One of social media’s most popular menus, the Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea has finally returned to the capital!

Once seated in Sanderson London’s beautiful terrace, surrounding a lush water feature, you are presented with a vintage book. Upon opening it, it comes to light that the menu is actually hidden between its’ pages! Glancing at the table, I notice that the plate, tea cup and saucer have all been placed perfectly and precisely lined up creating an image. As my face lights in delight, I am then told to open the sugar holder – and up pops a spinning ballerina rotating to the tune coming from the musical box. This clear attention to detail has already made the experience enjoyable – and the food hasn’t even arrived yet!

We are then presented with what appear to be five playing cards, when turned over reveal five character names from Alice in Wonderland with a logo. This logo is mirrored on a glass jar, encasing a variety of tea. These are presented at the table, giving guests the opportunity to sample the aromas of the teas, helping them choose their favourite blend. They all sound gorgeous, making it very difficult to make a choice, but we are told we are able to change our tea as the service progresses, meaning we won’t miss out on any of their beautiful blends.

We went for the Queen Of Hearts: a red rose congu tea infused with red rose petals, hints of vanilla and chocolate and our dining partner went for Alice: a China black tea infused with hints of blackcurrant, vanilla, caramel, citrus, bergamot, blue cornflowers and blue mallow flowers which was a great way to start the service.

This theatrical Afternoon Tea is served on a three-tiered stand matching the previously mentioned China, with black and white characters and emblems, making the perfect backdrop for this colourful offering. The sweet and savoury selection are served together, bar the scones, which are brought warm when you are ready.

The sandwiches are as colourful as they are flavoursome and the team at The Sanderson were able to cater for our various dietary requirements, ensuring we all had a delicious dining experience.

My personal favourite was the shrimp sandwich with brown shrimps, 3 blends of cheese, mayonnaise, dill, parsley and garlic, served on dark finger bread – it took the standard prawn mayo sandwich to a whole new level!

The staple egg mayonnaise was transformed into a choux pastry stuffed with egg and topped with a piped avocado crème. A mini BLT slider is usually served, but due to dietary requirements I received a halloumi burger which was nothing short of divine. The beetroot bun was filled with cheese, lettuce tomato, truffle mayonnaise and a halloumi piece to replace the meat and all held together with a wooden stick topped with a heart – it was lovely!

We then requested a change of tea to accompany our warm scones, which were served with strawberry jam and clotted cream. Again, the attention to detail shone through as the tea pot was adorned with a paper crown, reminiscent of the Queen of Hearts.

Then onto the sweet treats – of which there were SEVEN! We started with the éclair, representing the caterpillar, which was filled with hazelnut praline and blueberry. The plant pot was a treat for the eyes as well as the tastebuds as it was completely edible! Filled with a passion fruit mousse topped with a chocolate soil ‘growing’ a morning tear magic mushroom marshmallow and ‘carrot’ cake, it was a feast of flavours!

A heart shaped shortbread cookie was crisp, filled with a honey mascarpone centre and the White Queen Minion’s Macaroon was vanilla with an oozing blood orange heart. These treats were all washed down with the ‘Grow Me, Shrink Me, Bring Me Back Potion’ – a watermelon juice concoction sparking with edible silver glitter. It was refreshing and created a beautiful, shimmering tornado once the jar it was served in was shaken.

To finish it all off, a teacup served with a large cloud of candy floss crows the three-tiered stand, further taking guests back to their childhood.

This whole experience is magical – every aspect has been thoroughly thought through creating that most deliciously fun Afternoon Tea journey. Tumble down the rabbit hole to discover this whimsical tea party – you may just not want to return to reality!

Read more about The Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea at Sanderson London or browse their Gift Vouchers