Having previously mentioned that it was advisable to book tickets online for a ride on the London Eye, we did exactly that and managed to get on without too much waiting.
Each ride on the Eye takes about 30 minutes. The rotation is slow and it might not seem like much at first, but when the capsule nears the top of the Eye, the view is simply magnificent! One will get a view of London from a vantage point like no other. We were lucky that it was a nice, clear day which ensured a pleasant viewing experience.
Of note, the Eye overlooks Westminster Palace (otherwise known as the Houses of Parliament) and the Clock Tower housing the well-known Big Ben bell. The ride was an excellent opportunity to take pictures that we would not have been able to take otherwise.
The panoramic view of London was great during a clear, sunny day, but the Eye also operates during the evening. It might be well worth it to get on the Eye later in the day to experience a lit up London skyline. We thought that the view at night would be very impressive as well, but alas, we could only imagine what it would look like.
We then adjourned to Harrods where we had a reservation for afternoon tea at The Georgian Restaurant on the 4th floor. Afternoon tea at The Georgian was priced at £26 per person. Walking into the restaurant, we were greeted by an elegantly furnished interior. There was also an autopiano providing musical accompaniment to patrons dining in the restaurant.
The restaurant covers a large area of the 4th floor and the tables were comfortably spaced apart from each other. We were seated promptly upon arrival and we were given the afternoon tea menu to select our teas. Service from this point onwards went downhill as it took ages before we were able to place our order and nobody seemed to be paying enough attention for us to even call over to our table.
After placing our order, our teas were brought to the table. On the left we had the Blackcurrant and Hibiscus Fruit Tea which was thick and strong with blackcurrant flavour. On the right was the Georgian Blend Tea which was a blend of Darjeeling, Assam and Chinese tea leaves. Both the teas were strong in their own right and pleasant to taste.
Shortly after came the highlight of our afternoon tea. On the lowest tier of the set we had an assortment of sandwiches, various scones in the middle and a selection of pastries on the top. We will be looking at each of these individually in turn.
These were the selection of freshly made sandwiches that day. Starting from the top and moving around the plate clockwise, we had: Cucumber, dill and yoghurt shooters, smoked salmon, spinach and cream cheese wraps, goat’s cheese mousse on pumpernickel, ham and pickle sandwiches and coronation chicken sandwiches. We particularly enjoyed the coronation chicken sandwich and the goat’s cheese mousse on pumpernickel. The coronation chicken was perfectly spiced with a hint of sweetness and the goat’s cheese was mildly strong and was perfect with the flavourful rye bread. We didn’t fancy the salmon wrap much though as the salmon was strong and overpowering which ruined the balance of the wrap.
The platter of scones consisted of two plain scones and two fruit scones. We thought the scones could have been smaller as we quickly grew tired of the big, dense scones and were not able to finish all four of them.
To accompany the scones, we had some clotted cream on the top-left, strawberry preserve on the top-right and rose petal jelly on the bottom. The clotted cream and strawberry preserve were both very good and went really well with the scones. The rose petal jelly was unique and has a strong rose scent which put us off at first, but we warmed to it eventually. There was no fault with these accompaniments, but the only drawback was that the scones were too dense and big.
The pastries we were presented with that day consisted of the following, starting from the bottom-left and moving around clockwise: chocolate delice slice, green apple macaroon, afternoon tea fruit cake, raspberry frangipane and fresh fruit tart. The selection of sweets was rather nice overall and while there was nothing wrong with any of the pastries, none actually stood out.
As a whole, we were satisfied with our afternoon tea, but considering it was priced at £26 per person, we thought our experience at Waterloo Gardens Teahouse was much more enjoyable in terms of the quality of the food and tea and also much more value for money. The service at The Georgian was also lacking and we did not feel that the staff were very friendly. For more information on the restaurant, check out their website.
Restaurant Information
Harrods
4th Floor
87 – 135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge
London SW1X 7XL
United Kingdom
Tel: 020 77301234
