Rails – Kings Cross

It was so special to be taken out for Afternoon Tea with my friend who had introduced me to this delightful experience. It had been a fair few years since we had had chance to have an Afternoon Tea together. The Afternoon Tea at Rails is a quirky and tasty one as it is Harry Potter themed. The reason for this is that Rails is located close to Platform 9 and 3/4 in Kings Cross which is mentioned in the Harry Potter books and movies.

Rails is in the Great Northern Hotel which is the oldest railway hotel in London. The restaurant feels quite grand in its decor and furnishings. There is the show stopping lighting in the middle of the dining area which becomes a lovely focal point. Flower arrangements are on display too. There are cushioned booths for the seating which allows the diners feel like they have their own sections. There are also open seated areas.

The staff were so friendly and accommodating. They gave good suggestions for the teas from the tea menu. They made sure that all our dietary requirements were met and double checked before bringing out the foods. At times when it was busy, it was a little hard to get their attention for extra drinks.

The tea is from The East India Tea Company. There was an extensive variety of the teas offered in the tea menu. The tea timer on the table helped with the tea brewing times for the different teas. The tea that was chosen was the Great Northern Special Blend. It was a black tea from Ceylon. This Sri Lankan Orange Pekoe was infused with whole vanilla pods and vanilla extract. This tea had such a great strong flavour and the sweet vanilla definitely came through. It was had with almond milk. The tea was served in a big pot which was sufficient for a few cups of tea.

Rails has called its Afternoon Tea, “The Afternoon Tea That Must Not Be Named”. Normally my preference is to start with the sandwiches in the Afternoon Tea. But this time, as the scones were served warm, these were chosen to begin. The freshly baked plain and fruit scones were both great. They came semi wrapped in a napkin to keep them warm. Nothing feels more like a treat than warm scones topped with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam.

The scones were followed by the savouries. It was nice that there was a variety of foods in this tier. For the finger sandwiches, one of the salmon sandwiches was replaced with a cream cheese and cucumber one. Thick slices of ham together with mustard and watercress made up the “Halo-Ham-ora”. The “Dragon-Smoked’’ Salmon had a layer of creme fraiche in its filling. You can never go wrong with the finger sandwiches; they always taste good.

There was the wrap which was the “Herbologist’s” Red Pepper, Cream Cheese and Spinach. The flavours worked well together. The “Enchanted” Tomato Arancini was filled with the tomato rice and had a crunchy outer.

The Harry Potter theme definitely came through with the sweet layer. The attention to detail was super. The Butterscotch Beer Panna Cotta was presented in a mini beer tankard. It was creamy and full of the butterscotch flavour, topped with cream and a thin chocolate straw. The Chocolate Mousse Frog was light mousse on top of a chocolate spongy biscuit. It had just the right level of sweetness.

Continuing with the chocolate theme, the Crunchy Passionfruit Snitch was a white chocolate ball with a passionfruit filling. The slight tanginess of the passionfruit complemented the white chocolate. It was cute that the chocolate ball had the golden wings of the snitch. The “Post Owls” Victoria Sponge cake was a light cake. It had a surprise filling of fresh chopped strawberries instead of jam.

Rails truly gave us such a wonderful and amazing Afternoon Tea. The quality of all the foods and drink were high. It made it a friend afternoon that will always be remembered.

Rails, Great Northern Hotel, Pancras Road, London, N1C 4TB

Rating: ★★★★★

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