mad hatters tea - sanderson london hotel

came here with my girls on saturday afternoon for a tea party. the atmosphere in the garden is lovely and the alice in wonderland theme for the food and tea also cute, but for the price of £45 per head, i think it’s quite overpriced.

i found the bread is a bit dry, the scone texture unpleasant and the chocolate cake also dry and stodgy. for the high price i was expecting a lot better. so, my overallexperience: 3/5.

i've always wanted to try the mad hatter afternoon tea ever since i saw this. and although theexperiencewas great, i wouldn't consider it to be the best afternoon tea i've ever had. the food was filling, really quaint and aesthetically pleasing. but some of the food was too sweet or generally they weren't too memorable. the cocktail was delicious though and the tea was delightful.

the sanderson has long been one of my favourite places for staying in their beautiful rooms and to sip on their delicious cocktails in the long bar, so i decided it was time to try out the 'afternoon tea' option as a dining experience.

seated outside in the courtyard, with the sounds of flowing water, starts off theexperienceas a relaxing and tranquil one, that being said, some music would be preferable as afterall it is a saturday evening. the decor itself, was light and airy, much like the rest of the hotel, with water features and wooden decking. perfectly fitting for a hot summers night.

our waitress was attentive, friendly, and helpful with explaining the menu, without being over bearing. she enquired about any food allergies and also asked if we would like to opt for the upgraded champagne option, which we agreed to.

first to come out was the mini cocktails on a tray, which our waitress went on to explain what they were. unfortunately the explanation sounded far more tempting than the taste of them. memories of childhood cough syrup came flooding back to me on each cocktail, which certainly isn't a pleasant one. i feel that there should possibly be an option for which mini cocktails you can have, as the ones as standard, were less than desirable and on reflection, a waste, as they were left unfinished.

next out, the tasty treats, all again explained and as an added bonus, refillable. in particular, the salmon scotch eggs were delicious, as were the white chocolate truffles. the mini carrot shaped macaron melted in your mouth and the mini, thick creamy cocktail was refreshing and moorish. so moorish in fact that the above mentioned were asked to be refilled, which was done quickly.

overall, and for the price, theexperiencewas a good one. the mini cocktails and the lack of evening ambiance however, were the only notable points that let the tipsy tea evening down.

afternoon tea with a twist and a trip back to the good old memories of watching alice in wonderland.

i liked it a lot but i didn't love it. the sitting and surrounding of the hotel is somewhat disappointing, as it is only standard hotel lounge.

croquet monsieur was yum, different to usual ones, presentation is cute and quirky. the ice cream plant pot was really good but at that point we were too full to fit them in but it was so nice!

they gave me an extra slice of cake as it was my birthday as well, which was very nice!

i'm slightly torn about the rating, between 3.5 and 4 as food was served late, some cakes were super average and the sitting wasn't that nice.

we paid £55 each incl service as we had an additional cocktail each to start with.

would i recommend? if you want an afternoon tea with a twist then yes but do it when the weather is nice so you can sit in the garden, which would have made myexperiencebetter but i went in december so, tough for me.

my friend had been going on about the afternoon tea at the sanderson, so we finally decided to go here the other day.

it is themed around alice in wonderland, which i believe was executed well through the dining set and food but otherwise you would not be able to tell what the theme was just by stepping in to the room. the room is very clean and spacious with a small waterfall in the middle and a glass ceiling. 

the menu was inside a vintage reading book and we were presented with some flavored tea to choose from. i had the strawberry flavor and my friend opted fro her classic earl grey. i would recommend getting a typical english breakfast tea or whatever you re use to as the flavored tea can get slightly bitter and ruins the taste of all the sweets you are about to indulge in.

the sandwiches were nice and my favorite dessert was the mango cheesecake. there is also jelly set out on a separate table, which you can help yourself to.

overall this is a lovelyexperiencehowever, all the sweets can get a bit too much; my friend and i didn’t manage to eat everything and felt paying £48 each, was expensive. however, it does have a very unique concept and if you don’t mind paying that much then give this a visit.

having always been obsessed with alice in wonderland and all the craziness that goes with it, i couldn't have been more pleased that my friends decided to treat me to the mad hatter's tea at the sanderson for my birthday-finally! i can be alice, i'll get a potion that says' drink me' and i'll eat -anyway, just to say i was so excited about it...but sadly i was a little disappointed- i'm pretty sure alice's tea party tasted better, and she didn't pay 70 pounds for it. i think that with this place, it just looks pretty-everything you eat looks pretty, but i just wish it was a little prettier tasting. for the price we payed, i would have expected to be served the equivalent of gourmet-tasting sandwiches, fresh scones, pastries made with the finest chocolate.. i don't know.. something that would have made myexperiencemore memorable than just the endless pictures i took of the food presentation. i thought everything tasted slightly artificial... it's like when you eat something and you're looking for something more-is it missing salt? is it too sweet?- that kind of feeling. but, as i said, when it comes to the presentation and the atmosphere-i have to give them a thumbs up. if i would go back, or take a true foodie with me? no. if you have high expectations when you're expecting to pay a high price, this isn't the place. but if you want to sit in a nice terrace, have pretty cups and food set on your table, and pretend you're in wonderland before taking a bite, then ok, try it out! it's fun. it's just the bill didn't make it fun for me- i don't mind paying high, but it has to, has to be good-really good. 

opinions about this tea party seem quite divided; honestly, it would be brilliant if they up'd the food.  it's a niceexperiencewhere the theme, at least, is perfectly evident, but not worth the price.

lovely option for an afternoon tea. the place is wonderfully arranged , tastefully decorated , and the service is impeccable . the food is nice too , and so are the beverages . a must visit for a nice and relaxingexperienceat tea . will come back soon .

theexperienceends with what is optimistically titled "jelly wonderland" which turns out to be a table that you can go and serve yourself from buffet style of various flavoured jellies.