Capitalising on the recent release of Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton the Sanderson were: “[inviting their] guests to “tumble down the rabbit hole” and enjoy the wonderful world of [their] Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea. The chefs here at Sanderson have toyed with traditional British afternoon tea in the same way that Lewis Carroll played with logic in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; creating an afternoon tea filled with numerous gastronomic adventures.”

Sounds promising no?

We couldn’t get a weekend booking it was apparently so popular, even considering the Sanderson had extended the menu for another month! So, Su Yin and I left work early to make a 4pm booking. When I was making the booking we were warned that we’d only have until 5pm to enjoy the afternoon tea but other groups were still turning up after this time to partake in it. Guess the hotel thought that as long as people were buying they’d be supplying!

When we arrived for our booking we were very surprised to see that the place was packed. Yes with women but we were wondering shouldn’t these women have been at work. Ha ha! Yes I know we ducked out from work early but hey we didn’t leave THAT early. Ladies wot Afternoon Tea!

Service felt a little slow and slack – a pace which was set from the outset. Our waiter took an age to come and greet us after we’d been seated, then the tea took a while to come out, then the afternoon tea tier took its time making its way to our table and they never really made an effort to top our hot water. When we asked a waitress it took her at least 20 minutes to remember to come refresh it. This was the bad. The good was that they got my hint that it was Su Yin’s birthday so they passed the message on to the chefs to decorate one of the plates and put a lit candle in the cup cake.

Disappointingly from a tea perspective the Sanderson didn’t have a unique tea list. Well, it was this or our waiter just couldn’t be bothered getting gone?

But anyway where is the Mad Hatter’s theme you ask?

It was in the rainbow coloured finger sandwhiches which was supposed to consist of (from back to front): Egg mayonnaise and cress on brown bread; Cucumber and Black pepper on beetroot bread; Smoked salmon with cream cheese on green spinach bread; and Ham and English mustard on yellow saffron bread. The colours were very subtle but the flavours were not.

It was also in the Chocolate and Raspberry Crackle (with popping candy!) cupcake and Hazelnut and Passion Fruit Tart topped with White Rabbits pocket watch. Unfortunately they must have run out of the Queen of Hearts Tea Cake. The substitute instead was cup made of chocolate filled with strawberry foam (nooo!!! Foam!!!).

Finally, it was in the Pineapple Lollipop (which turned our mouths from hot to cold) and the Mint Choc-Chip Ice Cream Lollipop (which literally exploded in a single bite).

I really dug the concept of this afternoon tea and I felt it really did quite suit this funky and cool boutique hotel. Apart from the hit and miss service Su Yin and I had a wonderful afternoon.