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Sian Victoria © - The Regency Hotel, Laura Ashley The Tea Room, Solihull

Best Places for Luxury Afternoon Tea in Birmingham

This summer I graduated from university with a first class honours degree in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations. To celebrate the occasion, I booked a Sunday reservation at the Laura Ashley Tea Room located in The Regency Hotel in Solihull near Birmingham with my Mom, sister, auntie and Nan.

The Laura Ashley Tea Room opened this summer and I was invited to the press day. However, sadly I couldn’t make it as I was ill. So, I thought it would be a great idea to go with my family for the special occasion and to spend some quality time together in a relaxed cosy setting.

Sian Victoria © - Afternoon tea, loose leaf tea filter, The Regency Hotel, Laura Ashley the Tea Room, Solihull

We booked a table for five for the afternoon tea priced at £20pp. When we arrived, we were kindly shown to our table and we were asked about our dietary requirements. Being the only vegetarian at the table they were more than happy to accommodate for this so I got a three-tier plate stand all to myself while the non-veggies shared a stand between two.

The afternoon tea began with choosing from a selection of hot beverages. We went with the green tea and peppermint tea; the tea was presented in a lovely clear glass teapot and the tea cup and saucer is the Josette Dove Grey Tea set from the Laura Ashley store. I did feel very ladylike sipping on a refreshing peppermint tea with my pinkie out in a beautiful open room, surrounded by gorgeous furniture, a perfectly displayed mantelpiece and the sunshine bursting through the slatted blinds.

Sian Victoria © - Afternoon tea, The Regency Hotel, Laura Ashley the Tea Room, Solihull

Shortly after our tea arrival we were presented with an amuse bouche of curried cauliflower soup. To be honest some of us didn’t expect to like this, but we were all presently surprised, it was a mild curry flavour with a chunky soup consistency.

Next up was a display stand of beautifully presented salmon paste in cones and smoked salmon bruschetta with marinated dill. As I’m trying my best not to eat fish - if I can help it, I didn’t try these, although I was tempted to try the bruschetta, it did look divine. However, my family did and they really enjoyed the bruschetta but wasn’t so struck on the cones.

Now onto my favourite part, the three-tier display of sandwiches, cakes and scones! I love afternoon tea, so I was excited to tuck in and devour my way through the tiers, especially those cakes. As I requested a vegetarian afternoon tea I received a different selection of sandwiches and cakes.

My family had sandwiches like ham & mustard whereas I had cheese & pickle, cream cheese & cucumber and egg mayonnaise. The sandwiches were lovely and fresh, my favourite had to be the cheese & pickle as it was the most flavoursome.

The cakes were heavenly, we were all quiet as we indulged our way through the beautiful selection. We all agreed that the coffee and walnut cake was the highlight, the sponge was beautifully moist and the creamy coffee filling was mouth-watering. The biscuit base with the hazelnut chocolate topping was gorgeous too.

And finally, the warm scones were amazing and were a hit with us all. They came with a generous serving of clotted cream and strawberry jam. One scone was plain and the other had raisons.

The only disappointing thing was getting to the last bite, I could have sat and ate them all-day, I could eat a creamy-fruity scone now as I type, they were scrumptious!

Sian Victoria © - Scones, Afternoon tea, The Regency Hotel, Laura Ashley the Tea Room, Solihull

We had such a lovely time and the service was great too, they always made sure we were topped up with tea. We also got to take home the leftovers in a cute branded Laura Ashley box. I would recommend the afternoon tea to ladies who lunch and enjoy a bit of fine dining.

Update: I’ve since visited again with the family to experience vegan high tea. The quality and service were just as good which is why I’ve added The Laura Ashley Tea Room to my best afternoon tea in Birmingham list.

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