Over the Bank Holiday Monday, I ticked an item off of my London bucket list. Last Christmas, the bloke got me an 'I Owe You' for BB Bakery's Afternoon Tea Bus Tour. Booking the afternoon tea bus is a little tricky. I had to book eight months in advance for a weekend (or Bank Holiday) and for a seat on the top deck. Booking had to be at least three months in advance for any seat. While I was at it, I figured that I should do the experience right and book the best seats on the top deck for an extra fee. I booked the right hand side seats on the top deck, facing the front. I hoped for nice weather, despite knowing that the country usually gets poor weather on Bank Holidays.
Unfortunately, we did have really nasty weather, which made it impossible to get any good photographs out of the bus windows. However, we made the most of it.
Our vintage 1960's London bus turned up, and we clambered up the stairs to our seats. All of the tables were pre-made for the guests.
We had a bottle of orange juice and a selection of sandwiches and pastries. Our tea or coffee orders were also taken soon after the bus slowly drove the streets of London. I ordered Earl Grey tea, and the bloke had English Breakfast tea. The tea provided looked like good quality in teabags, but loose leaf tea tastes much better. The cups provided had screw-on lids as you wouldn't want the boiling water to spill all over your body. Each table had a cup holder for the tea, and the plates were also attached to the tables so that they would not slide off.
Each table also had a book, and this mentioned some of the monuments along the way. Inside the booklet was a route map. However, we were provided with guided commentary along the way, which I felt really was not needed.
The sandwiches included were cucumber, chicken, quiche, and ham and cheese. I have no complaints about these as they were all tasty.
We were also given a selection of pastries. These included a chocolate macaroon, raspberry cupcake, fruit tart, custard doughnut, and lemon meringue. I loved the custard doughnut and the lemon meringue. The cupcakes were also good, but I have had better. The chocolate macaroon was too sweet for me, and I did not care for the overly-dry base of the fruit tart.
Overall, the pastries were a little under-whelming except for the two items that I mentioned.
Half of the way through, we were each presented with a scone. This came with a pot of strawberry jam and clotted cream. This not the best scone that I have had.
We passed many of the familiar areas of London and looked out the window as we sipped tea and ate the pastries. I did get a few photographs, despite the rain.
Overall, the afternoon tea experience is unique, and there's nothing else like it in London. For the novelty value, this was well worth doing. The food and drink was a little under-whelming overall when compared to other afternoon tea experiences. I think we would have enjoyed the experience more had the weather been not pouring with rain and our clothes had not been wet.
At the end of the tour, we each received a box to take home our leftover pastries in. I will admit that the afternoon tea felt slightly rushed as the tour took 1.5 hours, and it could have been slightly longer. However, the staff were friendly and accommodating to our needs.
Leave a comment