The Belgraves Edible Garden

Between 21 and 25 May the Belgraves hotel, located in Knightsbridge, is transforming its terrace into an Edible Garden that features a wall of edible flowers and an interactive cocktail station. Not only will there be cocktail classes and ‘food and flower pairing’ tutorials, but guests can also take away seed packets so they can enjoy the same tastes at home. Those staying in the hotel can opt for the full Bed, Brunch and Botany’experience, which features delights such as brunch in bed, an edible flower recipe book and complimentary cocktails.

Chelsea in Bloom

For eight years Chelsea in Bloom has been extending the wonders of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show throughout the entire borough by encouraging local retailers to create their own floral displays. These creations, this year themed on ‘decades’ to mark the centenary of the prestigious flower show, are assessed for prize-worthiness by official RHS judges and can be viewed between 20 and 25 May. To see them all, join the regular tours, which take place every half hour.

A Guide to Green Scents at the Athenaeum Hotel

Not only is this 5 star hotel on Piccadilly offering a menu of delicious floral cocktails for the duration of the Chelsea Fringe, but it is also hosting ‘a guide to green scents’ on 21 May. This evening event is inspired by the hotel’s landmark Living Wall (right), and features a talk by perfume specialist Lila Das Gupta on perfumes that capture the fragrance of nature, plus a guide to the scented flowers that are grown on the Athenaeum’s wall. Tickets for the talk cost £15 per person and include the talk, canapés and a cocktail. Send an email to reserve your place.

Chelsea Flower Show Menu at LIMA

For the duration of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show LIMA, the Peruvian restaurant in Bloomsbury, is putting on a celebratory menu that puts a flowery twist on their national cuisine. Dishes include orange and pisco poached lobster salad and steamed fillet of halibut with rhubarb blue potato aji Amarillo. Guests can either opt for a three course menu which includes a Chelsea Cocktail of melon and pink Champagne (£60) or order from the a la carte. The menu is available from the 20 to 26 May.

Floral Afternoon Teas

Given the traditional nature of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, it’s no wonder that many venues are serving special afternoon teas during the week to celebrate. Radission Blu Edwardian, Vanderbilt, for example, is serving a Floral Afternoon Tea throughout May that includes rose fruit jellies and orange blossom and lavender scones (£29.50). Nearby, the Royal Garden Hotel offers elderflower posset, jasmine opera and rose marshmallow as part of its celebratory Afternoon Tea during Chelsea week, which is accompanied by tunes from the resident pianist (£24). Further east, The Dorchester has worked with the team behind Laurent-Perrier’s 2013 show garden to create a menu that includes delights such as a ‘lavender basket’; a dark chocolate tartlet infused with lavender scent and decorated with a spun sugar handle. This afternoon tea menu is available between 20 and 26 May for £56.

Floral Facials and Cocktails

The Jumeirah Carlton Tower is offering a range of excellent floral indulgence options; why not follow one of their new Rose Facials (£65) with a Chelsea Flower Show-themed cocktail in the hotel’s Rib Room Bar? Guests can choose between rose, camomile and elderflower martinis – yum!

The Avant Garden in Covent Garden

Head to the Covent Garden piazza to see Crabtree & Evelyn’s twist on the classic British herb garden. Created by garden designer and rising star Emma Coleman, ‘The Avant Garden’ will be a tranquil urban oasis that promises to be a highlight of the 2013 Chelsea Fringe Festival from 14 May to 9 June.

Floral Cocktails at Barts, South Kensington

Popular speakeasy Barts, situated close to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, is offering a special cocktail in honour of the event. ‘The Chelsea Flower’ is a mix of home-made lavender-infused Grey Goose Vodka, peach liquor and jasmine essence, garnished with a molecular raviolo of lavender. Furthermore, guests can really get into the spirit of the occasion by availing themselves of the bar’s dressing-up box, which will feature a range of floral-themed items during the show week.

Floristry classes and lunch at Tom Aikens, Chelsea

Learn the delicate art of floristry at the Michelin-starred Tom Aikens restaurant in Chelsea, where you can create a stunning arrangement of freshly-cut blooms to take home, before tucking into a delicious three course lunch that contains edible flowers. The package also includes coffee and pastries and a glass of Laurent Perrier champagne. Classes run throughout the RHS Chelsea Flower Show week, as well as on selected other May dates, and cost £120.

