breakfast meetings in Brasserie Max, and sixty-something Americans watching the Ryder Cup in the cherry-red armchairs of the basement Screening Room. Tell us a bit about the surrounding area in Covent Garden. This place has been around for over 20 years (more than other young-gun properties nearby) and knows what’s its doing. It fits in with the smart, independent boutiques and cafés on the surrounding cobbled streets of Seven Dials (Miller Harris perfume, Murdock barbershop, the original Monmouth coffeeshop right opposite). Any other standout details? At turndown, rather than getting a sugar rush from a chocolate on your pillow, there’s a calming pillow spray—deliciously scented of lavender and eucalyptus. If you could change anything about the hotel—from details in your room to something about the lobby—what would it be? The Terrace Suite has a minibar cleverly hidden behind wallpaper panels with beautifully delicate china teacups (bespoke Kit Kemp designs for Wedgewood)—but weirdly there’s no kettle or tea bags to make yourself a brew. So would you recommend this hotel to a friend or visitor to London? Yes, it’s worth it but rather than hang out in the ground-floor bar all the time, make the most of the beautiful first-floor Drawing Room. Fix yourself some large drinks from the honesty bar next to the library—it’s the drinks cabinet we all wish we had a home, with at least three types of vintage Champagne and top-drawer spirits. This hotel is not stuffy but still feels like a slick five-star treat. |
