French Afternoon Tea with Champagne for Two

What did you get up to? Lanna and I stumbled our separate ways to a little French cheesy teashop, ‘Champagne + Fromage’, just to the Royal Opera House side of Covent Garden Piazza. A good tip to easily locate – a bright red post-box is directly next to the front door… you can’t miss that! It’s a bijou establishment with inside space for no more than 20 people at a time. The music is chilled and service personal. We were welcomed by the bon viveur host, Angus. Not a French name, because Angus is Anglo/Irish! He was, though, extremely welcoming and keen to make sure we had a lovely time. He also seemed to have advanced qualifications in the relative merits of Champagne and French cheese – very handy. We started with the best cheese scone I have ever tasted, accompanied by an expertly tutored glass of Champagne. All the Champagnes on offer are from family-style independent growers, and I must say the two glasses I had (Demi Sec and Brut) were first class. The afternoon tea was set out ‘a la Anglais’ style (on a traditional 3-tiered cake-stand) and consisted of the following: Tier 1 - Brioche buns with delicate cheese fillings accompanied by sweet fig jam or salty salami-style meats; Tier 2 – goats’ cheese and asparagus mini quiches; Tier 3 - 3 types of finger desserts (chocolate, lemon and a cute little Bakewell tart). All washed-down with an individual pot of tea each, with 6 different blends to choose from, and as a “builders’ tea” man myself, a reassuring breakfast tea. This bit is truly English…L’Entente Cordiale in action. All exquisite. The only negative was that because we chose a Friday lunchtime, there were very few other people at the venue. It was Work-at-Home Friday after all, and a sunny day at that. London can be a bit of a ghost town on sunny Fridays. So, if you like a bustling vibe, don’t book a Friday; if, on the other hand, you like one-to-one service and attention from Angus, Friday is your day! What did you enjoy the most? Whilst I’m very fond of Champagne, the quality of the food, even outstripped the fizz.