Afternoon Tea in London
One of our goals of parenting a kid with Celiac Disease is to show her that she can do whatever she wants, even with Celiac. We want her to have the same experiences as her non-celiac brother. It’s challenging and requires a lot of work but the payoff is huge. Managing this particular disease is hard, it takes a social toll. As I’ve mentioned so many times, dining out with Celiac Disease takes a significant amount of planning & research.
Mike and I wanted to make sure we had a special afternoon tea while we were in London. After spending several hours on the train, having a late-afternoon tea was the perfect ending to a long day. I was able to make a reservation via OpenTable, and select both regular & gluten-free options so the restaurant knew what we needed.
After a lot of research and comparing so many teas I found the Adria Hotel tea to be the best fit for us. M would receive the same amount of items and anything that could not be made gluten-free they had a substitute. The quantity was not lacking at all, nor was the quality.
When we arrived we were each given boxes that contained vials of tea & small nutcrackers (‘tis the season!). We were to open and smell each one and decide which teas we would like (we each could have two!). We did an upgrade to receive champagne for us and sparkling tea for the kids. My kids LOVE drinking out of champagne flutes!
The tea itself was presented in lovely china, from the teapots to the teacups, it was stunning. Our savory sandwiches came out first, six in all. We nibbled and we each found what we liked the most. There may have been some trading going on too. Then all the sweets came out. Petit Fours, scones, four different types of jam, clotted cream; it was divine. The sweets were served on the traditional three-tier tower and with all of them on the table it was packed. Each tower was decorated with flocked boughs for the holidays.
We took our time enjoying all the different sweets and scones. I loved trying all the different jams and the kids spent a little time googling clotted cream. By the time we had our second round of tea, we were so full and happy!
The best part was seeing how happy our kids were. M was so thrilled to have had all the options that we had. She didn’t feel like she was getting less than us; which is not always the case. I felt great knowing this kitchen takes its gluten-free protocols very seriously to prevent cross-contact. I wish more restaurants, especially in the US, took it this seriously.
