Macaroons and Mad Hatters

My life seems to be full of macaroons at the moment. If I’m not singing about them in rehearsals for Acorn Antiques, I’m tasting them in the rather gorgeous surrounds of the Royal Horseguards Hotel in London.

You may remember I attended a travel bloggers day in London a couple of weeks ago. The venue was the opulent Royal Horseguards Hotel, situated on the river Thames, just opposite the London Eye.

While we were there, the hotel management took the opportunity to show us what delights are available for children if they were to take afternoon tea in the hotel. I thought afternoon tea might just involve a few sandwiches with the crusts cut off, a cream cake or two and a nice pot of Darjeeling. However, at the Royal Horseguards, they take afternoon tea to a totally different level and they welcome children wholeheartedly.

We were able to sample some exquisite confectionery including tiny lemon macaroons, gingerbread men, strawberry lollipops and home-made chocolate letters spelling out the name of the hotel. This is definitely a treat for a very special occasion, costing £12 for children under 12, but utterly delightful. For that price children receive sandwiches of their choice ( including nutella and jam), tea party pastries, fruit, cakes and scones. A colouring book and puzzle are provided too plus a drink of Baby Chai Latte, ‘Babichino’ or fruit juice. Adults can choose from a variety of tea menus and, as the hotel has been awarded an Award of Excellence from the Tea Guild, you can be assured of the quality.

Samples of treats available for children’s afternoon tea.

If you visit between 31 March and 7 April 2013 the theme for the afternoon tea is Mad Hatter’s Tea Time with a special menu for both adults and children (£35 for adults, £12 for children). The treats include jam tarts with hearts, white rabbit coconut cupcake, ‘drink me’ layered bubble shot, ‘eat me’ passion fizz cake and a chessboard battenburg.

As Mrs Overall would say, “Cheer your afternoon with a macaroon, put a smile on your face…”