High Tea at Brown's
Far from the crowded cafés and the proliferating Starbucks, the high tea makes its grand return to London. A moment to pause and forget one's cares, in a fashion that is today both outdated and trendy. But where should we go to have our scones and marmalade? Why, to Brown's, of course.
The past revisited
Let's get straight to the point - to enjoy the privilege of afternoon tea at Brown's Hotel, you will either have to reserve well in advance or queue. As a vestige from a time when one lunched too early and dined rather late, teatime has resurfaced as the obligatory afternoon ritual. However, rather than being a faintly conventional pause in the day, it is the very essence of the British soul which is expressing itself here. Ritual, yes, and a way of life too. The Guardian Newspaper lauds this custom, which others might consider obsolete: to stop everything for a lovely cuppa. Not even the London Stock Exchange, which still has its moment of respite in the afternoon, thinks to abolish this tradition. Just the thought of adding a drop of milk to a fine porcelain cup, of inhaling the aroma of a scone dipped in delicately perfumed tea...ahh! This is what the croissant is to the French. In fact, teatime in England is to make a pact with tradition and to perpetuate the essence of the English. Perhaps it's a convention as revealing as a visit to a French café on a Sunday morning....
Victorian ambience at Brown's
Brown's was in need a facelift so as not to languish, victim of the fierce competition between other, more contemporary hotels... Rocco Forte's company wasn't counting the pennies, and £19 million later, the mythical hotel, from which Alexander Graham Bell made his historic first telephone call, can declare that it has recovered its position as the epitome of Victorian ambiance, with a good serving of comfort thrown in. Therefore, we recommend that you impose a 100% British moment every time you are in London.
Janvier 2008
