Spotlight on Afternoon Tea at the Reform Social and Grill

Housed within the elegant Mandeville Hotel in the heart of a vibrant Marylebone Village, Afternoon Tea at the Reform Social & Grill is undoubtedly one of London’s most popular afternoon tea destinations. Conveniently close for shopping in Oxford Street or for a pleasant stroll through Regents Park and Hydepark, its afternoon tea menu stands out from the crowd marking it as one of the go-to destinations for a special afternoon out on the town.

Vintage Afternoon Tea at the Reform Social and Grill

Offering a choice of three afternoon tea menus it caters to all tastes and indeed ages. Their Vintage Afternoon Tea is one for the ladies tempting our tastebuds with coronation chicken, hot smoked salmon and goats curd, chive and cucumber sandwiches. Follow this with blackforest roll, chocolate meringue and a summer fruit custard pot and we can afford to slacken our waistband a little.

Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea at the Reform Social and Grill

Their Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea offers a manly menu of chunky home-made sausage roll, steak sandwich with snails and fish fingers and mushy peas. A classic battenberg and real ale and chocolate cake means that your man won’t miss out on all the fun.

For £26.50 for both menus we think this is a steal (but don’t tell them we said).

Serge Neale, Pastry Chef at the Reform Social and Grill

Launching in Spring is a mindblowing Around the World in 80 Days Afternoon Tea. A fabulous feast will take you on a magical journey to distant shores. We were delighted to catch-up with Serge Neale, the creator of this stunning afternoon tea menu to find out where he got his inspiration for this menu and also, to find out a little bit about himself.

Your reputation as one of London’s most creative pastry chef’s is on a rapid ascend. Tell us what led you down this career path? 

Coming from a longline of bakers it was a natural progression for me to peruse the patisserie side of a professional kitchen.

Tell us a little bit about your background. Where did you train and what is your work experience?

I started my career at the Riverside Café in pastry before moving to Millennium Gloucester hotel working in the pastry kitchens under the guidance of Matt Owens before moving on at various other roles including stints at Marx Hix.

We’ve had a sneak peak and are loving the new Around the World in 80 Days afternoon tea menu. Can you tell us a little bit about your inspiration for some of the fabulous creations.

The menu follows the journey of Phileas Fogg and his adventure which started at the Reform Club. After a lot of research into his story, we came up with elements of the afternoon tea to suit each destination, sweet and savoury pieces from the menu from each part of the World.

The savoury selection includes: London – Mini Yorkshire Pudding served with roast beef & horseradish; Suez – Chikka Dukka skewer served with yoghurt, mint and coriander  and from San Francisco – Crab cream cheese and chive sub.  Sweet treats include: London – Gingerbread filled with whisky buttercream; Yokohama – Yuzu Meringue Tart with yuzu cream served with mango sauce and  from NYC – Mini Doughnuts with blueberry jam and candy floss.   Of course there’s always room for freshly baked Mini Yorkshire Puddings and Classic Scones with jam and clotted cream

What advice would you give to someone who has a passion for baking and considering further developing their skills to start a career, either working for themselves or getting a foot on the ladder in a dining venue.

Treat your brain like a sponge and soak in the experience all around you from all different styles of cuisine and sections of the kitchen.

Girls Afternoon Tea is all about catching up with friends and enjoying a great day out. If money and time travel were no object, what would be your perfect day out with friends.

My ideal day would be camping on a beach in South Wales and cooking on an open fire with freshly caught fish.

We look forward to hearing more from the Reform Social and Grill in the coming months. Watch this space!

TOP TIP:

Children are welcome for afternoon tea at the Reform Social and Grill and can enjoy a Mini Afternoon Tea which includes peanut butter and jam sandwiches, fish fingers and sweet ketchup and a BBQ chicken slider. Sweet temptations include fruit and chocolate chip scones, strawberry milkshake with gingerbread man dipper, chocolate and marsh mellow lollipop, jelly and custard pot and a Reform jammy dodger.

£12.50.

Afternoon Tea at the Reform Social and Grill – A Treat for all the family.