Last Updated on August 24, 2026
Afternoon tea event with matched wines in a beautiful greenhouse hidden a stone’s throw away from Marylebone Road
4.0 out of 5.0 starsGreat Britain must surely be the afternoon tea capital of the world. Nowhere else has managed to elevate the consumption of a cup of warm water infused with dried leaves to the refined heights achieved by the British. And if there is an afternoon tea crown, London must surely be the jewel in the crown.
Every luxury hotel or department store worth its salt offers a swanky afternoon tea option: there are themed afternoon teas; seasonal ingredient afternoon teas; and afternoon teas with a view. So it’s not often that I discover an afternoon tea venue offering something a bit different, but recently I stepped out of Great Portland Street Tube station and into a hidden flower-bedecked hidden greenhouse for a special wine-matched afternoon tea at The Greenhouses.
Afternoons in Bloom is a new ticketed event series hosted at The Greenhouses Marylebone. This private event space occupies four meticulously decorated greenhouses tucked into the outdoor space surrounding One Marylebone (a Grade I listed former Anglican church, built in 1828 and designed by John Soane but now used as a wedding venue). Each greenhouse is uniquely decorated, with the smallest seating just 2 people and the largest 40. Until now, the greenhouses have been accessible exclusively via private hire, but they have recently launched Afternoons in Bloom, a series of carefully curated ticketed experiences each incorporating their signature afternoon tea.
The first two ticketed events were an afternoon tea combined with a fragrance blending workshop where guests were taken through a tutored blending process to create their own bespoke fragrance, which they got to take home; and the event I attended, which was an afternoon tea combined with a guided tasting of four matching wines from small independent producers. The event partner was Graft, independent wine importers who strive to work with producers sourcing grapes from singular vineyard sites and take a low-intervention approach to winemaking. This results in Graft’s exceptional offering of high-quality boutique wines that are expressive of both their terroir and cultivar.
Arriving at The Greenhouses is like stepping off the bustling Marylebone Road pavement and into a serene, fairy light-lit secret garden. Through a combination of existing mature trees and added plantings, the traffic noise is dimmed, and even the glass greenhouses seem discreetly screened from each other with copious amounts of real and (very good) ersatz flowers and foliage. Fairy lights twinkle on trees as the light fades and dappled late-afternoon sunlight filters through the greenhouse roof. It’s all rather magical, and I did envy the happy couple who were celebrating their wedding in one of the larger greenhouses on the day we visited!
The afternoon tea menu at The Greenhouses comprises a good balance of both savoury and sweet treats, and has an unusual Middle-Eastern flavour – a challenge for any sommelier trying to do a pairing but one that the knowledgeable representative from Graft handled with aplomb. The food is brought to the table on very pretty old-fashioned 3-tiered serving stands (one between two people) and eaten off delightfully mismatched sets of vintage crockery. After we had heard a bit about Graft and the sorts of wineries they work with it was time to feast.
We started with delicate open finger sandwiches topped with roast marinated beets, labneh, truffle honey and dukkah brittle, as well as pomegranate-cured salmon with shaved fennel and rose harissa crème fraiche. Both are served on challah bread. The quenelle of beetroot was satisfyingly earthy and nicely offset by the creamy labneh and spiked with dukkah. The salmon sandwich was my favourite, with the contrast between the salty, yielding salmon and the fresh, crisp fennel shavings.
These were matched with our first wine: 2024 Corvers-Kaiter Rauenthal Riesling from the steep slopes of the Rheingau in Germany. This dry Riesling is the perfect embodiment of the seriously good food wines produced in this area from this cultivar. The restrained nose of lemon zest, mint and green apples leads you to a palate with lively acidity, spicy citrus fruit and white peach notes overlaying a background of fine minerality. It was an excellent match with the salmon sandwich, coping easily with the strident flavours without ever overwhelming them.
We followed up the finger sandwiches with three substantial savoury snacks. First came larger open sandwiches of harissa chicken with sweetcorn, chicken skin brittle and pickled mango. I could have eaten a whole plate of these, so good were the intriguing flavour combinations and the culinary exclamation points of crispy chicken skin shards.
