Photo by Alexandra Gorn/Unsplash

We do love a good afternoon tea at Travelwrap Towers. We have our tried-and-tested favourites –The Berkeley and The Goring never disappoint – but now there are three more venues to try, all winners of the 2018 Afternoon Tea of the Year awards organised by Hotel F&B magazine. Afternoon Tea, Jumeirah Carlton Tower, LondonThe overall winner, chosen from a shortlist of 16 who all took part in a live cook-off, was London’s Jumeirah Carlton Tower. It wowed the judges with its Symphony Afternoon Tea based upon the four movements of a symphonic orchestral experience. The tea, which costs £39 person/£49 with a glass of Champagne, includes a scrumptious selection of savouries and pastries, including mini tiramisu with whipped coffee ganachea and Sicilian pistachio éclairs with cranberry compote, accompanied by homemade scones, clotted cream and traditional preserves. Afternoon Tea, Thornton Hall, LiverpoolWe’ll have to travel to Liverpool to try the Best Tasting Afternoon Tea of the Year. The award was won by The Lawns Restaurant at Thornton Hall with its Great Wirral Afternoon Tea. On offer is a fabulous selection of loose leaf tea as well as sweet and savoury treats. But what caught our eye was the mouthwatering selection of homemade curds and jams, including plum and sloe gin and apricot and amaretto. The tea costs £24.50 per person or £34.50 with a glass of Champagne.The Best Presented award, meanwhile, went to W London Leicester Square hotel for its Tea Total Afternoon Tea. We can see why it won: presented in a box with drawers and hidden doors, the tea pairs tea-time classics, ‘experiental English garden-inspired sweet creations’ with a crystallised version of one of W’s signature spring/summer cocktails. Not so much afternoon tea, as a West End showstopper. Tea Total costs £37 per person or £42 with a glass of Prosecco.

BY MAGGIE O’SULLIVAN