Rose Bakery

Welcome to my first edition of Scones of the Month, a monthly scone review blog. Enjoy....

First off, I visited the delightful Rose Bakery accompanied by twitter friends, part of the infamous #teamcake. This just one branch of a small and exclusive chain founded by Rose Carrarini with its original outlet in Paris. This small cafe in tucked into the corner of the top floor of Dover Street Market and a good tip if you want to avoid the temptation of the expensive designer clothing is to take the lift directly there.

I chose a cherry scone and a pot of Earl Grey tea which was attractively served on delightful green tablewear. The homemade scone was accompanied with a generous portion of butter and delicious jam. No clotted cream but I have to confess the delicious but subtle flavour of the cherry scone would have been lost with it. The scone was excellent value at £3 in terms of both quality and price.

Ratings:  Scones: 3   Accompaniments: 3 (note served with butter and jam)  Service: 2 Ambience: 2  Overall:  10/11

Le Pain Quotidien

January also saw Yannick and I paying a return visit to Le Pain Quotidien with its several branches throughout London and I have to confess we've tried a few and all of them offer great tasting organic food and provide excellent customer service. 

LPQ is one of my favourite places as I love the taste and texture of their scones. They are served with cream and accompanied with an amazing selection of extremely tasty spreads and jams. My favourite one is Blondie, a Belgian white chocolate spread, which BTW when I tweeted about how much I loved it last year LPQ very kindly sent me a complementary jar. I also should mention that their scones are huge and are almost a meal in themselves.

Ratings:  Scones:  3    Accompaniments: 3 Service: 2 Ambience: 2 Overall:  10/11

 Hush Brasserie

I also recently visited Hush Brasserie, which is in a great location directly opposite St Paul's Cathedral. What I liked best was the their staff. When I visited I received a warm, friendly welcome and enjoyed very attentive service throughout.

They offer a Hush High Tea which is great value for £6.95. It consisted of two small scones with generous helping of clotted cream and two dishes of preserve, one which tasted like a tangy marmalade, which is not my thing on scones. The price also includes a pot of tea from a choice of Earl Grey, Ceylon or Breakfast. 

Ratings:  Scones: 1    Accompaniments: 1 Service: 2 Ambience: 1 Overall:  5/11

Inter Continental Hotel London Park Lane

Enjoyed a cream tea with twitter friends in the comfortable surroundings of the Wellington Lounge at the Inter Continental Hotel London Park Lane.The service was attentive and the decor impressive and stylish. An interesting piece of trivia is that the hotel is on the site of 145 Piccadilly, Queen Elizabeth II's former childhood residence.

We ordered a cream tea to share, which consisted of four scones, jam and clotted cream and sank into their comfortable chairs. The scones were delicious, accompanied with generous portions of jam and clotted cream and well presented on attractive china with a contemporary geometric design. Overall this fabulous hotel is a great option if you're looking to enjoy your tea and scones somewhere with contemporary flair.

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

Ratings

Scones - 1:  Fine, 2:  Tasty, 3: OMG, highly recommend

Accompaniments - 1:  Alright, 2:  Well presented, 3:  Great selection/ utterly amazing flavour

Service - 1:  Alright, 2: Consistently good, 3:  Exceptional - only given for luxury hotel/ afternoon tea

Ambience - 1: Ok, 2:  Cool, 3:  Utterly amazing

Total Score - 1 – 5:  Average, 6 – 7:  Good choice, 8 – 10:  Wonderful, would return soon, 11 – 12:  OMG, want to return NOW!

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 

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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