When Gin and Afternoon Tea are put in the same title, then I’m there!
The Connaught Hotel has been offering a Gin Afternoon Tea for a while now and it’s been on my list to try. Lucky when I gifted a friend a voucher for her birthday last year, I knew she’d end up dragging her gin loving friend along with her.
With an extensive gin list and a dedicated gin bar I had high hopes for this hotel and my god did they no disappoint.
The staff where extremely welcoming and the restaurant area has been decorated beautifully.
The Gin
On arrival we were given a menu with a list of gins to choose from and offered to sit anywhere we wanted within the restaurant. Normally for a Gin Afternoon Tea I’m used to being given one option and that’s normally the house gin or something made particularly for the restaurant. Well this is where The Connaught stands out. We could choose any Gins from the a list of around 15 to 20 which was already paired with a mixer.
I went with Lumbers Bartholomew Berkshire Dry Gin, mixed with Fever Tree Light Tonic. The flavours to this was incredible and one of the best gins I’ve tried in a while. Sadly their distillery is now closed down so it’s unlikely I’ll get a chance to have this again.
Vicki went with the Whitley Neill Peach, mixed with Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic. This one was delicious. Fruity, summery and a delight to sip on.
The Food
The Afternoon Tea itself came served on a three tier stand.
The bottom tier being the finger sandwiches with fillings such as Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese, Ham & Tomato and Egg Mayo. Sadly me being the fussiest person with sandwich fillings ever did not touch mine, however Vicki can vouch for saying they were very nice.
The middle tier is the queen of tiers in my eyes. The scones! One plain and one fruit each with homemade strawberry jam and clotted cream. The scones were served warm and had that nice crispy outside and fluffy in the middle.
The top tier is where the sweet tooth kicks in. We had Macarons, Black Forest Gateaux, Victoria Sponge, Lemon Sponge and Chantilly Cream. My favourite had to be the Lemon Sponge.
Overall this is a perfect Afternoon Tea for a gift, or a treat to yourself.
Price: ££ / Where: 30 West Hill Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 5PH / Phone: 01202 298020 / Website: www.theconnaught.co.uk/
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