Laurent-Perrier x Sophie Faldo Spring Afternoon Tea at InterContinental London

I think we are all in need of a touch of Spring and the InterContinental London – The O2 has the perfect early Spring afternoon tea to just give us that.

Situated on the Greenwich Peninsula, so very handy if you are attending a concert at the O2 arena, the InterContinental has partnered with Laurent-Perrier and 2017 Great British Bake Off winner Sophie Faldo for this beautiful floral inspired afternoon tea.

Sophie and the hotel’s Executive Pastry Chef, Amit Kumar have worked together to create an afternoon tea menu with seasonal ingredients that reflect Sophie’s personal style. The afternoon tea combines fruity scents with spices and florals.

Danny and I popped down on the weekend to try it out in the Meridian Lounge. I hadn’t been there before and the space is lovely and bright as well as being beautifully decorated.

We started off with a glass of Laurent Perrier Cuvée-Rosé NV each, but you can also opt for the Laurent-Perrier Vintage 2007. I’m a sucker for a rosé so it was an easy choice for me. The tea menu is quite extensive and there was lots of different teas to choose from, I tried Peppermint and also a Rosebud blend later which was so lovely and wasn’t too overpowering, it was a very subtle blend with rose and I would recommend trying it if you like that kind of flavour. Danny had a Bombay Chai and also an Assam tea, so there is plenty choice for all different tastebuds.

Now to the food, the sandwiches were absolutely delicious! Sometimes in afternoon tea I’m not a fan of a few but I really enjoyed them all. The chicken tarragon with sweetcorn, ketchup on caraway bread was my favourite and we were asked if we wanted anymore, to which I of course couldn’t resist. There is a varied selection of sandwiches including; smoked salmon pinwheel with lemon créme fraîche and dill and a BBQ pulled pork jack fruit on a mini brioche bun, which I’ve never seen before in an afternoon tea and thought it was a really nice addition.

Following the sandwiches was a selection of scones and cakes. The scones are plain or Persian tea spiced with strawberry and Champagne preserve and Cornish clotted cream. They arrived warm, fresh and equally as delicious as the sandwiches.

The cakes are presented on a globe and you have five different variations. You can really see the attention to detail with these, Sophie’s initials on the chocolate and praline miniature, the touch of floral on the rhubarb and rose and thyme baba, as well as the printed white chocolate on the pineapple, coconut and lemongrass verrine. My favourite of the cakes was the petit mandarin, it was so light and well presented, just really enjoyable.

Throughout we were very well looked after by our waitress Catalina, service to me is something that is as important as the actual food, I think it makes such a difference. You can have the best food in the world but if the service isn’t up to par it really doesn’t make me want to go back. Our service was amazing and exactly what you would expect from a five-star hotel, which made our afternoon all that more enjoyable.

We both enjoyed the afternoon tea and it is a perfect pairing with Laurent-Perrier and Sophie Faldo, I would highly recommend booking before it ends. Laurent-Perrier Spring Tea with Sophie Faldo at InterContinental London – The O2 runs until 31st March and is priced at £37 per person, or £51 to add a glass of Laurent-Perrier champagne.

Visit iclondon-theo2.com/dining/meridian-lounge for more info or to book.