Finally, after much talk, I made it to the Sanderson’s Mad Hatter Tea. I had wanted to go for a long time – no secret I am a huge fan of the hotel, the long bar, the lips sofa (really, just the lips sofa, I freaking love it), but I wanted to have this much appealing themed afternoon tea.

It is nice now that they have extended their last seating to 18:30, making it possible to get there after work without too much of a hurry.

For tea, people are seated outside, with a view over the water feature. The weather was lovely but they have heavy-duty heaters, so even when it is cold, it is still pleasant.

I have to say that everything looks superb and the theme is clearly seen, with very cute details providing that extra touch, like the music box with sugar cubes, the little charade as a napkin holder, the beautiful Luna & Curious crockery, the clock-shaped Victoria sponge, the chocolate cup, the help-yourself jelly trolley and the drink me potion. Love.

Taste wise, most items were extremely good, but the mango cheesecake, which was beautiful to look at, was a bit weird; a ball of mango puree explodes inside the cheesecake upon cutting into it, looking like an egg yolk, which put me off a bit, but my friend totally off – and the mango taste wasn’t that strong.

The sandwiches were nice, but the egg filling one, quite dry, think it needed a bit more mayo.  My favourites bits were really the carrot meringue on a pea-shoot bed, the cucumber sandwich (really! I know!), the matcha tea mousse on a chocolate cup and the drink me potion. The savoury scones and the quiche were rather nice too, to be honest.

Here is the full menu:

We ordered a bottle of house champagne, which costs about £80 (I think!) and is the perfect accompaniment to the tea!

A tad disappointing in terms of food – maybe my expectations were too high, as from reading the menu I thought I’d LOVE everything and a couple of items let me down. Still, a great overall experience, for the novelty,  ambiance, the rest of the menu (there is plenty of food!) and the drinks at the Long Bar afterwards, so I recommend it.

And here is some gratuitous fun at the hotel’s amazing seating options:

The Mad Hatter afternoon tea is served daily at the Sanderson Hotel (which I highly recommend anyway, as a hotel and the Long Bar!) and it is priced from £38 per person. Advance booking essential.