the collins room - the berkeley

my flatmate (and fellow birthdate buddy) and i, had been researching places all over london for the past couple of months and with such a vast selection to dig through, we finally narrowed it down to one fabulous hotel located in knightsbridge - the berkeley's fashionista's afternoon tea.

prêt-à-portea is their latest and greatest creation. with an assortment of colours and themes inspired by the worlds finest fashion designers. if you're a fashionista then this would be right up your alley. 

after being seated on a luxurious caramel coloured leather chair, we were welcomed with of complimentary glass of laurent perrier bubbles and some brightly coloured green menus awaiting our our perusal. 

leading designers such as jimmy choo, alexandra mcqueen, valentino and my favourite man of fashion at the moment, moschino have all been used to create some mouthwatering cakes, elegant canapés and fancies for your tasting pleasure. 

a selection ofteasandwiches were bought to the table first, followed by a beautifully presented three tier cake plate. 

a vintageteapot of opulent orange chilliteawas ordered and we were all set to go. all the china here is designed by paul smith, so quality has not been spared. 

we came up with a divided strategy to eat 1-2 savoury then change it up with something sweet. its all about life balances as they say :)

matthew williamson macaroon, moschino 'yellow m' handbag of blood orange and victorian sponge cake, creamy than creamier goats cheese and chutney together with dolce & gabbana's whimsical owl with blackcurrant flavours of the forest and milk chocolate sprinkles are just some of the wonderful creations the berkeley have come up with. 

everything is constantly replenished, so as to be expected, you will no doubt over eat and why not i say, it cant be helped when you are surrounded by such good looking pieces of food art.

another option is to bundle up the left overs in a cutesy fuchsia cardboard bag to take away with you. just another glamorous touch that the berkeley has to offer. 

top notch service, sophistication and pure elegance. a wonderful way to spend a birthday or any afternoon for that matter. don't forget to take a few snaps in the front foyer before you leave. their flowers are designed by mcqueen's and i believe, are some of the best arrangements around. just gorgeous!

dear diary,

the best for the last! sadly i am leaving london tonight but it’s been an amazing 10 days trip meeting fantastic people, doing good work and mainly eating super food! this afternoon, we went to the berkeley where they have the pret- a- portea going on. it's their 10th anniversary and this afternoonteais a delicate collection of cakes and fancies, inspired by the world’s finest designers. our afternoonteastarted with an amazing plate of mini sandwiches and burgers, along with a steaming pot of tea. the sandwiches included chicken, duck, salmon, egg and mayo and a pesto one too. they were all beyond yummy. then came the highlight- our dessert stand! every dessert on that tray was a piece of art and i am only going to mention a few of them! burberry’s classic trench coat taking the form of a chocolate biscuit with creamy royal icing, jimmy choo’s glittery gala pointed- toe shoe in velvet praline cream cake with hazelnut with hazelnut croquant. other desserts were inspired by monolo blahnik, lanvin, moschino and the list goes on! you get the idea? perfect afternoon for someone who loves shopping and food! yes, it’s a pinch on your pocket but once in a while indulgence is necessary, right? so goodbye london, see you very soon again!

cake.  that’s what this blog post is about.  and lot’s of it.  because that is what what prêt-à-portea at the berkeley is all about. i’d been looking forward to this occasion so much.  i’d been to afternoonteaat other fancy pants hotels in london, but prêt-à-portea is the one that had been on my list forever.

i came to the caramel room for the famous pret a portea and it did not disappoint.

we arrived at the caramel room and were escorted to our table. to my delight, i had a personalised reservation in my name waiting on our table. i’m a sucker for the little things! we chose the £39 afternoon, but for an extra £10 you could decide to make it a champagne afternoonteawith a glass of laurent perrier.

at your table, you are presented with a booklet to explain the inspiration and themes behind this season’s treats. every six months the menu changes to keep up with the changing fashion seasons. for this season, ourteaincluded a chocolate biscuit heel inspired by manolo blahnik, a tory burch magenta bikini biscuit, a jason wu coconut hatbox, dolce and gabbana pistachio panna cotta, alexander mcqueen honeycomb cream, and a balenciaga chocolate mousse and brownie, just to name a few.

