I’d been dying to go to Bea’s of Bloomsbury for ages – ever since my pal Louise suggested we went there and we couldn’t get a table – it was THAT popular.  So it seemed fitting that when I managed to secure a table for afternoon tea at their St Paul’s branch a couple of weeks ago, Louise was my cake date.

Raspberry Chocolate Cupcake

Deliciously fresh focaccia sandwiches

This is one of the most affordable afternoon teas in London – from £24.50 per person, I thought the price might be reflected in the size of the cakes or amount of sandwiches. I could not have been more wrong… This was one of the most generous afternoon teas I have experienced to date, and certainly one of the most delicious…

“Our casual, no-frills take on Afternoon Tea distills the essence of what Afternoon Tea should be: a time to sit and have a cuppa tea, enjoy the company of good friends and be surrounded by amazing cakes.”

Tea menu…

Earl Grey Tea

Located right next to St Paul’s Cathedral (and I do mean right next door) Bea’s is a two level bright and sunny pretty café – the sun was pouring in and there were some lucky folk enjoying their afternoon tea outside…

We settled in upstairs and marvelled at the plethora of treats and goodies that were presented in front of us on the never-ending cake stand…

Alfresco dining at Bea’s of Bloomsbury

Selection of mini meringues, fruity marshmallows (passionfruit!) Valrhona brownies, white chocolate blondies and their infamous killer brownies…

We talked strategy and Louise had a great technique of beginning with a sandwich, then progressing to cakes, them scones, then meringues, marshmallows and brownies etc… and then start all over again. I loved this method and have fully adopted it.

Red Velvet cupcake

Carrot Cake Cupcake

The cupcakes were extraordinary. They are very different from your average cupcake –  made with soft creamy Italian butter cream, fluffy Italian meringue, or rich, decadent fudge, they reminded me of the kinds of cakes we had as children, but with grown up flavours.. and hats of to the Bea’s team for cracking the perfect frosting to cake ratio. (Pretty much equal.)

Freshly baked scones

… with my favourite Tiptree jams…

We were lucky enough to also try Bea’s famous Townies (Tart + Brownie)

…and we also tried their Peanut Butter & Jelly slices…

Downstairs at Bea’s of Bloomsbury in St Paul’s

See? RIGHT NEXT DOOR!

And even though I was so full that I could barely left my arm, I couldn’t resit snapping St Paul’s on my way home…

I spy with my little eye… I looked right and saw a few little shops. Looked left and BOOM! Out of nowhere just peeping through the cracks… I’m just loving my London today☀️ #thisislondon #stpaulscathedral

A photo posted by London (@poppy_loves_london) on Apr 9, 2015 at 10:40am PDT

Bea’s motto is “Life is short. Eat more cake.”

I can’t think of a better mantra.

Bea’s of Bloomsbury – St. Paul’s
83 Watling Street
London
EC4M 9BX

p.s. Here’s Julie Andrews singing ‘All I want is a Room in Bloomsbury’ from ‘The Boyfriend.. I haven’t been been able to get this out of my head since visiting Bea’s! (If you can’t see the youtube clip, then you need to pop over here)

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