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January 25, 2015 by: Sunny London

Guiltless, Gluten Free Afternoon Tea at Intercontinental!

How could a Guiltless, gluten free afternoon tea in London even exist?

I had serious doubts about this invitation I received from Intercontinental London Park Lane. Therefore, within two days of receiving it, I was seated right where I should be to see (or perhaps I should say eat) for myself.

Because I was so quick to jump on this invitation, I did end up sitting in the gorgeous Wellington Lounge all alone. Just me and the Guiltless Afternoon Tea.

And what a spectacular view it is!

Guiltless Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Intercontinental Park Lane

The Wellington Lounge is located on the ground floor of Intercontinental London Park Lane. Directly across from Hyde Park, this hotel sits in a superbly accessible and appealing area of Central London.

Guiltless Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Intercontinental Park Lane

Upon arrival, I quickly received an extraordinary cocktail made of 10 Cane Rum, dried fennel and rosemary. Can I just say… lick your lips fantastic! For a girl who isn’t a fennel fan, this drink hit all the high marks. A+Guiltless Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Intercontinental Park Lane

While waiting for my tea, I had a front row seat to one of the world’s most beautiful parks and the Wellington Arch. As I sat watching the London busses whip past the window, I reminded myself how lucky I am to be in such an amazing city and to be able to try so many new things. And then… It hit me…

The whole concept of the guiltless afternoon tea at Intercontinental London Park Lane was ruined.

Why?

I started feeling crumby about taking it all in by myself. Selfish blogger. Bad blogger.

Could I blame it on the booze? Was it the alcohol making me feel so terrible?

I tried to drown my feelings with more liquid and quickly pounded a pot of White Peony with Pink Rosebuds tea.

Guiltless Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Intercontinental Park Lane

That made things worse! As the tea made from soaking rose buds poured over my tongue, the delicate flower petal taste came alive slowly. I drank the whole pot and started thinking… Perhaps next I should just order holy water to cleanse my deadly sins?

Then the food arrived.

Oh sweet morsels of heaven!

Guiltless Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Intercontinental Park Lane

It was like a Catholic upbringing. I wanted to rejoice but sat covered in guilt.

Here are the delicious treats I had just for me:

Guiltless Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Intercontinental Park Lane

Some of them include: blueberry and yoghurt chiffon cake made with blueberries, Manuka honey and yoghurt, flourless chocolate and mint cake with fresh spearmint mousse, 70% dark chocolate agave, and red velvet cake made with quinoa, a touch of panela, and soft cheese in the centre.

I loved each and every one of them. Just as I finished a tasty bite of food, the next one dazzled me even more. And, what’s even more exciting is not only are they free of refined sugar, but also they’re vegetarian!

I worked my way up the three trays. And just before I hit the holy halo of desserts sitting at the top…

Guiltless Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Intercontinental Park Lane

More food landed in front of me!

Yep. In my emotional roller coaster of feelings and sensations, even I, the self proclaimed Queen of Carb Land, forgot about the scones.

Oh the travesty!

Guiltless Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Intercontinental Park Lane

As if that wasn’t enough, they sent me two plates. That’s right, Sunny friends! I had ordered the gluten free version of the guiltless afternoon tea, but they asked if I would give the traditional scones a go because they were so spectacular too.

I never imagined they would bring four of each. Whoa! These are their regular scones…

Guiltless Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Intercontinental Park Lane

These wholemeal scones are served with cream fraiche and fresh fruit compote. If you’re a devout afternoon tea sipper, you know this is non-traditional, as scones always served with clotted cream. I loved his new twist and applaud Intercontinental London Park Lane for keeping it ‘fresh.’ 😉

The gluten free scones were also in line with everything I had eaten up to that point too. Hallejujah!

So, as I sat devouring all this amazing food, I finally found a way to remove the guilt. I decided to get creative and make a friend. And what a delicious friend it turned out to be…

Guiltless Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Intercontinental Park Lane

Guiltless Gluten Free Afternoon Tea Intercontinental Park Lane

And, suddenly all guilt was gone!

