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The REAL TeaseMaid since 2011! Take a peep at my blog: a sweet and sexy cocktail of Tea and Tease, a cupcake and cream-tea blog with a burlesque twist. Let's face it, afternoon tea is the most fun you can have with your clothes on! So read on for some tasty tit-bits that you're not gonna get from the 'old dears' at The Tea Guild.... ;-) If you fancy coming along to my monthly Clandestine Cake Club, see the link below. And don't forget to check out the date of my next 'Avon' retro cosmetic party "Cake It On".... Love from The TeaseMaid xox


Wednesday 5 October 2011

Soho's Secret Tea Room, Greek Street
Hidden above a typical pie and ale pub on Greek Street, “Soho's Secret Tea Room” is an unexpected little treat. It’s essential to book and they take bookings to fill slots every 2 hours, the last one being at 4pm most days. The problem we had with such an advanced booking is that we had no idea London was going to be hit by a mini heat-wave at the end of September! So, dressed in as few clothes as possible, we entered the Coach and Horses pub and ascended the stairs behind the bar with a little bit of trepidation.....
Once inside the Tea Room, even with fans on and windows open, it was hot and stuffy. That’s hardly the fault of the establishment though –just one of those things. When one of the waitresses, dressed in vintage fashion, brought over the menus the first thing we asked for was a glass of water. We gratefully received a huge jug of iced water with 2 glasses and she was very cheerful despite the fact that she was working in the heat, whereas we were just having fun in it.
The menu was fantastic with a Traditional Afternoon Tea that came at one of the lowest prices I’ve seen in Central London. But there was also the option to have just tea and cake or a cupcake or scones – many different combinations to suit all budgets.
We both, of course, opted for full afternoon tea which in hindsight may not have been a good idea – eating so much rich food on a hot day is hard enough as it is...especially when you’re going to a Hardcore show afterwards..! But the idea was to just try as much on the menu as possible so we were brave. I chose the Earl Grey Tea to drink out of around 14 different types, which was delicious despite the fact I would have rather had an iced tea. I also had smoked salmon sandwiches which were lovely, and two different cakes: a chocolate cake slice, and a rose and vanilla cupcake. They were both heavenly, and the rose in particular very unique! I fully intended to only eat half of each but the delicious meltiness of the chocolate in the heat made me polish off the whole thing. We also had scones and although they were nice we could have done with a bit more cream and jam for them.
We stuffed our faces and chatted to the distinctive sounds of 40’s jazz and swing songs, but didn’t stay the full hour and a half we were allocated, despite the cosy mish-mash of vintage decor and ambience, merely because of the heat. I can definitely recommend this for a crisp autumn day, especially if you want somewhere authentic to take your gran.

"Sip"-Tease Rating: ****
Pa"Tease"erie Rating: ****
Boudoir or Boring? rating: ***
Service with (nothing but) a Smile Rating: ***
Cheap or Chic? Rating: ****

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