Afternoon Tea is getting a cheesy makeover at this London hotel

When you hear the words “afternoon tea”, apart from getting hungry for miniature bites, lovely images of scrumptious scones, small sandwiches, and decadent silver teapots probably spring to mind. Cheese on the other hand, probably doesn’t. However, one London hotel is firmly changing that up, putting a delicious savoury twist on the British classic.

As lovely as a traditional afternoon tea is, for people without the strong sweet tooth, this new twist might be a welcome change from wanly nibbling on a finger sandwich or two. Brasserie Max, located in the Covent Garden Hotel just off Seven Dials, has unveiled its ‘Afternoon Cheese’ offering, teaming up with the local cheesemongers Neal’s Yard Dairy.

Making cheese the hero of the meal, the revamped, lactose-packed afternoon tea will be showing off the best of British cheeses, giving them some well-earned celebrity. Each pastry in the afternoon tea will nod to one of its traditional sweet counterparts, like the Stilton eclair, the goat’s cheese macaron, a malt and prune loaf with Baron Bigod cheese, and a burnt cheese tart instead of a cheesecake. Alongside the centrepieces, rich cheddar scones with goat’s curd will be served up, and Welsh rarebit-stuffed doughnuts in the place of finger sandwiches.

Obviously, the usual accompanying brew isn’t the natural pairing with a cheesy feast, and really, there’s only one drink that goes with it. Wine. Wine and cheese, cheese and wine – it’s the foodie equivalent of Tom Holland and Zendaya, aka. The GOAT. The Afternoon Cheese is paired with beautifully made English wines from Gusbourne, a boutique English winery in Kent. You can even upgrade your Afternoon Cheese to include Gusbourne’s fancy schmancy Blanc de Blancs vintage / varietal.

Bookings are already open for Afternoon Cheese, which is kicking off on 1st May and costing £56 per person – or £72 if you want to upgrade your vino to the extra special offerings. It’s slightly more expensive than Brasserie Max’s standard Afternoon Tea, which is priced at £45 per person, but this doesn’t include alcoholic options as standard.

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