Bridesmaid Afternoon Tea

I really struggled with what to buy my bridesmaids as a thank you gift. They ranged in ages from 19 to 26 and I couldn't really think of something that suited them all! Instead I decided it would be nice to grab afternoon tea together and I invited my Mum along as well. After much research we decided to try The Caramel Room, Berkeley Hotel.

The first impressions were great, we were greeted by friendly door staff and had all of our coats and bags stored in the cloak room. The toilets were clean and never had a queue. The room for afternoon tea was large and filled with light and in an art deco theme. We had a lovely spacious table for six, which was beautifully laid.

The crockery is all brightly colored and designed by Paul Smith and makes quite an impact. The tea is fashion themed, which suited a group of girls perfectly. There were sandwiches and savory canapes followed by a huge selection of sweet treats. You can order seconds of anything you like and are also sent home with a little take away bag of delights for snacking later on. The service is brilliant and the staff really make you feel special. We dressed up a little and were glad we did as it made it into quite an occasion. We went for the champagne option at £52 per person plus 12.5% service charge so it isn't a cheap afternoon but we really, really enjoyed ourselves.

The menu changes every six months and is themed on current trends. We experienced Autumn / Winter 2014. Firstly the tea selection is vast, I went for fresh mint but plenty were tried including a chocolate flavor! We had smoked salmon, prawn, ham and egg sandwiches as well as a ham and cheese filo pie, a cone containing a crab salad, a shot of cold tomato soup and a little goats cheese and beetroot mousse. We did have a second round of some of the sandwiches to soak up the bubbles!

You don't get traditional scones with cream and jam here BUT the selection of desserts do make up for this. We had:

• Christian Louboutin chocolate biscuits shaped in the Pigalle spiked heel with the traditional red sole
• Karla Colletto lemon biscuits shaped into a swim suit
• Miu Miu exotic tote bags, which was a brownie cake
• Dsquared strapless mango dresses with a blueberry compote and hot pink lampshade hat
• Alberta Ferreti Sicilian Guava and lemon verbena panna cotta with a stripped skirt and strappy sandal
• Victoria Beckham graphic geometric cherry and white chocolate mousse shirt
• Simone Rocha pineapple and coconut Savarin shirt dress with spun sugar
• Oscar De La Renta pistachio sponge cake dress
• Emilia Wickstead pink and orange joconde with a tropical creme patissiere.

The biscuits and the tote bags were my ultimate favorite!

So I would grab the girls and think of an occasion, maybe a big birthday or a civilized hen do and get stuck into this delightful and exciting afternoon tea.