Chelsea Fringe at Battersea Power Station

This free event takes place between 17 to 19 May and 21 to 26 May, and allows visitors to enjoy a variety of entertainment and activities in the newly-opened temporary riverside park at Battersea Power Station. The focus of the fringe hub at Battersea will be installations, including one that features 35 people planted knee-deep in soil to promote conversations on sustainability. See the website for opening times and full details.

This month, we begin by wishing happy birthday to the London Hilton on Park Lane, the first Hilton hotel to open in the UK, which turns 50 this week.

New Hotels

As spring arrives, so does a bumper crop of new London hotels. Here are London’s hottest new hotels:

Great Northern Hotel – Relive the romantic age of train travel at the Great Northern Hotel, which re-opened this month. The hotel, which was London’s first railway hotel, has undergone a £40 million refurbishment and offers a quiet oasis in the hub of King’s Cross and St Pancras. The 91-bedroom hotel has been refurbished to exude “timeless elegance with a hint of modernity”. Room rates from £250

The Apartments by The Sloane Club – For stays of seven days or more, try a luxury serviced apartment in the exclusive neighbourhood of Sloane Gardens. Apartments are set in two beautiful late 19th century buildings and guests have access to a 24-hour concierge. Rates from £220 per night excluding VAT. Opens this week

One Leicester Street – A new boutique hotel comes to London on 1 May. One Leicester Street is the first hotel from the Unlisted Collection to open in the capital. Opening on the site of the former St John’s Hotel on the edge of Chinatown, the property will feature 15 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar. The restaurant will be headed by Michelin-starred chef Tom Harris. Opens 1 May

Nadler Soho – Boutique hotel brand base2stay is becoming Nadler Hotels, and opening a new property in London. The Nadler Soho promises “affordable luxury” with stylish rooms and Local Ambassadors on the front desk providing an introduction to the best bars and restaurants nearby. Opens late May

Xenia – Coming to South Kensington next month is Xenia hotel, situated in a restored Victorian building with contemporary interiors. The boutique hotel includes 99 bedrooms, an Italian restaurant, and a bar with a herb garden terrace. Opens in May, room rates from £160

Chelsea Flower Show

Even if you haven’t got tickets to this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, you can still be there in spirit thanks to London’s hotels.

Belgraves – A Thompson Hotel in Knightsbridge will be transforming its terrace into an edible garden for the duration of the show (21-25 May), with edible flower cocktails, and food and flower pairing classes. Both the Landmark London and the Royal Garden Hotel are offering floral-themed afternoon teas during Chelsea Flower Show week – reservations recommended.

Extra, extra

• The Goring hotel has received the Tea Guild’s Top London Afternoon Tea Award 2013
• The Berkeley has launched new balcony rooms which include luxury wooden birdhouses on the terraces!
• In its 175th anniversary year, Brown’s Hotel is celebrating with a Victorian menu at HIX from 20 May and welcoming British nail brand Ciaté to its spa

London is getting ready for a huge Diamond Jubilee celebration this weekend, and what better way to get into the Jubilee spirit than with traditional British afternoon tea? Here’s a round-up of some of London’s best Jubilee teas.

The Berkeley

The Berkeley’s popular Pret-a-Portea has been given a royal twist with biscuits, fancies and choux buns in the shape of the Royal Family’s most memorable hats and handbags. Look out for praline profiteroles in the shape of the famous Philip Treacy fascinator worn by Princess Beatrice at the royal wedding.

Fortnum & Mason

Fortnum & Mason, supplier of tea to the Royal Family, has opened a brand-new tea room in honour of the occasion. The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon offers more than 150 teas, all served with a timer that rings when your pot reaches its optimum brewing time. Choose the set afternoon tea menu, or combine a savoury dish with a sweet treat from the Diamond Jubilee Cake Carriage.

Kettner’s

Kettner’s is serving Tea Fit For A Queen over the Jubilee bank holiday, including traditional finger sandwiches, homemade scones with clotted cream and jam, treacle tart, Chelsea buns, rhubarb jelly, old English trifle and chocolate digestive cake. The menu is priced at £18.67 – a reference to the year the Soho institution opened.

Brown’s Hotel

The English Tea Room at Brown’s Hotel is serving Jubilee afternoon tea with Crown Jewels macaroon, Battenberg cake, lemon pusset teacup, Lady Grey macaroon, pistachio cake, boozy trifle, scones and sandwiches. For a royal treat, add a glass of Ruinart Brut Champagne.

John Lewis Oxford Street

If you’re shopping in London’s West End over the Jubilee bank holiday, pop into John Lewis Oxford Street for The 5 O’Clock Tea Club. The tea is inspired by the gin with Dubonnet and lemon that Her Majesty is said to enjoy in the afternoon, represented on the menu by gin-infused jellies and chocolate muffins drenched in Dubonnet.

