I love a good afternoon tea. There is something about the whole experience that appeals to me — the beautiful surroundings, the presentation, the ceremony of it all and, of course, the food. I have enjoyed quite a few afternoon teas over the years and I am always on the lookout for somewhere a little different.
So when Dim Sum Library popped up on my Instagram feed offering a contemporary Asian twist on the traditional afternoon tea, it immediately caught my attention.
The photograph showed a beautiful three-tier stand filled not with finger sandwiches, scones and cakes, but with colourful dumplings, delicate pastries and other tempting little bites. The words “contemporary twist” and “reimagined” were enough to make me investigate further.
I had never tried an Asian-style afternoon tea before. There was only one thing to do. Book it!
Afternoon Tea Week
As luck would have it, I discovered Dim Sum Library during Afternoon Tea Week, when they were offering a complimentary bubble tea with their afternoon tea from 10–16 August.
The afternoon tea itself was £25 per person, including a choice of Chinese tea, which I thought was excellent value. The complimentary bubble tea was an added bonus.
I booked the first available slot for my partner and me.
Dim Sum Library is in Leicester Square, right in the heart of central London, making it easy to combine afternoon tea with sightseeing, shopping or a trip to the theatre.
Our reservation was for 2.30pm. We were welcomed at the door, our booking was checked and we were taken straight to our reserved table. The restaurant felt modern and special without being overly formal, and the service was excellent from the moment we arrived.
Our server explained how the afternoon tea worked and talked us through the different courses. We were also given suggestions for our Chinese tea and bubble tea.
Neither of us had ever tried bubble tea before. I chose dragon fruit and my partner chose vanilla.
For our hot tea, however, we decided we had been adventurous enough and both chose a plain, popular Chinese tea!
Then the afternoon tea arrived
The food was presented on a beautiful gold wire three-tier stand, very similar to the one that had first caught my attention on Instagram.
It looked gorgeous.
The first course included a wild mushroom and beetroot dumpling, crystal har gau filled with shrimp and a seabass dumpling prepared Shunde style.
We tried each one slowly.
And then something rather funny started happening.
With practically every mouthful, one or both of us would instinctively make appreciative little noises — “hmmm… ahhh…” — before looking at each other.
Every piece tasted completely different.
I had expected the beetroot dumpling to taste strongly of beetroot, and it did, but there was something else going on with the flavours that made it far more interesting than I had expected. The shrimp har gau was completely different again, as was the seabass dumpling.
There wasn’t a single one that I didn’t enjoy.
Crispy, flaky, soft — and all savoury
The second course brought another change in flavours and textures: Yu Xiang crispy pork dumpling, crispy fried purple cabbage roll and Dim Sum Library’s signature Wagyu beef puff with black pepper.
The Wagyu beef puff had beautifully flaky pastry wrapped around the savoury beef filling, while the crispy purple cabbage roll was another surprise.
Cabbage with a twist!
What I particularly enjoyed throughout the afternoon tea was the contrast. Some of the food was soft and delicate, some crispy, some flaky and some richer in flavour.
And almost everything was savoury.
That was one of the biggest differences between this and the traditional afternoon teas I have experienced. There were no rows of sweet cakes and pastries waiting for us on the top tier.
Instead, the final course consisted of a baked barbecued pork puff and a classic egg tart.
The barbecued pork puff was delicious, but it was the classic egg tart that provided the perfect sweet ending. In fact, it was the only truly sweet item in the entire afternoon tea.
We both particularly appreciated the emphasis on savoury rather than sweet.
But would those little bites actually fill us up?
Looking at all those beautifully presented little dumplings and pastries, you could easily wonder whether you might need another meal afterwards.
Surprisingly, no.
We were comfortably full by the end.
There is a difference between being full and being satisfied. Sometimes you can be full without feeling particularly satisfied, and at other times you can enjoy something immensely but still feel as though you could eat a little more.
This afternoon tea somehow managed both.
We were full and satisfied.
Tea and bubble tea — perhaps one drink too many!
There was only one part of the experience that didn’t quite work for us.
The bubble tea.
Not because we disliked it. I enjoyed trying the dragon fruit bubble tea and my partner enjoyed his vanilla one. It was our first experience of bubble tea and I was glad we tried it.
The difficulty was drinking cold bubble tea alongside a pot of hot Chinese tea.
For us, the two simply didn’t go together particularly well.
I managed both, but my partner eventually concentrated on the bubble tea and left most of his Chinese tea.
It was a minor point in what was otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
Would I go back?
Without hesitation.
In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I nearly booked another afternoon tea while we were still there!
My partner sensibly reminded me that we already had another two meals booked that week and perhaps three special meals in one week was getting a little excessive.
He had a point.
The whole experience lasted around an hour and a half. At no point did we feel rushed, and the service remained excellent throughout.
At £25 per person, I thought the afternoon tea represented exceptional value. We both came away saying that we would happily have paid considerably more for the quality of the food, presentation, service and overall experience.
What stayed with me most wasn’t simply the novelty of having dim sum instead of sandwiches and scones. It was just how good everything tasted.
Every mouthful brought something different.
If you enjoy afternoon tea but fancy trying something that breaks away from the traditional format — particularly if, like us, you prefer savoury flavours to lots of sweet treats — this is one I would happily recommend.
And yes, I would definitely go again.
I just need to make sure I don’t already have another two meals booked that week!
Have you had an afternoon tea? I’d love to hear about your experience or any tips you’d add in the comments below.
Good to Know
Where: Dim Sum Library, Leicester Square, central London
What: Asian-inspired afternoon tea with a contemporary take on the traditional three-tier afternoon tea
Price when we visited: £25 per person, including a choice of Chinese tea
Our visit: During Afternoon Tea Week, 10–16 August, when a complimentary bubble tea was included as a special promotion
Allow: Around 1½ hours for a relaxed experience
My tip: Come hungry. Those beautiful little bites are much more filling than they look.
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