The ‘Love is in the Air’ afternoon tea at TĪNG Restaurant celebrates the best of spring

By Laura Dweck

Tea amongst the clouds was what I promised my companion for the afternoon – my 6-year-old daughter – after a morning watching the English National Ballet. What I omitted was that it was tea with an abundance of her current obsession, all things floral, in order to see that dramatic squeal upon first sight of the cherry blossom tree in the centre of the tea room.

The seasonal special ‘Love is in the Air’ afternoon tea at TĪNG at London’s Shangri-La The Shard, inspired by the new Jo Loves Rose fragrance collection, is a sensorial journey bringing together glorious scent and flavour.

The menu features pastries infused with delicious floral notes of their Rose collection. Faced with more than my usual lemon and ginger tea selection, the staff had an unrivalled knowledge of tea specialities and were able to recommend a beautiful jasmine tea that was topped up throughout.

After a glass of champagne (me) and a fruity lychee but not too sweet mocktail for her, we tucked into an array of finger sandwiches and melt-in-the-mouth cakes and scones. Of course, the sandwiches were quickly forgotten about in favour of the star of the show – a beautifully pink mousse cake with toffee and lemon in the shape of a rose, complete with jelly rain drops.

It was the perfect combination of theatre with a dry ice reveal of an ornate Easter egg for our trip on Good Friday (normally a 3D Shard in chocolate), and we were also presented with a cake stand each that we didn’t seem to make a dent in.

The atmosphere, enhanced by a singer and guitarist, was just as civilised as our grandmothers’ tea-taking days – the main difference being the jaw-dropping views of the capital from the 35th-floor tea room of the hotel. We were lucky enough to be seated with a corner view of the Tower of London & Tower Bridge, so some history was shared between mouthfuls. Whichever direction you’re seated, there is an iconic view – a perspective of London above the clouds that will surprise even the locals, and trumping the traditional tea rooms.

Love is in the Air is available at TING Shangri-La until 31st May