My First Afternoon Tea Experience: St. Ermin’s Hotel London
This post shares an afternoon tea experience that was conducted in 2013 and then again in 2017.
Back in 2013 I had spent close to a month in London on assignment for work. It was a very anxiety inducing time of my life work wise, but I did cut out time to experience some of the sites of London which ended up making it one of the most memorable times of my life. I spent most of my time staying at St. Ermin’s Hotel. I realized St. Ermin’s had a tea room, but it didn’t draw me right away. I knew the general idea of afternoon tea at this point, but I didn’t understand the whole experience. However passing by the area in my hotel I was intrigued and made a reservation for their afternoon tea service not certain what I was in store for.
A Little Bit of History: St Ermin’s is built upon the site of a 15th century chapel. In 1889, during a period of expansion in Westminster, the property was converted into mansions. In 1899, the mansion blocks were converted into a hotel. This hotel also has a history of being a meeting place for UK's secret intelligence agencies. It is noted that MI5, SIS, and the Naval Intelligence Division, have all conducted business here! I have no doubt that top secrets were traded while enjoying some tea ;)
St. Ermin’s Afternoon Tea (2017)
The Experience: St. Ermin’s was a great introduction to afternoon tea. The staff was incredibly friendly. They served an assortment of finger sandwiches on a platter, with small scones, of one flavor, in a basket. These were actually normal sized scones, but compared to the massive concoctions you can receive at an afternoon tea spot in the USA, they would be considered “small” in comparison. I usually can never finish my scone during afternoon teas, or they make me too full to enjoy the entire experience, so I appreciated the size (and taste) of the scones in London! St. Ermin’s was also very generous with the desserts. The desserts were served in tiers (more like a small shelf) with five different desserts (a mix of cakes, macarons, trifles), accompanied with an additional two savory items (salmon and cream cheese on a small baguette, and a fig jam on toast) on the bottom portion of the tiers. It was a beautiful display.
I ordered the chai tea and what I liked about St. Ermin’s is they infuse the milk with the tea leaves as chai should be served, vs giving you the chai tea leaves black, and having you add your own milk (which many other tea spots do). It’s London, so they know how to serve chai properly.
I returned to St. Ermin’s in 2017 during a trip to London with my sister and mom and we had an equally great experience! Sometimes finger sandwiches and scones can be dry, but this was not the case at St. Ermin’s. Everything was delightful and the overall experience was beautiful. It was also a perfect meal after a long flight. Have I mentioned that afternoon teas are incredibly filling? You usually always have a ton left over to take home!
As of Today: As of 2023, St. Ermin’s tea room is still up and running and getting great reviews! You can check out the current menu and prices here. Currently the afternoon tea runs at £42-52 depending on if you upgrade to a champagne tea or not.
London is the birthplace of afternoon tea, so I feel very fortunate that my first traditional afternoon tea experience happened during my first visit to this amazing city. If you are ever in London, definitely visit St. Ermin’s for Afternoon Tea! It is a very beautiful, historic hotel with a wonderful tea service!
My rating: 5/5 Tea Cups (But I am incredibly biased as this place will always be my first afternoon tea experience!) Check it out for yourself!
