Bea's of Bloomsbury Afternoon Tea

Bea's of Bloomsbury is loved by Londoners, especially for their cupcakes. I tried their afternoon tea and found it was a big sugar rush!

Bea's of Bloomsbury is a small cafe and you could easily walk past it. From Holborn tube station, turn right onto Theobald's Road at the Southampton Row junction, and the cafe is about 2 minutes walk up the road, on your left.

Once inside you'll see what I mean about small as there is probably seating for about 20 people in mostly tables for 2 or 3. The decor is dark, well black, but the lighting is good so it doesn't feel oppressive. The flock design on one wall is echoed in the black and blue upholstered dining chairs, and there's mellow background music.

Staff are welcoming and there's a very relaxed atmosphere. I ordered the £9 afternoon tea which consists of a cupcake, scone, mini desserts, and a pot of tea. The tea is Jing tea and their own blends and the teapots are matt black, if somewhat small. The crockery is all white and the cake stand is lovely white china with ladies legs sticking out of the top!

My scone was home-baked and served warm with an excessive amount of clotted cream and strawberry jam, and the mini desserts included two types of chocolate brownie made with Valrhona chocolate.

I'd heard lots of good things about the cupcakes but I wasn't so impressed as I couldn't cut it and it crumbled under the weight of the icing (frosting). Certainly gorgeous to look at, and indulgently rich, but not solid enough. (This could have been because it was a chocolate cupcake.)

It's not a traditional afternoon tea (no sandwiches or formality); this is a casual 'hanging out with good friends' afternoon tea, that's available everyday. It's popular so they advise you book ahead.

(Reviewed December 2009.)