Royal Garden Hotel

Located just a stone’s throw from Kensington Palace, with views over Kensington Gardens, the Royal Garden Hotel is a perfect location for royal afternoon tea. Here the Jubilee tea includes Victoria sandwich sponge, English rose teacake, Earl Grey opera, champagne and strawberry tart, Elizabeth trifle and Windsor nut mousse.

EDF Energy London Eye

For something a bit different, try afternoon tea in a London Eye capsule with amazing views over London. The menu includes egg and cress rolls, mini éclairs, scones and chocolate-dipped strawberries. Alternatively, take to the river Thames with a 1952 Jubilee Tea on-board the London Eye Barracuda.

The Royal Horseguards

The five-star Royal Horseguards hotel is serving very British afternoon tea for just £20.12. Served on the hotel’s terrace with views of the river Thames and London Eye, the tea includes roast beef sandwiches, biscuits shaped as red London buses and Union flags, Crown Jewel cupcake and more.

Andaz

At design hotel Andaz, the Diamond Queen Afternoon Tea includes a commemorative cocktail made from Earl Grey tea stirred with Dubonnet, Bombay Sapphire gin and bitters. The menu also includes coronation chicken sandwiches, scones and jam, millionaire shortbread, trifle, a selection of pastries and a pot of Earl Grey tea.

The Langham

The Langham has teamed up with luxury brand Asprey to launch the Asprey Diamond Jubilee Tea, served in the hotel’s glamorous Palm Court. The menu is inspired by Asprey’s jewellery designs and iconic purple colour, and includes blueberry and bilberry Battenberg, purple jasmine with apricot, and blackcurrant and white chocolate mousse.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, 2-5 June 2012. More afternoon teas in London

If you fancy some Chinese cuisine which is slightly more authentic than the questionable takeaway over the road then head to Min Jiang in Kensington High Street. 

Overlooking Kensington Gardens, on the tenth floor of the Royal Garden Hotel, this Chinese restaurant offers a menu of culinary delights with fabulous décor and service to match.

Walking into the restaurant, you’ll notice Chinese blue and white vases and eye-catching red walls lined with black and white photography. Panaramic windows show off the view over the gardens. 

We sampled a few of the starter dishes including dim sum, crispy fried squid and cold drunken chicken. The highlight was the deliciously different crispy duck skin in fine granulated sugar. 

For the main course, we couldn’t resist the chef’s special – wood-fired Beijing duck. This needs to be ordered in advance and the chef will even come over to your table to carve the duck in front of you.

This elegant restaurant comes highly recommended for Chinese cuisine at its very best. 

Min Jiang, Royal Garden Hotel, 2-24 Kensington High Street, W8 4PT

Last night I visited the new Park Terrace restaurant in the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington. The revamped venue has a floor-to-ceiling glass wall with views over Kensington Gardens, and the park theme continues in the food and drink menus.

We started off in the relaxed bar area, with two non-alcoholic cocktails: a Parkside Cooler (strawberry puree, peach juice, fresh mint, orange juice) and a Virgin Vanilla Mojito (apple juice, fresh mint, lime juice, vanilla sugar, lemonade).

Next, we moved into the fine dining restaurant to sample chef Steve Munkley’s food. The restaurant sources lots of ingredients from small, local suppliers – including meat from Essex, sea bass farmed in a disused quarry in Anglesey, British cheeses, and wild mushrooms from the New Forest.

I chose Ticklemore goats’ cheese with ratatouille for starters. It came wrapped in thin slices of green and yellow courgette, and was fresh and creamy. My guest opted for the Shetland organic salmon, which was also delicious.

There was only one vegetarian main course – ravioli of Ogleshield cheese with chanterelle mushrooms, pesto and black olives, which was tasty and not too heavy. My guest enjoyed the English chicken breast with herb gnocchi.

We both agreed that one of best things about the meal was the amazing carrots. Whatever main course you choose, make sure you order the carrots. We were literally fighting over the last one in the vegetable dish!

For pudding we shared a raspberry flapjack with pear sorbet and soured raspberries, which was light and fruity and beautifully presented.

Park Terrace is hidden away at the back of the Royal Garden Hotel, without its own entrance from the street. But it’s worth seeking out for the lovely fresh food and refined but friendly service.

Park Terrace, Royal Garden Hotel, 2 Kensington High Street, London, W8. Two courses £26.50, three courses £31.50