We visited the Royal Lancaster London for A Blooming British Afternoon Tea with the Natural History Museum

Whether it's a catch-up with friends and family, a birthday celebration or a treat for a special occasion, nothing beats a fancy afternoon tea, particularly when it's at the Royal Lancaster London.

Currently, they are running the Blooming British Afternoon Tea with the Natural History Museum in what is a very Bridgerton-esque experience, with a floral twist that sees bees and pollinators take centre stage.

The collaboration is a 'celebratory afternoon tea with the Natural History Museum' which highlights the importance of protecting the natural world and 'supports a future where people and pollinators thrive'.

Arrival

On the corner of Hyde Park, the Royal Lancaster London is easy to find. The outside of the hotel is lavish and once you enter the reception you'll see the Hyde Café (where the afternoon tea is served), directly behind it.

Upon arrival, the server was very welcoming and took the name of our booking and showed us to our table. They then talked us through A Blooming British Afternoon Tea with the Natural History Museum, after offering us drinks.

The drinks

Once seated, our server offered us some water with lemon and ice, then showed us the two bespoke teas they had available, which were specially blended for the Royal Lancaster, A Blooming British Afternoon Tea with the Natural History Museum: The Royal Lancaster Afternoon Blend and The Pollinator Blend. We went for the former, and it was lovely—similar to an English Breakfast Tea but with warming woody notes and a hint of calming chamomile.

The bee-themed cups, saucers and pots were a cute pollinator-themed touch.

We also enjoyed a glass of Taittinger Brut Prestige Rose, which comes at an extra cost.

Throughout the Royal Lancaster London afternoon experience, you are also offered unlimited drink refills, including tea, coffee, and hot chocolate from their usual drinks menu.

The sandwiches

Next, a selection of four sandwiches were brought to our table:
• Maize-fed chicken with bee pollen on white bread
• Smoked Salmon, cream cheese and dill on wholemeal bread
• Classic egg mayonnaise with flowering chives on wholemeal bread
• Cucumber with salted butter on white bread

They were all delicious, particularly the egg mayonnaise and salmon options. The crusts are cut off, and they are generously sized. Unlike some other places, you don't get unlimited sandwiches. At this point, it may have been nice to have a few other savoury morsels (such as quiche or sausage rolls) to enjoy, but once you get to the sweets, you realise how filling the afternoon tea is!

The scones

Food-wise, the highlight of the whole experience had to be the homemade scones—after all, it's not afternoon tea without scones!

After your sandwiches, your server asks you if you'd like more tea or to change your drink and then some warm scones encased in a cloth get brought to your table.

Upon opening the parcel, we were delighted to see that we got two scones each, one fruit and one plain. The pièce de résistance was certainly the fruit one which we ate first - the pieces simply melted in your mouth!

Now, we don't want to get into that debate about what goes first: jam or cream. Because both were so delicious, it didn't really matter!

The sweets

At last, it was time for the sweet treats, which were suspended on a gorgeous stand decorated with flowers and bees.

Of course, being the Blooming British Afternoon Tea, each of the desserts has flavours, ingredients and fully edible decorations that resemble bees. They were very sweet, so we unable to finish them all, but our server very kindly packaged them up in a box for us to take with us.

Our favourites were the Toffee Dome and Daisy & the Bee.

The price

We would say that for a 5 star hotel, the price of the Royal Lancaster Afternoon Tea is pretty reasonable. It's open Monday to Sunday, 13:00 - 16:00. For a weekday visit it's £55 and £30 for children. For adults, a weekend visit costs slightly more at £59 per person.

• £55 Monday to Friday
• £59 Saturday and Sunday
• £30 Children’s Afternoon Tea

A vegan option is also available.

Overall thoughts

Overall, the Royal Lancaster London Afternoon Tea is a delightful experience with top-notch service; I'd certainly be happy to visit again!

You can find the full Royal Lancaster London, A Blooming British Afternoon Tea with the Natural History Museum menu on their website.

Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing board games and spending time with her pet dogs, tortoise and chickens.