On the Roof with Q @ Selfridges

This month scone fest started with a greatly anticipated visit to the new rooftop restaurant in Selfridges, On the Roof with Q, or in my case to be more exact on the roof with twitter friends.

The restaurant is recently open and located on the 5th floor of Selfridges. Quick tip there’s a special express lift opposite Chanel which will take you directly to the restaurant. This month I am going to break with tradition, and controversially include a couple of non- scone photos.

The restaurant certainly has the WOW factor with its conservatory, with a retractable roof.

The view towards the City of London

There are impressive views of the London skyline, look out for the American flag on the U.S. Embassy in nearby Grosvenor Square,  Battersea Power Station, St George’s Wharf Tower and the City of London.

Very cute individual jars for the clotted cream and jam

However returning to the task in hand and reviewing the scones. Mr TD and I opted for the full works, afternoon tea, consisting of finger sandwiches, scones and pastries and a pot of tea from the Rare Tea Company, it was good value at £19.50pp. The two fruit scones were delicious and crunchy. They were not served warm and I am unsure if this was because it was an exceptionally hot day. The whole thing was very nicely presented and I particularly liked the cute jars for the raspberry jam and clotted cream. The service was great throughout and we appreciated that the staff were cool about us walking round and taking photos. The restaurant will only be open during the summer months and then will close in September ready for its winter refurbishment. Highly recommend it and hope to return soon.

Ratings:  Scones: 2,   Accompaniments: 2, Service: 3, Ambience: 3, Overall:  10/12

Afternoon Tea @ The Whitehall

The other week I visited The Whitehall which is one of the branches of Caffe Concerto. I’ve really enjoyed my visits to their other branches and I was looking forward to visiting this one as I was attracted to it by its mouth watering display of cakes in its window and its beautiful chandeliers and large mirrors. I ordered an afternoon tea which included sandwiches, scones, pastries and a pot of tea which, when service was added, came to £17.95. The scone was plain and was accompanied with a small pot of strawberry jam and a very generous helping of clotted cream. While although nicely presented I couldn’t help thinking that the scone resembled more a muffin both in the way it looked and its taste, being soft on the outside as well as on the inside. Also I was rather disappointed with their afternoon tea cake selection, see photo above, as their cakes in the window looked amazing.  I’m sad to report on this occasion I was not impressed with either the cakes or scones and I didn’t leave with that special sense of occasion feeling which I usually have when I’ve enjoyed afternoon tea.

Ratings:  Scones: 1,   Accompaniments: 2, Service: 1, Ambience: 1, Overall:  5/12

Fleet River Bakery

Last week twitter friend and I made a return visit to the Fleet River Bakery as it’s one of our favourite places. It’s hidden away just behind Holborn tube station in Lincoln’s Inn Fields near to the delightfully quirky Soane Museum, which is if you haven’t been to before I strongly recommend and particularly their candlelit evening openings. On entering the café, the counter was groaning with a lovely selection of home made cakes and savoury treats to choose from. The space is surprisingly spacious as there are three separate rooms. The fruit scone contained cranberries and it was OMG so utterly delicious. The flavour was amazing and the texture just right. It came nicely presented and already prepared with fresh cream and jam. Well my friends know that fresh rather than clotted cream is usually a big no-no for me but nothing detracted from this scone for me. I will go so far to say this was the most tastiest scone I have eaten this year, so far.

Ratings:  Scones: 3,   Accompaniments: 2, Service: 2, Ambience: 2, Overall:  9/11

Ampersand Hotel

My final scone outing this month saw me visiting the Ampersand Hotel yet again, this time accompanied by Mr TD and @Dawn Corleone to partake of their Musical Afternoon Tea (£32.30) which included two delicious warm scones, one plain and one white chocolate. They were accompanied with generous portions of Devonshire clotted cream and homemade strawberry preserve. The scones had the perfect balance of being firm on the outside and soft inside. With great service and its charming quirky contemporary decor the Ampersand remains one of my favourite places to enjoy afternoon tea.

Ratings:  Scones: 2,   Accompaniments: 2, Service: 3, Ambience: 2, Overall:  9/12

Until next time…

Disclaimer: All views expressed in Scones of the Month (Year) are always my own honest opinion. Unless otherwise stated I have received no “treats” from any of the venues.

If you enjoyed this blog you might like to read about Scones of the Year 2013 or other editions of Scones of the Month.

The author of this blog is a qualified City of London and City of Westminster Tour Guide who leads guided walks combining world famous landmarks with hidden treasures often missed by the crowds

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