When you’re wandering down Fulham Road, you can’t walk past Jack and Beyond without being drawn into their impressive window display of giant colourful meringues, delicate macarons, and three-tiered celebration cakes.

The cosy yet stylish café was born when the owner decided that when they opened their first cake shop, instead of having a loyalty card scheme, customers would be given the option to pick at random a card from a French playing deck. Those that would draw a Jack would then receive a complimentary sweet treat of choice. The slightly different take on a loyalty reward scheme meant that Jack and Beyond was created.

We love a fancy afternoon tea, but in London we are inundated with choices. When we heard about Jack and Beyond’s afternoon tea, homemade by pastry chefs, Corrine Jones (previously Pastry Chef at Le Pont de la Tour) and Sophia Zimmer (ex Kondit-or) we had to try it for ourselves.

Greeted with a cold glass of fizz, you truly get treated like Kings and Queens. The immediate smell of freshly baked goods is enough to make you instantly hungry and the lovely staff (shout out to Sophia) made us feel extremely welcome, yet relaxed as we sat down to settle in for the afternoon.

A different take on your more traditional British afternoon tea, Jack and Beyond has added their own modern flair.  Instead of the usual finger sandwiches, we were treated to a selection of the most beautiful light, fluffy savoury pastries. To start we tried the leek and potato bite-sized quiche followed by an avocado and feta crouton, cheddar cheese palmier and to top it off a cheese gougère.

After the first bite of the quiche, although hesitant about the size, I immediately knew I wanted more than this bite-size portion of deliciousness.  However, this isn’t Jack and Beyond’s first rodeo and the amount of savoury food was more than enough.

It’s thirsty work and needless to say the bottomless hot drinks went down a treat. The drinks menu boasted a selection of exotic lattes including, The Pink Flamingo (flavoured with beetroot, lucuma and orange peel) and the Apple & Lavender (a blend of maca, beetroot, butterfly blue pea flowers and lavender). We opted for the traditional English breakfast tea, call us boring but it’s unbeatable.

After a deep breath and a loosening of the top button of the jeans, it was time to move onto the next layer of the afternoon tea, the sweet treats.  Have you heard of the Japanese term that keeps on cropping up called ‘betsubara’ – we hadn’t either! It literally translates to your second stomach for sweets.  And so be it, our ‘betsubara’ was being well and truly taken advantage of and used within an inch of its life.

A personal favourite and one of Jack and Beyond’s best sellers is their take on a Jammy Dodger. Homemade shortbread, with a generous serving of sweet raspberry jam and cream sandwiched in the middle, you’ll be left wanting more. In which case, we strongly advise you buy the full size one at the counter to take home.

Although, the star of the show had to be the scones, not just your traditional plain or fruit scone, but a show stopping-ly, perfectly moist red velvet scone. Smothered with a layer of clotted cream and topped with jam, we couldn’t have asked for a better finale.

If you don’t have room to finish it all make sure you request a box to take it home in. There’s nothing better than reliving the experience again at home through a leftover scone and a cuppa.

Jack and Beyond cater for all dietary requirements including gluten-free and vegan. In particular, the vegan peanut butter and chocolate banana cake were calling my name…i’ll be heading back soon to grab a slice.

Afternoon Tea at Jack and Beyond is available Monday – Saturday from 3:30pm onwards and on Sunday’s from 3:00pm onwards.  Tickets start from £29.95 per person. Book yours here.

Review by Evie Kennedy, Evoque Comms.