The Tea Experience: A Tea Tour of Edinburgh
Tigerlily
125 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4JN
tigerlilyedinburgh.co.uk
+44-131-225-5005
A short walk from eteaket, the classy and chic Tigerlily luxury boutique hotel, bar, and restaurant absolutely fizzes with life, excitement, and colour. The staff are so genuinely welcoming, charming, and cheery that a visit here feels rather like a gathering of good friends. The gorgeous ground floor area is extensive but is divided into smaller, more intimate rooms in which to meet friends, read a newspaper or book, relax with a cocktail, or take afternoon tea. Each space has its own style and vibrant colour scheme, and each flows into the next with an almost Alice in Wonderland magic. Some walls are totally covered with masses of flowers or baubles in bright pinks, purples, reds, and blues, depending on the season. Others are decorated with striking, jazzy black-and-white designs or with displays of modern art that add to the wonderfully colourful décor. Fairy lights twinkle, and eye-catching avant-garde lampshades continue the glamour. The mood is dazzling, dramatic, and plush. Restaurant and hotel websites often tend to overstate how good they are, but Tigerlily’s is completely honest when it claims, “We put the wow factor into everything we do!” They really do.
Visitors for afternoon tea have several indulgent options to choose from. A typical Afternoon Lily Tea serves sandwiches filled with locally sourced ingredients, including must-have Scottish smoked salmon, succulent honey roast ham with mustard from the Isle of Arran on Scotland’s west coast, a caramelised red onion and goat cheese quiche, and other savoury treats. Warm buttermilk scones come with strawberry or apricot preserves and clotted cream—currently not from Scotland but, given that an Irish dairy farm does now make clotted cream, perhaps one day we will find Scottish clotted cream available in local shops. Examples of delicious cakes that have been on the menu recently include strawberries-and-cream cupcakes, white and dark chocolate brownie gâteau, and lemon meringue tart. The selection of teas is supplied by eteaket (there was no need to look any further since Erica’s shop is just round the corner). And, for a slightly more indulgent experience, Whispering Angel Tea includes Whispering Angel Provence Rosé wine; the Deluxe Tea offers a glass of Botter Prosecco; the Cocktail Tea adds tempting creations concocted with, for example, Edinburgh Gin, Edinburgh Rhubarb and Ginger Gin, and Edinburgh Gin Raspberry Liqueur; or the final option is Champagne Tea with a glass of Veuve Clicquot Rosé. For those who relish utterly gorgeous, joyful, extravagantly designed tearooms that really do have the wow factor, this one is absolutely not to be missed!
