The Wallace Collection is the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford located in Marylebone. The townhouse now displays an impressive art collection which is free for the public to view.
I’ve actually had a chance to visit the Wallace collection once before however it was brief as it was not civilised as I was doing a kind of treasure hunt around London as part of an away day with work but this time, I had a chance to visit the Manolo Blahnik exhibition and go for a much more civilised afternoon tea.
An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blahník at the Wallace Collection features a personally selected edit of shoe designs from Blahník’s private archives mixed into the already beautiful art at the Wallace Collection. If you’re not sure who Manolo Blahnik is, he’s the designer of the gorgeous shoe which was to some degree made famous by Sex and the City.
Seeing the shoes in their glass cases and how beautiful they look amongst the collection already displayed at the Wallace was definitely a work of art and truly couture.I’m personally more fond of the classic Hangisi Jewel style but its was definitely great to see all these other styles and sketches come to life.
After a quick walk around the exhibition which should take you about 20 minutes, we were invited (well, Anoushka was invited and kindly had me as her plus one) to try the afternoon tea in the very pink Wallace Restaurant. I have had this place saved on my insta for possibly about a year now so I was so excited to finally tick it off.
The afternoon tea was relatively small although for the price of around £30 (tea with a glass of Jean Paul Deville rose Champagne) it’s definitely one of the cheaper afternoon teas I’ve been to. It is also recommended that you definitely book should you be looking to join for tea.
With the set you get a selection of finger sandwiches; coronation chicken, egg, cucumber and cream cheese and salmon, two scones to share; fruit and plain, and a selection of macarons and cakes as well as a choice of one tea.
I’ll be completely honest and say its not the best afternoon tea I’ve had however, for a slightly cheaper version it was still a nice end to a day in the exhibition, it was more than enough for me as I am more of a savoury girl myself so the more sandwiches the better. The room itself tend to get quite warm if its sunny as it has a clear roof so is pretty much a greenhouse although not uncomfortably hot at all considering it was 26 degrees outside.
It’s definitely a nice day out with your parents I would say so you can walk around the exhibitions and sit in a nice room for tea. If you’re going and wanting slightly emptier room (maybe for pictures etc) I would suggest going towards when the sitting ends around 3.30pm (afternoon tea ends at 4.30pm).
Wear Juti Eats 