REVIEW: VINTRY & MERCER CIRCUS TEA

AG
21 minutes ago
3 min read

We step right up for this luxurious afternoon tea, which brings the Big Top to our table

Ever been to a circus where a five-year-old magician makes the Big Top, clowns and acrobats disappear before your very eyes?

I witness this feat when I take my tiny Ringmaster to City of London’s five star, luxury hotel, Vintry & Mercer for their new, Circus Afternoon Tea.

One of our cakey highlights last year was their Magic of Afternoon Tea, which takes place in the moody, candlelit DND Bar downstairs - read our review here. So expectations are high, when we arrive.

This colourful experience takes place in the light and airy Vintry Kitchen, with fresh green foliage draped above us, drenched with sunshine from the glass skylights.

The mood is set, when we are presented with nostalgic popcorn cartons, along with glazed cherry apples, coated in popping candy.

My son is thrilled with his hot chocolate - frothy milk, for him to stir with a chocolate Ringmaster lollipop and top with marshmallows. To his delight, the mug’s acrobat illustration disappears with each sip.

I am brought a glass of perfectly chilled Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut, while I choose my hot tipple from their Tea Parade.

In dramatic swirls of dry ice, our afternoon teas arrive in giant golden cages - the Circus Tea for me and the Junior version for him.

The top tier’s Pastry Parade is a show-stopper. An acrobat - crafted from bourbon marble sable - balances on top of a dreamy, creamy blackberry and white chocolate cheesecake.

The Big Top is constructed from red and white chocolate, which cracks satisfyingly like an egg, to reveal pink raspberry and lemon mousse.

We both love the Balancing Nelly cake pop, featuring a blue chocolate elephant balancing on a gold-dusted, red chocolate ball, filled with moist and dense chocolate cake, and exploding with popping candy.

There’s also a perfectly chewy, blue macaron, artfully decorated with a carousel horse, with a gorgeous peach and raspberry filling.

Naturally we start with the savoury - we’re not complete monsters - and as a savoury-toothed tiger, these were excellent.

The adult’s menu features a fluffy Yorkshire pudding stuffed with perfectly pink roast beef, horseradish and gravy - I could eat approximately 80 of these with no regrets.

There is a moreish truffled egg brioche bun; smoked salmon, caviar and cream cheese on wholemeal bread, and a tangy Coronation chicken brioche with mango chutney.

The child-pleasing kid’s savouries include jam sarnies, cheese straws shaped like witch hats, and flaky sausage rolls - the latter are a huge hit with my son. All savouries can be replenished if you're as greedy as him.

We’re so merrily stuffed by the end, that we only manage a few bites of the homemade buttermilk scones, which are fresh and fluffy with perfectly crisped edges and come in plain and raisin with strawberry jam and clotted cream.

Vintry & Mercer has triumphed again with this afternoon tea, providing the perfect balance of fun, creativity, wonderful detail and theatre with high quality, exquisitely prepared food.

Crucially, the menus are designed to appeal to adults and children - and my son would run away with this circus in a heartbeat.

Vintry & Mercer, 19-20 Garlick Hill, London EC4V 2AU. Circus Tea, £54.50/adult or £69.50 with glass of Champagne. Junior Circus Tea, £39.50/child