And… breathe! It’s the new year. After the chaos of Christmas, it’s time to take stock and really appreciate the good things in life, no matter how small or, indeed, how big.

If you’re feeling a little jaded, one thing that is sure to brighten your day, is our Botanic Garden collection. We were thrilled when we saw it being used in a trendy bar known as Dandelyan – an afternoon tea cocktail bar in the Mondrian Hotel in London. You’ll find it overlooking the South Bank next to the River Thames.

The menu draws from the botanical wilds of the British countryside and you will find your afternoon tea served on the very fitting Botanic Garden collection. 

We got in touch with Jenna Bromage, the Marketing Director of this fabulous destination hotspot, to find out what inspired the beautifully designed bar which was named in the top 3 at the World’s 50 Best Bars Awards in 2016.

What inspired your design theme for the Dandelyan Bar?  
At the heart of Dandelyan is a focus on Modern Botany. Ryan Chetiyawardana and his team use their extensive research to create menus that lead guests on a journey through botanical ‘field guides’ with cocktails that use carefully sourced and sourced fruits, vegetables and fresh herbs. This focus on botany stretches through to the menus themselves which feature graphic botanical images. When Dandelyan decided to launch an afternoon tea, botany naturally became a big part of it and Wyld Tea was created.

In your opinion, what three words best describe the Dandelyan Bar?
Botanical, scientific, fun!

Why Botanic Garden?
Botanic Garden seemed a perfect match for Wyld Tea; complementing the botanic and retro influences in the cocktail, cakes and savouries.

    

Did you already know about Botanic Garden? Do you remember it from your childhood?
Yes, I think Portmerion, particularly Botanic Garden, has an element of nostalgia for a lot of people, who can remember their family collections of it. When we were working on the concept of this particular initiative, everyone we showed the samples to had a memory from their childhood which is exactly what we wanted.

Botanicals are on trend. Do you think Botanic Garden fits this trend?
Absolutely, and it also works well with the trend for retro food and drink which we’re starting to see.

In your opinion, what three words best describe Botanic Garden?
Nostalgic, quality, nature.

If we have inspired you to pop over to the Dandelyan for a spot of afternoon tea with a twist, you can find all the details you need here. If you fancy recreating your own botanical afternoon tea experience, you can also buy Portmeirion’s Botanic Garden collection here.    

Credit for the lovely photography used within this blog post goes to @dannyborchert, @markaizatt and @mondrianldn of Instagram, using the #dandelyanwyldtea hashtag.