You’ll find The Coral Room tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street inside The Bloomsbury hotel. I’ve been making visits to The Coral Room since it opened last year, and it has quickly become one of my favourite spots in London. The room is stunning, from the incredible coral-coloured walls, the unique Murano glass chandeliers to the brilliant illustrations hung throughout the space (by one of my favourite artists, Luke Edward Hall). It’s the ideal location for a breakfast or coffee meeting or to grab a cocktail. 

I wasn’t aware The Coral Room offered afternoon tea and I was keen to try it out. Since I moved to London from Dublin eight years ago, I’ve only been to afternoon tea three times. I’m not sure why I haven’t been more, sitting down for hours, drinking litres of tea, and eating refillable plates of food is my idea of a great day out. It is such a treat and I thought my partner, who is a chef, would also enjoy this, so I brought him along with me last weekend and as soon as we sat down we were so looked after, especially by the manager, Paul.

Now I’m a sweet tooth kind of gal but I had three plates of sandwiches because they were so delicious. It all came down to the avocado bread, which I hadn’t heard of before, but was so good that I’m currently looking for recipes for it. All the ingredients were seasonal including the jam to go with the warm scones (which we managed to fit in after the three plates of sandwiches!) We both had tea but we also both had a glass of bubbles. I hardly had room for the sweets, but they were equally as mouth-watering as the rest of the food. 

While we were sitting and digesting, I thought that this really was the loveliest afternoon. After having my nails done that morning and nipping into town to start the Christmas shopping, The Coral Room really was the perfect place to sit back and relax on a late Saturday afternoon. If we didn’t have evening plans, I’m sure we would have stayed for the night, working our way through the cocktail list.

Jessica Garland Blake is a lifestyle and fashion blogger at Ihavethisthingfor.com 

The Coral Room serves Afternoon Tea from 12noon – 6pm Monday to Sunday and 11am – 4pm Saturday and Sunday.