Hotel Café Royal is bringing three of its most celebrated literary guests – Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf and John le Carré – to the table with the launch of London’s Most Literary Afternoon Tea.

Inspired by works including The Picture of Dorian Gray, Mrs Dalloway and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, head pastry chef Maxence Blondelle translates prose, plot and personality into a collection of pâtisserie and savouries, served in the historic Café Royal Grill.

The pâtisserie features Mrs Dalloway’s Hat, a floral take on Clarissa Dalloway combining vanilla sablé, vanilla-hazelnut mousse, orange marmalade and hazelnut praline. Dorian’s Gilded Mirror draws on The Picture of Dorian Gray, with a plum glaze and gold chocolate shell concealing honey mousse, spiced plum and almond sponge. Meanwhile, The Secret Letter, inspired by Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, combines Earl Grey tea mousse, Pink Lady apple compote, cheesecake sablé and buttery streusel.

The savoury selection references other literary figures associated with Café Royal. Rudyard Kipling inspires a Coronation Chicken sandwich, while WB Yeats is represented by smoked salmon, horseradish crème fraîche and rye sourdough. George Bernard Shaw’s vegetarianism informs free-range egg mayonnaise and mustard cress, while Wilde returns with an English cucumber sandwich with elderflower-pickled shallots and cultured cream cheese, inspired by The Importance of Being Earnest. A seasonal combination of aged cured ham, truffle mascarpone and marinated fig completes the selection.

Freshly baked Bloomsbury Scones, served with strawberry preserve and seasonal fig jam, offer another nod to Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group. Jing Darjeeling Empyrean is recommended with the savouries, while Jing Tea’s Jin Xuan Milk Oolong accompanies the pâtisserie.

The experience concludes with The Final Chapter, three edible books designed to be shared, bringing Wilde, Woolf and le Carré together through 68% dark chocolate mousse, vanilla salted caramel, vanilla crémeux and crisp sponge.

The experience also marks an exclusive partnership with Hatchards, the UK’s oldest bookshop. Guests can browse and purchase editions of the featured works, including classic, contemporary and rare first editions by Wilde, Woolf and le Carré.