Review: Afternoon Tea at The Goring, Victoria

A couple of weeks ago I booked my mum and nan in for afternoon tea at The Goring hotel for my nan's birthday. As our birthdays are only a day apart, we always try to do something together. For the last five years it has been somewhere fancy for afternoon tea. This year I decided to pick the hotel where Kate Middleton stayed before her wedding because if it's good enough for royalty...

Now I can safely say that it's ranked second in my favourite traditional afternoon teas after Claridges. I emailed them beforehand to explain it was my nan's birthday and they very kindly gave us one of the best seats in the house AND a special chocolate birthday cake. How's that for good service? The little touches were what made it so great. Our server was attentive without being suffocating. She offered great advice about the teas and made sure we were topped up with plenty of sandwiches and cakes. We didn't even have to ask!

So onto the most important part. The food! We had an unexpected starter in the form of a cheesy, cauliflower soufflé topped with some crispy puffs. It was delicious and certainly wet our appetite for the main event.

The sandwiches consisted of ham and mustard, chicken and stuffing, cheddar cheese and chutney and smoked salmon and cream cheese - all the classics! I loved the variety of soft bread and they certainly didn't scrape on my fillings. I can't for the life of me remember what all the cakes and pastries were but I do know they tasted absolutely delicious. Especially that creamy, white chocolate log on a biscuit base. Perfection! The scones? Well these bad boys were huge. With both a warm plain and fruit scone on offer, it was hard to choose what to eat first. But rest assured I did manage to eat them both.

The Goring isn't cheap but in this case you definitely get what you pay for. The service was faultless, the food was delicious, the setting was stunning and the experience was perfect for a birthday. Looking to take someone somewhere a bit special? This is the place.