Let’s flash back a couple of years, to when Fresh and Fearless was born. I did not even know that people used Twitter to promote their blogs or that Twitter chats even existed. It took me some time to get my head around it all, which led to me to follow a couple of bloggers. One of those bloggers was Belle from The Life And Times Of Belle. We had so much in common, we both had horses, had the same style of clothing and were studying very similar degrees at university too, whilst running blogs that were created around a similar time. What are the odds? I think that is fate! I would definitely call Belle my first true blogger friend and after two years, she made it to London and we actually diarised a day to meet up.
Anxiously counting down the days, as my exams decreasing in number by the day, we were slowly getting there. A level of excitement I could not even contain, it is like meeting a long lost friend without having ever met them. That’s not normal, is it?!
However, when your first ever blogger friend is in town, there is no way I could pass up the opportunity to take her to an afternoon speciality, especially as they are becoming a never ending treat for me, but it is also a lovely informal way to socialise too.
The venue of choice was 108 Brasserie, after hearing so much about the dining experience I decided that the afternoon tea must be equally as good? Was I right? You will soon find out…
This afternoon tea experience definitely had its good and bad points. Lets start with the service, which was excellent – very attentive and accommodating. I pointed out that I could not eat pork and they brought out a variety of extra vegetarian sandwiches too which was fantastic. We were give an opportunity to smell all the varieties of teas available and also allowed us to swap to a different type of tea after every pot (Yes, we drink a lot of tea).
I managed to eat the smoked salmon sandwich without feeling nauseous too, as it was surprisingly not overpowering with a fishy taste. The first place I have found this to be the case, so it was a real positive for me.
The scones were delicious, so soft and well risen, served with clotted cream and extremely smooth strawberry jam which was delicious – my favourite part of an afternoon tea.
The last tier, the dessert section is normally supposed to be the most exciting and tastiest… However I felt it was a bit of a let down. The treats they offered were not particularly appealing taste wise. However, they were perfectly photogenic. The treat tier was made up of orange jelly with cucumber, raspberry, blackberry and grape pieces inside. A small coconut and walnut cake that I felt was a little dry and had an overpowering coconut taste – which was a real shame. Second to last, was a black forest fruits/ cherry brownie. It had a lovely consistency however, the strong taste of cherry put us both off it. Lastly, the passion fruit meringue which was the only winner out of all four treats, deliciously sweet with a topping of fresh passion fruit seeds on top.
Overall, a lovely inviting experience with fantastic decor inside and friendly, attentive service but with alternative treats, the whole visit would have been exceptional.
108 Pantry
108 Marylebone Lane
Marylebone
London
W1U 2QE
Until next time…