Confessions of why I loved the Guiltless, Gluten Free Afternoon Tea:

–  For just £40, I think it’s excellent value for the money.
–  The service I had in the Wellington Lounge was simply superior.
–  For an afternoon tea that is remarkably healthy, the food is exceptionally tasty.
–  Every guest can have every pot of tea on the menu, if he/she chooses.

To learn more about this afternoon tea and the other ones offered at the hotel, please visit the Intercontinental website. You can also follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can read reviews and receive great discounts here.

http://parklane.intercontinental.com/wellington-lounge-afternoon-tea.html

My afternoon tea was complimentary for the purpose of a review. My opinions are honest and not influenced by this. I didn’t feel guilty about being there by myself. I’m glad I didn’t have to share any of it. I probably would’ve fought someone else for that one Red Velvet Cake treat at the top. So, yes, this afternoon tea is truly GUILTLESS!

 

Sunny friends, would you like to join me for afternoon tea some time? What other healthy afternoon teas can you recommend in London?

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Comments

  1. Dragana@ About Healthy Food says

    January 25, 2015 at 11:50 am

    This is such a great post! I also enjoyed your photos.
    Thank you for a recommendation:)

    Reply
  2. Tina says

    January 25, 2015 at 2:19 pm

    Hi Melaine! I love your blog! And I am happy to retweet your posts, but my blog readers speak Portuguese, so I would like to ask if it is ok for me to translate some of your posts and use your pictures, giving all the credits, of course, and posting a link to the original page. I have already put a link for your blog on mine. I can also send it for you to review before I post.
    Love to you and Mr Sunny! And whenever you guys are up to it, let’s have a drink! Maybe Toby can talk to Sam and convince Mr Hermit to go out!
    Cheers, Tina

    Reply
  3. Miscellaneous Musings says

    January 27, 2015 at 10:01 am

    OH. MY. GOD. This looks absolutely amazing! I am really jealous haha this has made me really hungry!
    Also £40 isn’t too bad for this if you split it between two 🙂 Lovely photos by the way!
    Thanks for sharing, and next time if you need someone to come with….

    Beth x

    themiscmusings.blogspot.com

    Reply
    • Sunny London says

      January 27, 2015 at 8:11 pm

      Thank you for reading and commenting! I had to book this one very quickly, but it’s great to know I can reach out to you in the future. Hope we can enjoy tea together 🙂

      Reply
  4. Katie says

    January 27, 2015 at 1:17 pm

    I didn’t manage to have the tea at the weekend as my friend bailed on me! I’m taking Ben this Sunday though and can’t wait to try it! It looks delicious!

    Katie <3

    Reply
    • Sunny London says

      January 27, 2015 at 8:09 pm

      Katie, this one is specatcular. For the price, I think it’s one of the best deals in London. Many compliments to the chef for putting this tea together. Taste was amazing. It’s so refreshing to go to a tea and not making it a total calorie and sugar overload. I can’t wait to hear your feedback.

      Reply
  5. Shikha (whywasteannualleave) says

    January 27, 2015 at 6:17 pm

    This looks absolutely amazing – can’t believe it’s free of refined sugar – I think I’d pretty much be here every weekend eating this if I could and feeling nice and guilt-free 🙂

    Reply
    • Sunny London says

      January 27, 2015 at 8:08 pm

      Hi Shikha! This tea definitely gets a ‘gold’ star from me. It is fabulous.

      Reply
  6. Shobha says

    January 27, 2015 at 6:20 pm

    That looks so good! Sometimes you just have to enjoy the guilt!

    Reply
    • Sunny London says

      January 27, 2015 at 8:07 pm

      I agree, Shobha! It just took me a bit of time that day to ‘let go’ 😉

      Reply
  7. Suze the Luxury Columnist says

    January 30, 2015 at 10:34 pm

    Ooh I’m trying this out on Sunday! Not sure the cocktail is entirely guilt free but I will tell myself it is 😉

    Suze | LuxuryColumnist

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Afternoon Tea Week London 2015 Recommendations - Sunny in London says:
    August 3, 2015 at 11:39 am

    […] Thanksgiving Day Parade float that I would share my scones at Intercontintental Park Lane. Their Guiltless Afternoon Tea rocks. I was one of the first bloggers to enjoy this afternoon tea at the start of 2015 and still […]

    Reply

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