I have always wanted to treat my mother-in-law to a royal Afternoon Tea and our experience at Rubens at the Palace was fit for a Queen. The Rubens at the Palace is situated at the heart of London's biggest tourist attractions and is the closest hotel to Buckingham Palace, just a 6 minute walk from Victoria Station.

Upon arrival, we were swiftly seated near the large windows of the Palace Lounge. We had a lovely view of the Royal Mews of Buckingham Palace where the daily event of the Changing of the Guards occurs. The ambiance of the lounge was nice and relaxed and we were super excited to try the Halal Winter Wonderland Menu.

We began our course with a selection of Teas. Mum had the classic Planter’s English breakfast whilst I went for Assam. The dry leaf of the Assam is known for its signature creamy chocolate notes. We both enjoyed our Teas with milk along with the views from the outside and inside. The stunning floral centrepiece of vibrantly coloured coral anthurium was beautiful to look at while we sipped our teas and awaited our pastries and sandwiches.

The pastry kitchen at The Rubens is led by their talented pastry chef Sarah Houghting, who has crafted the Royal Afternoon Tea inspired by Royal events and dining trends throughout the centuries. Their sandwiches, scones and pastries are prepared fresh daily. 

For sandwiches, we began with the Nut roast Cranberry & Pomegranate which had a lovely nutty fruity taste. My personal favourite was the chutney sausage roll pastry along with the classic Cucumber and Lemon Cream Cheese on Norfolk Crunch bread. I loved how the sandwiches were fresh, moist, and with the perfect amount of filling.

Mum’s favourite were the Scottish smoked Salmon & Horseradish Cream on Beetroot Bread, Goat’s Cheese & Roasted Beetroot on Beetroot Bread, and Barbeque Jackfruit & Burnt Onion Relish on White Bread. We enjoyed our “Halal Wine” which was a non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice.

An afternoon tea is not complete without Scones and Pastries. The Winter Wonderland Theme was quite present at the beautifully crafted pastries. The Scones included Traditional Plain and Speculoose Fruit which was served with clotted cream and homemade seasonal jam. The traditional scone was fluffy and so buttery, it melted right in my mouth. For the pastries we had the Clementine which was a Dark chocolate mousse covered in orange curd, Madeleine sponge, orange marmalade, and had a feuilletine crunch. The next pastry we had was the Cherry Choux which was a white chocolate whipped ganache, cherry and yuzu compote, and cherry cream.

My personal favourite was the Santa’s Log—a mascarpone cream, poached vanilla apple, ginger honey sponge, sablé biscuit which was delicate and light. Mum’s favourite was the Christmas Pudding Tart which was filled with Cranberry jam and custard cremeux.

We both really enjoyed the Rubens Royal Afternoon Tea that was definitely an indulgent treat fit for royalty, accompanied by very friendly and efficient service. We loved that the servers catered to our Halal dietary requirements and made sure our needs were met.