The ladies like it chocolate | Afternoon Tea at The London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills, CA

The London Tea Sandwiches

Four sandwiches will arrive to your table plated on a bed of seasoned cucumber slices. I particularly liked the matcha green tea crêpe wrapping smoked salmon and crème fraîche.

The London Tea Pastries & Scones

Watch executive chef Anthony Keene explaining the pastries.

As awaited, the multi-level tray finally arrives with the sweets.

You have no choice but to start with the Wild Blueberry Ice Cream Cone. The actual cone is as good as the ice cream.

Keep the Lemon Verbena Meringue Tart and the Battenburg Sponge Cake (apricot jam wrapped in pistachio marzipan) for the end as they are the pastries with the most flavors.

Dial “P” for the pâtes de fruit, hidden in a classic red telephone box.

The Chocolate

The teatime at The London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills could not have been called “Afternoon Tea with Chocolate” without chocolate. It is actually chocolates and not chocolate.

Through the Nashville hotel sister property, chef Keene met designer chocolatier Phillip Ashley. Based in Memphis, TN, Ashley has been designing luxury chocolates since 2012. His bonbons are unique with flavors like “French Bleu Cheese,” which has become the most requested one; the “Flute Champagne,” filled with a milk ganache mixed with Champagne and Marc de Champagne, a French brandy; or this other cheesy one, “Ruby Port Goat Cheese Fig Jam.”

You will find five different ones on your pastry tower. And, the good news is that you can leave home with a box of twelve different bites ($65).

> For information, visit Phillip Ashley Chocolates official website.

About the teas

To stay within the British sphere, London-based boutique tea house Rare Tea Company, founded by Henrietta Lovell, has been elected to provide leaves for both the iced teas and the warm ones. They are sourced from farmers using sustainable practices to the benefit of the land and the people who live and work on it.

The Limited Edition includes a chocolate tea and one called “Golden.” The former is composed of loose Malawi black tea leaves with organic cacao nibs. The second is a combination of black tea and Himalayan turmeric.

> For information, visit Rare Tea Company official website.

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The hotel

The London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills is an all-suite luxury hideaway located steps from the Sunset Strip, with a rooftop pool presiding on top of the city.

Every suite in the hotel offers expansive views, a private terrace, living room, dining area (for two), wet bar and workspace. Breakfast is complimentary. For those in the film biz, there is a 110-seat screening room and fully-wired second floor designed to cater to press junkets.