Jik planted the idea of having high tea in London in my mind. And I was like, of course, when in England and all that. It took me some time to research the places that do high tea in London because if it was going to be a one-time thing, I wanted to make it count.
At first, I looked at the traditional hotels for high tea options; some looked so proper and beautiful. But then, reflecting, I had done high tea in fancy-ish places before, from Hopetoun Tea Rooms in Melbourne with Jik, my cousin’s baby shower in Singapore, to Kempinski Jakarta with Amma. I didn’t feel like repeating the same thing concept in London.
Also, by then, I had been to The Wolseley for Kedgeree breakfast, essentially ticking off a posh moment while in London.
Lastly, I knew I would need to find a place that was not too much for Fafa, who has never been into high tea. To quote him when I floated the idea of a high-tea date: “no beer, no fun“.
Eventually, I found a high tea idea that was the perfect combination of something new, something London and something fun for Fafa.
High Tea in London Double Decker Bus
The concept is simple; we’d have high tea inside the iconic double-decker bus, which would drive us around the London city centre. I didn’t need any more convincing.
The bus picked us up at 3 PM from the Victoria bus station. The inside of the bus has been converted to accommodate on-the-move high-tea and decorated accordingly.
Each seat got its own high-tea set. There were eight pastries with unlimited beverages, including mimosa.
We sat on the top floor, which we had to pay a bit more for. What’s the point of having a high tea in a London double-decker bus if we don’t get an unrestricted view of London?
The whole high tea and drive took around two hours; we alternated between sweet and savouries pastries while getting our drinks topped up. In the end, we had a choice between tea or coffee served in a to-go cup that we could keep as a souvenir.
If you want to do an unusual high tea in London, maybe try this? The food was basic, but the whole experience was memorable.
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