A mini wild mushroom sausage roll with caramelised red onion, feta and dukkah was a revelation – a bite redolent with such powerful flavours and textures that it was easy to forget for a minute that it was entirely meatless! But my favourite savoury was the Scotch egg comprising a perfectly jammy-yolked egg coated in a thick layer of spiced lamb mince and a crispy breadcrumb shell: the perfect marriage of spicy grown-up flavours and childhood comfort food.
These three more robust savoury bites were matched with a 2023 Alessandro Benini Mazzacana Valpolicella from the Veneto. This wine was dangerously drinkable, combining ripe sour cherry flavours with a touch of smokiness and juicy, supple tannins. It was robust enough to handle the diverse and earthy flavours of the food yet fruit-forward enough to prevent the spices from over-emphasising its 13.5% alcohol content.
Afternoon tea isn’t afternoon tea without scones and cream; and The Greenhouses’ menu included fruit scones of a perfect consistency: neither so dry as to be crumbly yet not so moist as to be claggy. To accompany these there was a generous quenelle of satisfyingly dense clotted cream and a small jar of Tiptree strawberry jam.
And to finish, we had a trio of miniature sweet treats: a miniature glazed lemon meringue pie (beautiful with a bright and lively lemon filling but let down by the slightly stodgy pastry case); a square of spiced carrot cake with topped with candied walnut and pumpkin seed (an excellent moist cake, but cream cheese frosting would have been better to balance the sweetness); and a pistachio éclair (more on that later).
The scones and first two sweet bites were matched with an exceptional 2022 Damien Pinon Les Perruche Vouvray. The 100% Chenin Blanc white wines from the Vouvray appellation have long been favourites of mine, and this was an outstanding example. The first whiff revealed an exuberant nose of stone fruits, apricots and spiced pear, but despite its sugar content, the palate remained vibrant with a racy acidity and minerality to balance the marmalade, honey and dried apricot flavours, and provide a complex and lingering finish.
The final sweet pastry (a miniature glazed chocolate pistachio éclair) was a delight: delicately shaped, feather-light and packed with intense pistachio flavour; no hint of almond essence here. The éclair came with its own individual pairing: NV Champagne A Levasseur Extrait Gourmand Rosé, which was an exceptional match.
The wine is unusual in Champagne terms as its blend foregrounds the red cultivar that usually plays only a small supporting role in Champagne blends: Pinot Meunier. The blend of 50% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir yields a satisfyingly deep rose petal wine with red berry fruit and vanilla hints on the nose alongside toasty brioche notes. The palate is a lush mix of raspberry jam, dried peaches and hints of caramel, which were further emphasised when paired with the nuttiness of the éclair. Another outstanding match in an evening of carefully considered and successful matches.
It was hard leaving the flowers and fairy lights behind to return to Harsh Reality, but I certainly left plotting my return as soon as possible (I’m thinking next big birthday!). As a private hire venue, it seems close to perfect, being well connected to public transport yet making you feel as if you have left London far behind for a few hours. The greenhouses can accommodate various sizes of party and are also perfect for Corporate events and launches.
With a bit of luck, though, I won’t have to wait for a special occasion to return, as The Greenhouses are planning to continue their series of ticketed events. Each Afternoons in Bloom event will feature a full afternoon tea service alongside a curated activity similar to my wine tasting, and all will cost £65 per person. I thought this was very good value, considering that a high-end afternoon tea in London these days (especially one with alcohol) can easily set you back close to £100 per person. It’s an indulgent treat for a friend – or for yourself. Keep an eye on The Greenhouses website and socials where forthcoming events will be advertised.
The Greenhouses
1 Marylebone Rd
London
NW1 4AQ, UK
Tel. 0207 186 2444
E-mail: info@thegreenhouses.london
Instagram: @thegreenhouses_
Looking for a different flower-bedecked afternoon tea in London? Take a look at the Orchard Room in Bloom tea at the Conrad London St James Hotel.
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