Peter Pan Afternoon Tea, The Shard

Nothing will make up for the fact that we have cancelled 2 Disney trips this year, but we do feel Ita’s disappointment and so when we heard that The Shard would be doing a themed Peter Pan tea, we booked as soon as we could.

The afternoon tea takes place on the 31st floor. For those who have not visited before, you take a very quick elevator to the top and you must go through metal detectors and have your personal belongings checked upon entering the building. There was a queue to enter the building and you’re advised to therefore arrive around 15 minutes before your booking. Ita, dressed as Tinkerbell no least, was whisked through security and complimented on her rightfully themed choice of dress!

This was actually where the magic started and we had no idea. In the lift we met a man called David from Northern Ireland, who told Ita she looked like a princess and asked her was she excited for the afternoon tea. Ita made no bones about telling him she was tinkerbell and was very much looking forward to it! David, turned out to be the Front-of-House Manager at Aqua Shard and he made our visit so much more than we could have expected.

Once we were seated, we were greeted by Alessandro, who again made such a fuss about Ita and explained to us what was in store. He kindly noted that because Ita was so small, she would be eating from our afternoon tea and even went as far as bringing her some separate ham and cheese sandwiches. This is where understanding families is so important – we were not made to feel uncomfortable about not getting Ita afternoon tea. It was totally understood and Ita’s sandwiches were complimentary. In fact, she was still offered the Never Grow Up mocktail which really was so thoughtful. (Big thank you so Allessandro for this!).

The presentation of the afternoon tea is magical. It arrives on a big ship just like Captain Hooks and then dry ice is poured from the back as if the ship is flying through clouds. Ita was mesmerised! Best yet, the ship remains there for your stay and isn’t taken away as a short lived prop. This is so well thought out and executed. I honestly believe that even as an adult you’re blown away by the creativity. David told us how much went into the planning of this and it was obvious.

There savoury treats were possibly one of the best we’ve ever had at an afternoon tea. My husband especially liked the “baked pig” which was a caramelised onion sausage in puff pastry and I loved the codfish Captain Hook! The “tick tock tinkerbell” was so cute because they actually spray gold “fairy dust” over the desert, right in front of you!

There are also two signature drinks- ‘Never Grow Up’ punch made out of pineapple, elderflower tonic and grenadine. (This was Ita’s mocktail). And ‘Fairy Dust’, containing mint and cucumber flavoured vodka, absinthe, apple, ginger and lime. I stuck with the champagne because that’s my little tipple during an afternoon tea.

I cannot compliment the staff that we came into contact with more. They were all so polite and friendly. Natalia kept checking everything was ok and made such an effort to speak directly to Ita. It was such a lovely experience because of the efforts that these team members went to. To top it all off, once we had finished, we were politely escorted to the other end of the restaurant where two cocktails were waiting for us, all thanks to David! What a surprise! We are truly so grateful.

This themed tea will be around for a good time yet and I would absolutely recommend it. I have nothing to fault whatsoever. We have a bit of a reputation for our love of afternoon teas and in our opinion… It’s the best themed afternoon tea currently running in London. HANDS DOWN! Yup. Quite a statement!

The Peter Pan afternoon tea is £52 pp and currently only running 4 days a week, Thursday to Sunday. This is being extended to 6 days a week.

You can book here via this link to reservations;

https://aquashard.co.uk/experience

The Peter Pan themed tea is in partnership with Great Ormond Street and £2 from every person going will be donated to the hospital.

The biggest of thank yous to David, Natalia and Alessandro for making our visit so memorable! 🧚‍♀️