When it comes to afternoon tea in London, why not opt for a quintessentially British affair at the iconic National Gallery? Afternoon tea is held in the spectacular Ochre restaurant, with many of its original period features, including grand high ceilings and windows, which light up the room with so much natural lighting and striking views over Nelson’s Column.
The restaurant showcases sleek modern glamour with world-class food. Offering a truly delightful dining experience that will have diners returning again and again. It is open for lunch, dinner and a daily afternoon tea service. The bar serves everything from its own extraordinary cocktail creations to champagne cocktails and classics with a twist – don’t miss out on champagne and oysters happy hour, which is popular with Londoners.
Afternoon tea at Ochre is everything you’d expect from a luxury London afternoon tea experience. The newly launched Lavergne Chocolate Afternoon Tea explores the world of chocolate. Created by Ochre’s Head Pastry Chef, Rebecca Morrison– which pay tribute to Jean-Etienne Liotard’s painting The Lavergne Family Breakfast (1754), which was recently on display in the Discover Liotard and The Lavergne Family Breakfast exhibition.
You’re in for a traditional start – with dainty finger sandwiches with all your classics, think filled generously with free range egg mayonnaise and cress, ham and tomato on mustard mayonnaise, cucumber and Scottish smoked salmon with dill– all impeccably cut into finger-sized pieces. No afternoon tea is complete without scones, and you have a selection of plain and chocolate to graze on, and we can confirm the ones here are light, fluffy and fresh out of the oven, scones are accompanied by clotted cream, rich chocolate ganache and strawberry jam – Ochre’s own, naturally.
The finale is a dazzling array of chocolate-themed patisserie cakes; highlights include the Gianduja 35% Hazelnut Chocolate Praline Dome, think of this like the most sublime melt in your mouth Ferrero Rocher style chocolate you’ve ever sampled (but ten times better) and Ochre’s take on a chocolate brownie – a confection of coconut ganache and 70% dark chocolate brownie, as well as the very moreish Valrhona Opalys White Chocolate Tart.
You can opt for a cocktail to accompany your afternoon tea experience – there’s a special chocolate creation to accompany the new menu or crisp glass of Champagne for £65 per person, while the tea, of which there are several varieties, we wanted to stick with the theme and opted for the special chocolate creation tea which was utterly comforting and is served green-and-white floral-print Burleigh Pottery.
I dare any chocolate lover not to enjoy this experience, but hurry as you only have up until May to get your chocolate fix in.
The Lavergne Chocolate Afternoon Tea, £55 per person or £65 per person with a glass of champagne or cocktail
Ochre London, National Gallery, Trafalgar Sq, London WC2N 5DN