i tried to be adventurous and strayed away from my regular earl greyteaand tried a herbal infusion of posh pomelo and melon tea. it was like a party in a glass. i decided not to get a refill (the infusion tasted like sweets after awhile) which they happily took away and replaced with my beloved earl grey.

like the tea, the food was also refreshed. i didn’t care for the cucumber gazpacho, so they took this out and replaced it with extra roasted vegetable tarts. after two helpings of sandwiches and a refill on all the mini treats, my belly was bursting. i highly reccomend the taster spoon of foie gras with a mysterious condiment – it was as if willy wonka himself had made a magic spoon that tasted just like a roast dinner.

you do need to book in advance here but i had only booked a couple of weeks beforehand for 2 people on a sunday afternoon. any leftovers are placed in pretty little handbag shaped boxes for you to take home and show off to your friends.

did i miss the scones and clotted cream? definitely not- and it’s not just the lactose thing either. for a bit of quirk and charm, i’d pick the berkeley forteaany day.

afternoonteaat the berkeley takes place in the caramel room and is aptly named prêt-à-portea. each part of theteahas been designed with various top fashion designers in mind. we had a lovely table by the window which was so well presented. the menus were brightly coloured and inside was a bright  and bold fashion slogan. mine read ‘work it’ and danny’s read ‘strike a pose’, i loved it already! the menu sounded amazing...

the place has a lovely ambiance and a beautiful decor which is very pleasing and pleasant. the service is great and the staff is hospitable, friendly and very knowledgeable. the staff made sure we had a nice time and made us feel very comfortable. the food as well as theteawas outstanding. i would definitely visit this place again and will surely recommend it.

this is a afternoon themesteaplace like many others in london but according to me i really loved the flavors here.
the view was good and same goes for the staff . i really liked pret-a-portea here and that is a must try .
they have a caramel room which is a good touch.
if you want to have a good time then this place is surely for you.

i have always had a delightful experience whenever i come to this place. if you want to enjoy a hot cup ofteaalong with some freshly baked pastries overlooking a beautiful environment, then this is the place to be. the snack menu also seems good and i would try few of them on my next visits. service has always been quick and efficient. highly recommended!!

i was looking forward to my myteahere and was a little disappointed. the food was not all that good, but had very fancy names all inspired by fashion lines of world famous designers, some of the cakes looked exquisite too, with the elaborate and detailed designing.

one of my favorite cafes that serve excellentteaand coffee. they have a nice and sweet collection of sweets and mini sandwiches also. the desserts are delicious. the must try are the pink polka dot cakes and the various flavors of tea. the cafe is a gem with beautiful view and a calm ambiance.

there are different themed afternoon teas in london but probably none like the one in the berkeley. the pret-a-portea afternoonteain their caramel room is perfect for every fashion aficionados

beautiful desserts, bland tea. out of all the teas we went to in london (goring, mad hatter, parliament, caramel room), we found that the caramel room definitely had the most elaborate desserts. unfortunately, the fruitteaand the caramelteawe ordered were also the most bland. we were also confused as to why our dessert tier only had one of each dessert since there were two of us and we paid for two (other people's tiers seem to have multiples) . i think we were allowed to order more later but it was initially a pain to try and split those tiny, delicate desserts between two people. the inconvenient serving method and blandteawould keep us from going back. by the end, we were filled up enough to not really want to bother with ordering a "second" serving but i can't feel like i left the place feeling a little ripped off.

i had high hopes for the afternoonteaand sadly the best part of the experience was the glass (or 2) of laurent-perrier. the menu features creative interpretations of ready-to-wear collections from designers such as oscar de la renta, alexander mcqueen, tory burch and prada. although some of the cakes were beautiful to look at and intricately designed, the taste just didn’t cut it and being s - see more at: http://thechicbrulee.com/2013/08/19/pret-a-portea-at-the-berkeley-a-review/#sthash.nsi8nytk.dpuf

theteaconsists of your choice of any of the many deliciousteachoices (i went with the pear caramel, mmm), a plate of mini-finger sandwiches, and a dessert stand full of tiny desserts inspired by each of the designer's collection pieces. my favorite treats were the manolo blahnik pink polka dot cake with gianduja cream and the prada nougatine and beriolette mousse with geometric pattern, although i really did like everything on the stand (sweet tooth problems..). we also chowed down on some yummy finger sandwiches and scones with clot