The Goring

This month I’m delighted to say that I’ve managed to partake of afternoon tea at The Goring and Oakley Court, two hotels which have been on my to do list tea list for absolutely ages, plus enjoyed scones for breakfast at Caravan.

Many people will know The Goring for being the hotel that Catherine Middleton and her family stayed the night before her marriage to Prince William. I was delighted to be invited to join @DawnCorleone, who was staying at the hotel (love her style) on her recent visit to London, for afternoon tea. I will start by confessing that the whole experience was quite magical, maybe it was the torrential rain outside that day that did it, but walking through its doors I knew I had arrived at somewhere quite unique and very special.

The Goring

We were seated in their very elegant Lounge and we both ordered traditional afternoon tea. Prior to our tea being served we were given a small savoury appetizer.

This was followed with the arrival of a beautifully presented three tier cake stand which had on its bottom tier the non vegetarian sandwiches as I was given my own separate plate for my vegetarian ones. In the middle where the scones and on the top where the pastries. It was all presented on matching china with an elegant yellow and gold edged pattern.

The Goring

We had two scones each, one was plain and the other fruit. All the scones were fairly large and were served warm. They were accompanied with a dish containing two large balls of clotted cream and a generous sized pot of strawberry jam. The fruit scone I found had a firm exterior but when I bit into it the inside had a slightly chewy texture. To be honest this was slightly disappointing as it was the only thing on the whole visit that wasn’t utterly amazing. In contrast I loved the plain scone as its texture was just perfect being crunchy on the outside with a soft and fluffy interior and was utterly delicious.  This had been the second afternoon tea, I had attended in the same week, where I had noticed subtle but distinctive differences in the textures between the fruit and the plain scones, and asking @DawnCorleone about The Goring she said she noticed it too and we both much preferred the plain scones.

The Goring

All the food was delicious and the pastries selection was impressive with some of the most beautiful looking and delicious cakes I have enjoyed at an afternoon tea. Going clockwise the pastries were opera cake,  sea buckthorn curd,  caramel-apple choux,  raspberry pistachio and violet tartlet and in the centre both our favourites white chocolate mousse and passion fruit, which was just sublime.

The Goring

The tea menu stated that The Goring Afternoon Blend was “a natural foil for scones and clotted cream”, so with that recommendation we both chose it. Our tea was served in one huge silver teapot and was replenished.

The service was exceptional throughout, with the right balance between being attentive and unobtrusive. I particularly noted that when we ordered our food they checked with me what vegetarian foods I ate, rather than making an assumption and when food was presented they explained which was the vegetarian options.  The traditional afternoon tea cost £42.50 per person.

The Goring

The Goring is the only remaining family run luxury hotel in London today. It was opened in 1910 by Otto Goring and his silhouette features on their saucers. I just loved this quirky detail and but it is only one of several things that make the hotel very distinctive.

The Goring

I know this is a scone blog but I can’t end without mentioning the wallpaper, it’s adorable. In January 2015 the hotel was briefly closed, for the first time in its history, while the front hall was refurbished. It is now decorated in exquisite hand painted wallpaper in a traditional English country house style featuring exotic beasts and with a few delightful touches of humour. I’ve written a separate blog about the wallpaper.

Overall I loved the Goring. The hotel is small, intimate and slightly eccentric, but in an utterly delightful way. The service was amazing and its staff made you feel special. This is perfect place to go if you are looking for a quintessentially English, traditional afternoon tea experience.

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

Caravan

The other week Caroline and I decided to meet for brunch at Caravan Kings Cross. In recent years Kings Cross has been transformed into one of London’s leading food places and we weren’t surprised to have to join the longish queue of people waiting for the restaurant to open. However once opened the queue moved quickly and we were soon enjoying our food.

For my main, pictured above on the left, I had coconut bread, lemon curd, cream cheese and rhubarb, which was amazing. However I had noticed on their brunch menu that they served scones. The last time I had scones for breakfast was when I was on holiday in Ireland, and to be honest it’s a great idea, so I also ordered one.

Caravan

The scone was attractively presented on a wooden board accompanied with very generous portions of butter, raspberry jam and an individual sized jar of marmalade. The scone was humongous and was served cold.

Caravan

When I halved the scone I discovered it contained chocolate chips. I decided to spread jam on one side and marmalade on the other. While both the conserves tasted delicious, the texture of the jam was just a bit too runny for my liking  and I found it a little bit messy. The scone itself looked impressive but when I eat it I discovered it had a biscuit like texture, being crunchy inside as well as outside. This is a personal preference but  like my scones to be soft on the inside, as it is the contrast in texture which makes the scone enjoyable for me. However I would like to point out that it was very evident that they had made it using really good quality ingredients, it just wasn’t to my personal taste.

The scone was very good value costing £3 and was substantial in itself. The service was excellent throughout especially as the restaurant was extremely busy. The restaurant is housed in a former Victorian, granary warehouse with  modern, open plan décor. Overall we both really enjoyed our brunch, the food and ambiance of the place was great and we’d have no hesitation in returning but next time I will chose something else from their extensive menu, as there are so many nice things I want to try.

Ratings:  Scones: 2,   Accompaniments: 1, Service: 2, Ambience: 2, Overall:  7/11

Oakley Court

As Oakley Court Hotel is the quintessential gothic mansion, and they also serve afternoon tea, it’s been on my must do list for ages. It may look slightly familiar to you and that maybe because it had featured in several Hammer films and most famously was used as the location for exterior shots of Frank-N-Furter’s house in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The hotel is located near Windsor, Berkshire, in its own magnificent grounds adjacent to the River Thames. Julie and I decided to coincide our visit with watching Swan Upping, which I’ve already blogged about and I’m planning to blog about the history of the house and our afternoon tea soon, so in this post I am going to just focus on their scones.

Oakley Court

Our afternoon tea was served on our own individual, three tier cake stands. On the bottom tier where the scones, sandwiches were on the middle row and on the top where a selection of pastries.

Oakley Court

We both had three scones each, a plain, raisin and a seasonal scone. The scones were large and were served warmed. They were accompanied with three generous, individual dishes of strawberry jam, lemon curd and clotted cream.

Oakley Court

All three scones were delicious and it was nice to be offered a variety. The plain and raisin scones were tasty and had the firm exterior and a soft interior. The seasonal scone, which in our case was an orange scone with piece of orange peel, had amazing flavour. However the texture wasn’t quite right as it was firm on the outside but inside it was slightly chewy.

Oakley Court

Our delicious tea was served in their very elegant drawing room which has views over the gardens to the River Thames. Service was consistently good and our teapots were replenished. Afternoon tea cost £25 per person and was excellent value given the standard of both the food and the hotel. We both had a fabulous time, the tea was delicious, the hotel is an amazing building with a fascinating history and its location on the banks of the River Thames made it a very special place to visit.

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

Until next time…

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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