The Dorchester Afternoon Tea @ Mayfair, London
The Dorchester Afternoon Tea begins with savoury finger sandwiches. Crusts are removed from fresh baked white and brown breads and the delicate slices are filled with smoked salmon, egg, chicken, cream cheese and cucumber. Warm scones arrive next, made from a recipe unchanged at The Dorchester for over half a century. They are served with glistening strawberry jam and Cornish clotted cream. The final course is the pièce de resistance, the platter of cakes and tartlets. The Dorchester Afternoon Tea £38.50 ++per person
The Dorchester Hotel, Mayfair London
Park Lane, London W1K 1QA
Tel: 020 7629 8888
The Dorchester was created by the famous builder Sir Robert McAlpine and the managing director of Gordon Hotels Ltd, Sir Frances Towle, who shared a vision of creating the ‘perfect hotel’: ultramodern and ultra-efficient, with all the conveniences modern technology could supply. So, in 1929 their two companies jointly bought the Dorchester House, a large 19th-century building, and quickly had it demolished. Sir Owen Williams and William Curtis Green were commissioned to design the new hotel, using reinforced concrete to allow the creation of large internal spaces without support pillars (Sir Robert's nickname was "Concrete Bob", due to his love for the new building material). The construction was carried out by Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, with the upper eight floors erected in just 10 weeks, supported on a massive three feet thick reinforced concrete deck that forms the roof of the first floor.
During the Second World War, the strength of its construction gave the hotel the reputation of being one of London's safest buildings. Cabinet Ministers, such as Lord Halifax and Duff Cooper, stayed there during this time, as did Winston Churchill, who had a wall built to add privacy to his balcony, which still exists. General Dwight D. Eisenhower took a suite on the first floor (now the Eisenhower Suite) in 1942 after previously having stayed at Claridge's. Diners at the Dorchester from cultural circles during this period included Cyril Connolly, T. S. Eliot, Harold Nicolson, and Edith Sitwell.
On 3 June 1982, Shlomo Argov, the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom was shot and seriously injured in an assassination attempt as he left The Dorchester. The attack was the immediate cause for the 1982 Lebanon War.
In 1988, the hotel closed for two years for a major refit. The hotel was completely updated and the Promenade, Grill Room, and the Oliver Messel Suite were meticulously restored, to reopen in 1990. The Dorchester is owned by the Dorchester Collection, which in turned is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), an arm of the Ministry of Finance of Brunei. The Dorchester Collection owns luxury hotels in the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and Italy.
High profile celebrities that have stayed at The Dorchester over the years have included[citation needed] Britney Spears, Julie Andrews, Kim Basinger, Warren Beatty, Yul Brynner, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Mariah Carey, Tom Cruise, Judy Garland, Johnny Depp, Russell Crowe, Jack Black, Charlton Heston, Nicole Kidman, Joan Collins, James Mason, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Peter Sellers, and Kenneth Horne (who died in the hotel). Other famous entertainers who have been guests include Morrissey, Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Cecil Beaton, Noel Coward, Peter Kay, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Duke Ellington, Prince (musician), Somerset Maugham, and Lady GaGa.
Afternoon Tea is served five times daily, 1.15pm, 2.30pm, 3.15pm, 4.45pm and 5.15pm in The Promenade. The Spatisserie Afternoon Tea is served three times daily, 3.30pm, 4.45pm and 6.45pm in The Spatisserie.
The Dorchester is a proud member of the prestigious Tea Guild 2011 Award of Excellence.
Dress Code: Smart Casual
A selection of French pastries
A selection of our especially selected grand and rare teas
For Reservation
Call: 020 7629 8888
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