After my lovely experience at 'Tea Zone Masstricht' it was beyond question that I have to try out the famous 'Afternoon Tea' here, in London. I guess 'Bea's of Bloomsbury' is not the most traditional tea room in terms of atmosphere, but it is a very good one. I spent two lovely hours there, sipping my green jasmine tea and enjoying some very delicious pastries with the best company you can imagine :)


Afternoon Tea. As I said, one of the must-do's when you visit London and have some spare time. In England and especially here in London you can find many many places to enjoy a cup of tea and homemade scones with jam and clotted cream. You have tons of choices when it comes to the 'how'. How do you want you Afternoon Tea, or better said what type of cuisine do you prefer most.

There is the classical Afternoon Tea, which sure differs to a little extent from place to place in terms of quality, appearance etc., but there are also these restaurants, where you can have a dim sum or a sushi inspired Afternoon Tea. The classical one though, which I was looking for, is the one where you get a range of sweet pastries, scones and some sandwiches. Oh and of course a cup of tea.

While in quest of a nice and suitable place, not too expensive though, I bumped into many websites, recommendations and offers, but one caught my attention most. Obviously this was 'Bea's of Bloomsbury', due to its good recommendations, the menu and another little fact; Bea Vo the owner of 'Bea's of Bloomsbury' is the former head pastry chef for Nobu London. She has three cafes in London, I went to the one in St Paul's.





Type of Place: The place is nice, not too big and the atmosphere is very cosy when sitting, like us, upstairs on the sofas. It is not decorated in a very traditional way but rather with a modern touch here and there. I especially like the idea of tea pots hanging down from the ceiling as lamps and also the etageres on which the pastries were served on. Waiters are nice, quick, attentive AND patient, since we arrived half an hour too late. Ops.

Food: When you come here for Afternoon Tea, it is one scone (with jam and clotted cream) and one cupcake per person, some sandwiches and small brownies, blondies, marshmallows and meringues, all self-made of course. It tasted all very nice, very sweet - besides the sandwiches, which were filled with Caprese, ham and cheese or goat cheese - and I really liked the cupcakes, too, which doesn't happen every day. Maaaybe the cream was a bit to soft, but that is just my personal taste. The tea, too was good, although I was missing a bit the range of choices I had back in Maastricht at 'Teazone'. Here, you can choose between a few teas, usually Earl Grey, green tea, fruit tea, some black tea and Darjeeling, which taste really nice, but as said I missed the "green tea with cherry blossom" - kind of options here. Never mind, it was delicious anyways.

Price: The price for an Afternoon Tea with sandwiches, pastries and one pot of tea is 19£ per person. If you want it with bubbles the price is 26£ per person. I guess this is the normal amount of money you have to pay here in London for Afternoon Tea. I'd say it is even in the lower range of the price scale concerning what you get for your money.

Location: Bea’s of Bloomsbury – St. Paul’s, 83 Watling Street, London, EC4M 9BX