It’s almost impossible to ignore season three of the White Lotus. Those sarongs! That tropical location! Those incestuous brothers! The show has been splashed all over the internet for weeks — we are all merely cogs in creator Mike White’s plan for cultural dominance. Above all, if you’ve not seen that monologue, a masterful piece of acting by Sam Rockwell, where have you been?
Each episode — 7 of 8 so far — brings endless shots of the Four Seasons hotel in Koh Samui, Thailand. White, the show’s creator, makes a point of filming every series at one of the luxury brand’s resorts (speculation is rife about which one he’ll pick for the upcoming fourth season), much to the franchise’s benefit: stays there have spiked for each of the three locations featured so far.
And if you can’t afford the new White Lotus themed wellness weekend that the Four Seasons has launched in California (much needed, if only to counteract the extreme stress that watching the show incites), or indeed the budget for an overnight stay in Sicily, there’s a more affordable way of enjoying the show. That is, with a White Lotus themed afternoon tea at the chain’s Park Lane London hotel.
Naturally, this meant devoting a Saturday afternoon to a visit and sitting down in the hotel’s slightly airport lounge-y afternoon tea space as soothing piano music mixed with adrenaline-spiking interludes from the show’s soundtrack.
Hosted by Pavyllon, its Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant, it’s a rather lovely contribution to the capital’s afternoon tea scene – especially for those in search of something a little bit different. Or indeed cultural.
The menu was “Asian-inspired”, our waiter told us, presumably as a nod to the show’s current setting of Thailand. In practice, it meant we started off with a host of fusion snacks: a curried tiger prawn and pickled mango sandwich that melted away on the tongue; a crispy crab tartlet served with lotus paste (I see what you did there); and a chicken dumpling that arrived swimming in a delicate langoustine extraction.
The dessert course was the winner. It was on a ceramic centrepiece in the shape of a pond, with little plates designed to look like white lotus flowers
All pleasing, especially when washed down with a cup of tea – or indeed, as the Four Seasons suggests, a glass of Champagne (a must-have if we’re going the full White Lotus hog). The dessert course was the winner. It was on a ceramic centrepiece in the shape of a pond, with little plates designed to look like white lotus flowers. The overall effect is Instagram gold: perfect for splashing over one’s social media feed. Which, of course, I did.
Elsewhere, we enjoyed a sweetcorn and buckwheat mousse that stretched the Asian influence remit somewhat, a honey and grapefruit cheesecake, and a pandan brioche bun stuffed to bursting with roasted pineapple.
We managed to save space for scones. What afternoon tea would be complete without them? Thankfully for my rather upright British sensibilities, they were served with a more traditional jam and clotted cream, as well as a kaya pandan jam which had the consistency of lemon curd and a blandly sweet custard taste. Best skipped.
Can I imagine one of the characters sitting down to a session of politicking and social machinations over one? Naturally. Factor in some people watching, and what you have is a recipe for a very relaxing afternoon indeed. And the best thing is, no backstabbing or betrayals are required to enjoy it.
The Four Seasons London; afternoon teas start from £85pp, until May 16, 2025. pavyllonlondon.com
