Skyline Afternoon Tea @ The Shard, London

There’s no denying that you’re mostly paying for the view at Ting Shangri-La, one of the restaurants up The Shard, London, but then the views are pretty special. If you’re on the best side, the Walkie Talkie is directly opposite and the muddy Thames stretches out beneath you, snaking under Tower Bridge and towards Canary Wharf. We were lucky to have perfectly blue skies as well, which really makes London glow. We were high up above to celebrate my friend’s 30th birthday with views and a very fancy schmancy afternoon tea. 

The drinks 

Upon arrival, we were all greeted with a 'welcome tea' in a teeny tiny - and totally gorgeous - china cup. I am not a tea drinker normally but this earl grey with strawberry puree, lemon juice & syrup - served cold on a very hot day - really hit the spot. I also had another tea that I wish I could remember the name of, but it tasted like apricot and honey and again, it convinced this non-tea drinker to drink more of it. There was also champagne and cocktails flowing; I stuck to the mocktail, ' The Jubilee Party' which was strawberry puree, pineapple, syrup, lemon, basil and soda - very refreshing. 

Savoury 

Finger sandwiches included beetroot salmon, pastrami and egg, served alongside mini hoisin duck pancakes and two choux rolls, one with chicken liver parfait and the other with prawn cocktail. This was all tasty but didn't blow me away if I'm honest, although this could have had something to do with the fact that I was eating the savouries around shushing a grumpy baby (yes he crashed the party, no he wasn’t invited but he won’t take a bottle so what ya gonna do). There was, however, a courgette and almond tart which was absolutely delicious. I could quite happily have eaten several of them alone. 

'A piece of architecture' 

The grand finale, so to speak, which we (I think accidentally) were served before the pastries was The Shard in chocolate form. Big shards of chocolate sprayed silver surrounding a rich, indulgent chocolate and raspberry mousse and served with an abundance of dry ice (to represent being up amongst the clouds). It was quite the showstopper and that mousse was delicious. We all agreed that - despite the apparent error - enjoying it before the pastries was better as we didn't think we could have managed it afterwards! 

Pastries 

Special shout out to the lemon and poppy seed scone which I very much enjoyed. This was served - along with a plain scone - with the usual strawberry jam and clotted cream. And then onto the delicate little 'cakes'. A hazelnut & passion fruit slice, the 'pearl of the queen', a ball of tonka mousse & strawberry compote encased in white chocolate, and the lime and blueberry 'jubilee tart'. It was all beautifully presented, the latter in particular with a purple, sparkly mirror glaze and a delicate white chocolate leaf on top. The tart and tonka mousse ball were my personal favourites; the combination of the creaminess and tart tang of the fruit were delicious. 

Obviously all of this came with a hefty price tag but you probably would know that already if you were planning on going up The Shard for afternoon tea. But for a special occasion, sitting above London with friends, whiling away the time with excellent views and eating unusual and tasty cakes was a very lovely way to spend an afternoon.