Champagne, sandwiches and a three-tiered cake stand came with Jing tea so we knew that the afternoon tea at the Pullman would be a marathon and not a sprint. This is the Hotel’s homage to Chocolate Week and we simply couldn’t have asked for more.
Mr sadly hasn’t the sweetest tooth but the Irish singer/songwriter Lisa Hannigan does and I when I mentioned the words ‘chocolate’ and ‘afternoon tea’ she jumped at the chance. I couldn’t have asked for a better companion, she loves to cook and is loving watching the Great British Bake Off, so we had lots to talk about. She’s just started a culture podcast called ‘Soundings’ with her friend Dylan Haskins and it’s really very good. Download it here.
The afternoon tea is in The Golden Arrow Bar and Lounge at the Pullman Hotel. For those who know King’s Cross well, it’s on the site of the former Novotel which is now owned by the Accor Hotel Group and they’ve given it a £10m makeover.
It’s within walking distance of King’s Cross and St Pancras for the Eurostar Terminal and we both saw that the bar has an exhaustive whisky collection. A great place to go when you don’t want your holiday to end.
Whilst we weren’t asked if any of us were vegetarian (Lisa is) we offered sandwiches which were a good mix but left the minute steak and the ham options. It didn’t really matter though because we had a mass of chocolate to enjoy. Smoked salmon and cream cheese came on a crisp rye bread base and sprinkled with toasted sunflower seeds, no boring egg and cress here a filling had been rolled in a white wrap, and the traditional cucumber sandwich (Lisa’s first EVER) was on a walnut and sultana bread. She loved it. The bread was incredibly fresh and the fillings tasty.
Not a huge fan of tea, I asked the waiter to choose mine but Jing or not, my mind is firmly made up, it’s just not for me. The highly perfumed passion fruit tea looked and smelled amazing but for me, it didn’t get any better. Lisa loved her English Breakfast tea.
I ‘suffered’ the no-tea option by drinking a lovely chilled glass of Laurent Perrier.
I should mention that the service was perfect, not overbearing but visible and just how I like it.
Then the cake stand arrived overflowing with predominately chocolate treats, don’t forget it is Chocolate Week.
For those who know their chocolate, the chefs here have used the Swiss brand Felchlin.
Mini-cornets filled with a white chocolate airy ganache had been sprinkled with freeze-dried raspberry confetti, there were chocolate eclairs with a faint hint of lavender in the cream.
These teardrop shaped, mousse-filled creations were light and fluffy, complete with boozy cherries injected with a potent Kirsch and completed with an edible pansy.
The scones were chocolate but if you needed more, had large chunks of it. Glass cubes of sweetened double cream and a hazelnut chocolate spread so thick that the teaspoon stood up in it were extras for the scones. Lisa said the chocolate spread tasted “like very posh Nutella” and she was spot-on.
Delicate French fancies added brightness to the plates.
An intricate checkerboard cake was held together with a berry jam and, like everything on the plate, simply beautiful and a real shame to destroy.
An hour and a half in, we’re beaten and although the tea was still flowing, there was plenty of food left.
I don’t think the hotel has guests who leave any of their afternoon tea. I asked to take away some of the fancies we couldn’t manage and a small bag arrived with napkins. Lisa managed to get them home in one piece to her Mr who loved them as much as we did.
The Golden Arrow limited edition Chocolate High Tea, 2pm-6pm, daily
Chocolate High Tea, £25pp, Champagne Chocolate High Tea, £35ppPullman Hotel, St Pancras, 100 – 110 Euston Road, London, NW1 2AJ
Chocolate High Tea, £25pp, Champagne Chocolate High Tea, £35ppPullman Hotel, St Pancras, 100 – 110 Euston Road, London, NW1 2AJ
Thank you to the Pullman Hotel who had us as guests and to my tea companion Lisa Hannigan.
