Tea at The Capital

That the full afternoon tea is the work of just a small team of chefs seems an even more impressive feat when tray upon tray of identical miniature cakes and sandwiches are presented to us. In terms of size the portions are perfectly pitched, and while juggling a dainty bacon and mushroom quiche in one hand and a dangerously drinkable hibiscus gin cocktail in the other was difficult work standing up (let’s face it, after a couple of those cocktails standing up at all was difficult work) the hotel’s usual seated tea environment would incur none of these problems.

As the trays circulate it isn’t long before there are whisperings in the air about the lemon drizzle cake, with one enthusiastic guest declaring it the best they had ever had. It is good – simultaneously dense and moist, with a stunning citrusy tang – but for me the real winners of the afternoon are the warm crumpets. Topped with cream cheese and generous folds of smoked salmon, these were good enough for me to break an afternoon tea taboo and dip back into savoury after firmly establishing myself in the sweet course.

The selection was a noticeable departure from the French pâtisserie items so commonly found on the tea menus of London hotels. Instead, the items were distinctly British – think egg sandwiches on brown bread, smoked mackerel pâté, Victoria sponge cakes. The move back towards the traditional was a conscious decision on Easton’s part: ‘for a while we had seasonally changing menus with lots of different items, but then we decided to strip it back to the classics – with our own Capital spin on it, of course – because, at the end of the day, there’s nowhere to hide with the classics.'

He’s quite right. Despite the slightly more creative top tier (why aren’t more meals served in multiple layers?) containing the impressive Neapolitan ice cream sandwich and a rich, tangy chocolate orange trifle, all the other items were familiar faces to us all. When you know what a cake should taste like its quality is easier to judge. In some cases, this is a risk – as Easton himself admitted – but of this spread it’s safe to say the gamble paid off.