Anarch-tea: W London's punk-themed afternoon tea

There are so many different afternoon teas in London. You've got all the traditional ones, but also millions of new, exciting themed teas popping up all the time.

Choosing where to go is a nightmare, I hear ya.

And so I am somewhat unofficially hoping to help the world out by sampling and documenting as many of London's fabulous afternoon teas as I possibly can. Because I'm very noble like that. Please, no need to applaud. I just want to help mankind.

And don't get me wrong, I love a traditional afternoon tea - I'll always remember my first proper affair - but a twist on the classic can be a lot of fun.

Enter W London, whose Anarch-tea may be the most different I've yet to have the pleasure of eating.

The hotel is just off Leicester Square, so right in the heart of tourist-ville, but the interior is modern, slick, stylish and fun. Think tons of mini disco balls hanging from the ceiling and you'll get the idea.

So, W London have recently launched a new afternoon tea to celebrate 40 years of punk, Anarch-tea. It's part of a wider series of events to mark the anniversary and is meant to be rebellious and fun. Whilst it may not be super rebellious in my opinion, it certainly was fun. And delicious.

Considering my wonderful Italian friend Sofia was in town for the weekend and she'd never had a proper British afternoon tea (and by that I mean tiers of finger sandwiches, scones and cakes), I figured she simply must have the experience and I was so excited to take her.

We hadn't seen each other for months and it was the perfect way to catch up in a cosy, relaxed setting. And we weren't rushed, which was great.

Now, I really wasn't going to drink because I may have had just a touch of alcohol the night before, but W London serve a special passionfruit cocktail with the tea, and, well... I do love passionfruit. #hairofthedog

It was delicious and definitely helped create the fun vibe they're going for.

Yes, I am wearing a shirt with cocktails on. I may have a problem.

The cocktail was lovely though. It wasn't too strong and made a nice change from the usual champagne (did I actually just say that? What is my life...) They do offer champagne too though, fear not.

Tea-wise, the selection was limited in comparison to the majority of swanky London hotel afternoon teas. We stuck with English breakfast.

And out came the food, served on a vinyl cake stand, which was very cool.

Photos were taken, of course.

 Doesn't it all look amazing and so different!?

And we got stuck in.

There were four types of finger sandwich: smoked salmon with cream cheese and pea shoots, roast beef with horseradish and watercress, cucumber with sour cream and black pepper, and cheddar cheese with red onion marmalade. So nothing too rebellious or different flavour-wise there.

They were tasty, but to be honest the bread was a little dry and they weren't the most exciting. They were fine and nice, but nothing to shout about.

The scones, however, OH my days! These were amazing. Definitely in my top three scones ever. They were slightly more cakey and moist in texture than usual scones, but were also crumbly. They were really good, and cream and jam did the trick too. No messing with the classics there.

The cakes, my dear friends, are the star of the show. They were all so different, to each other and to all other afternoon teas. Decent sizes too. All the cake pls.

So, in this here picture we have a studded dark chocolate roulade (meant to look like a punk bracelet type thing) which was really good, and the ‘Shut-Up – The Stranglers’ treat: a pair of strawberry ice cream mousse red lips covered in a chocolate shell and sealed with a silver zip. It was amazing to cut into, if slightly messy.

And on the very top layer we had...

...the Mohawk, which was a raspberry and lime mousse.

It was tangy, light and lemony.

And finally, the almond Battenberg, inspired by the Sex Pistols' God Save The Queen. This one was without a doubt my fave - it was so so delicious! The cake was lovely and spongey with a great almond flavour and there was lots of marzipan, which I loved. Oof, I want to eat that Battenberg again.

I did think that was a fun twist on a classic. Pretty rebellious to change the traditional colours, don't you think? I mean, cake is not something to be messed with lightly.

Both Sofia and I loved our afternoon. I'm not going to lie - I'm not into punk at all, but I really enjoyed the fact that the tea was just that little bit different. And it was delicious. So even if you're more pop than punk, if you're after something fun, the Anarch-tea could be the tea for you.

What do you think? Do you like the look of this or would you prefer a traditional afternoon tea?

Sofia and I were guests at W London but everything I've written is absolutely honest because like I said, I just want to help people. And eat cake.