A great afternoon tea for two at Le Restaurant de PAUL in Covent Garden

It’s not easy for a busy mum to find three hours out of her hectic schedule to enjoy a great spot of Afternoon Tea with her best friend. But, thankfully, PAUL in Covent Garden throws a fabulous Afternoon Tea for two and Motherhood Diaries was invited to attend and review the selection of artisan bakery that PAUL is so famously well known for.

A little bit about PAUL

PAUL is a French artisan bakery that originates from a family of agricultural workers in the Artois region of Northern France. In 1889, Charlemagne Mayot and his wife opened a small bakery located in rue de la Mackellerie in Croix, near Lille. PAUL branched out of France, towards Barcelona in 1985 and incorporated a tearoom/restaurant alongside the bakery. Today, PAUL continues to be a family owned company, built on the foundations of time-honoured product methods, which have been passed down through five generations. PAUL is shared in more than 25 countries today and in 2012, PAUL opened its first bakeries in Singapore and Moscow.

Afternoon Tea at Le Restaurant de PAUL in Covent Garden

I arrived an hour earlier than the allocated time for Afternoon Tea, at 2.30pm, and entered a hugely bustling and overflowing bakery, draped in different food delights, ranging from Bread and Sandwiches to Viennoiserie and Pâtisserie. Weaving through the relatively small front-end bakery/café, I found a petite French woman dressed in black and assumed her to be the manager, as she stood out from a healthy number of staff dressed in chef white colours. She was very accommodating and, although I was an hour early, she found a seat for me in the tearoom/restaurant at the back of the café, which was only slightly larger in comparison.

As I was studying the beautiful French imagery on the walls, an enthusiastic waiter hovered over to offer me a drink, for which I opted for a Cappuccino and an Americano for when my absent friend arrived.

I had some spare time to sip my chocolate-sweetened Cappuccino before the afternoon tea portion began, so I made full use of the free Wi-Fi and signed up for PAUL’s loyalty card, which works a little bit like a payment card, i.e. 1 point = £1. Also, for every 9^th stamp you get, you can enjoy a free food or drink item of your choice.

After about ten minutes, the manager came over and offered to move me to a more private and spacious area, tucked into the corner of the tearoom. The seating area was large enough to hang my coat on the side, allowing me more seating room. I people-watched for a while, whilst pondering whether PAUL was suitable for families, as my two boys would really appreciate the vast array of patisseries on display. As soon as I had the notion, a family of four entered with two young babies and sat beside me. At this point, my friend had also arrived and walked past the waitress, who was securing the two highchairs in an already seemingly tight space. I asked the waitress about what was on offer for kids and she advised that no separate kids’ menus were available and that, generally, they can choose anything from the ‘Aperitifi and Plateaux’ menu or the ‘Pre-Theatre and Plat Principaux’ menu.

My friend and I chatted briefly about the ‘La cave a vin de PAUL’ wine and artisan bread displayed provocatively in front of us, perhaps, to entice us to a little aperitif with our Afternoon Tea. As both of us were recovering from a cold, we opted to stay on hot beverages and water. However, you can choose a glass of Crémant Brut or Champagne Camille Saves with your Afternoon tea, which will cost £30.00 for two or £35.00 for two, respectively.

To the left of us, past the second partitioned restaurant area, we could see the chef’s kitchen, which was decorated with a display of wooden chopping boards and garlic and herbs, layered to mimic the authenticity of Paul’s French cuisine. Again, champagne and white wine were peeping out of the partitioned windows that separated us from the restaurant area and the kitchen.

Waiters were rushing past us with a beautiful selection of pastries and the smell of what I believed were French salads with the classic Vinaigrette dressing. And, the aroma of meat was also wafting in the air as ‘Burger Boeufs’ were being presented in bright white plates and garnished with some greenery. Adults and children alike were enjoying the sweet dessert menu of glaces, sorbets and cakes.

The menu at a busy central London setting is quite reasonable, with prices ranging from £10.95 for simple ‘végétariens’ salads, to £14.95 for the ‘burger trois fromages’. The extra 150g beef steak to complement the burger boeuf was a small £3.50 on top of the £12.95, which totalled to £16.45. And you’re getting the full shebang in this menu, with a total of 350g beef steak burger, which is 28 days dry and aged from the queen’s butcher, Donald Russell, and garnished with baby gem lettuce, tomato and gherkins. Not bad for a royal burger meal!

On to the Afternoon Tea

Both my friend and I were pleasantly surprised at the amount of food offered when the Afternoon Tea had arrived. We were served with the following:

• 2 x Grilled chicken, tomato, mustard mayonnaise and lettuce on white bread
• 2 x Brie and lettuce with butter on white bread
• 2 x Smoked salmon and cream cheese with lettuce on white bread
• 2 x Brioche drizzled with sugar rocks and served with clotted cream and strawberry jam
• 2 x Carrot cakes with walnut and cream cheese filling
• 2 x Strawberry and custard cream cakes with pistachio marzipan
• 1 x Coconut macaroon
• 1 x Caramel macaroon

Alongside our Afternoon Tea, we also ordered a large bottle of Evian water to help wash down the highly sweet treats.

At £25.00 for two, PAUL’s Afternoon Tea was fresh, flavoursome and not too overly sweet as some other Afternoon Teas I have experienced in the past. The sandwiches tasted fresh and light – my favourite was the chicken and mustard mayo, sandwiched in fresh spongy bread. The brioches were just lightly sweetened with sugar rocks on top and the clotted cream was a little on the thin side, but the rich strawberry jam made up for the taste. We finished off our highly decadent Afternoon Tea with a macaroon each. I opted for the caramel flavour and my friend enjoyed the coconut alternative, which she said was very sweet and tasty. The carrot cake zinged with the flavour of carrots but, at that point, we were nicely stuffed and could only stomach extra water to finish.

The staff were helpful, friendly and present, checking sporadically as to whether we needed any top-ups and not rushing us at all when 5.30pm came around. The manager was conversational and communicative, even though the café had been heaving for the entire 3 hours.

Perhaps, the Covent Garden branch could benefit with a larger space for their Afternoon Teas, as it seems to be doing so well with customers, and our waiter, although, understandably rushed off his feet, should pay extra care to how he picks up our drinks. My friend commented twice on the way the waiter handled her jar of hot water. He had picked the jar up, rather un-hygienically, by the spout. Having said that, we had a great time and enjoyed a full afternoon of glorious tea, which, I believe, is massively value for money and the perfect way to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily parenting duties – without breaking the bank!

You can find more information on Le Restaurant de Paul’s Afternoon Tea here. I thoroughly recommend booking the Afternoon Tea in advance and enjoying the full experience as a gift for someone you care about.

Where’s your favourite place to go for Afternoon Tea? Leave us a comment with your experiences too.