Is there anything more enchanting than luxurious afternoon tea in a historic hotel overlooking, yet removed from, City Centre bustle? Not sure.
The Randolph Hotel has undergone a breathtaking refurbishment since being taken over by Graduate Hotels. Some have argued that it's gone a bit eccentric, but we love it and think they've hit the mark with this one. Oxford needs more of this! The general vibe is urban, contemporary and youthful but everything meticulously retains a deep sense of history, propriety and elevated service. We were absolutely charmed!
The tea room itself is decorated with bright, vibrant colours and is super instagrammable, but it's still filled with art and antique pieces that just remind you you're actually having a posh little day. It all just works together nicely.
The tea service was launched in December and we visited right before Christmas. It was a wonderful thing to do to stop between work and holiday chaos. We were thrilled to get a window seat right across from the Ashmolean Museum and to just watch Saturday afternoon go by with pretty music and a table full of treats.
Our tiered tray was beautiful and everything was delicious!
Savoury:
Cheese + Spicy Chutney, Hummus Bun with aromatic Moroccan flavours, and traditional cucumber sandwiches (we ordered a vegetarian tea but the salmon sandwiches also looked great)
Scones:
With and without currants, accompanied by delectable homemade jam, clotted cream and lemon curd.
Sweet:
Well... to die for! A salted caramel tart with candy-coated ganache, mince pie for Christmas, the most amazing two-bite melt-in-your-mouth chocolate treat with citrus pearls, and finally a double-sized hot pink macaron flavoured with Earl Grey and clementine.
We hope we got all that right but it doesn't matter - it was amazing.
We love when old and new meet seamlessly and The Randolph got this one right. We enjoyed our experience so much that we gifted a few certificates for Christmas! LA/
Comentarios