Anya Hindmarch’s new Wishing Tea is many things — afternoon tea, folk art exhibition, seasonal ritual — and that’s before we even get to the dandelion cordial, cakes and sandwiches, all of which come served on hand-carved wooden stands so lovingly illustrated with folk characters, spring symbolism, and ancestral lore that they almost upstage the treats displayed upon them.
Almost.
It would be impossible to upstage the Wishing Tea menu, with its quintessentially Anya Chubby Heart chocolate and raspberry cake; the adorable chick crafted from lemon curd and meringue; frosted berry ‘caterpillars’; and the Green Man nettle cake with fondant leaves, inspired by the foliate face of British folklore, symbol of nature’s power to renew itself.
Hedgerow jams arrive alongside eccles cake and pikelets — at which point one feels compelled to acknowledge that this very well may be the most charmingly earnest, wholesomely English afternoon tea ever devised.
The savoury tier doesn’t mess with sandwich-filling tradition: cucumber with lemon, dill and cream cheese, smoked salmon, and egg and cress. But they are playful nonetheless, cut into shapes that nod to the theme — daisies, hearts and smiling green faces.
“Marking moments and making memories has never felt more important,” says Hindmarch. “I wanted a really special way to celebrate all good spring things — Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, Chelsea Flower Show, the list goes on.” The experience weaves together, as she puts it, “threads of ancestral lore — symbolism, poetry, fable, art — that trace their origins across the world.”
Six stands, six stories
Each of the six bespoke wooden stands tells a different tale, topped with a vignette of hand-carved figures.
On the New Life Stand, Ostara — the Germanic and Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, dawn, and fertility — holds aloft a baby dressed as a hare, accompanied by Morris dancers, while egg silhouettes repeat across the stand in a nod to ancient Easter traditions.
Atop the Love Stand, flower-crowned figures spin “you are my sunshine” and share a kiss; a bunny covers its eyes (folklore has it that the first person seen on Valentine’s morning will be your true love), while the Green Man holds a poetic love token.
The Celebration of Nature Stand brings a Beltane celebration — the Green Man drunk on milk, Morris dancers clashing sticks, sun and fire symbols evoking the warmth of the season.
Even the drinks are steeped in folkloric tradition: dandelion and burdock cordial, dandelion leaf tea, nettle infusions — making for a menu that feels as much like a hedge witch’s incantation as anything you might reasonably order in Chelsea.
The Wishing Tree
The centrepiece of the Wishing Tea is a new neighbourhood ritual. Guests are invited to write a wish, hope, or intention on a ribbon and tie it to the Pont Street Wishing Tree — a small act of optimism, as Hindmarch puts it, sent “out into the world.”
The Wishing Tea is available now at Anya Café, 9 Pont Street, SW1X 9EH. Book your table here.
Monday – Saturday 8am – 6pm
Sunday 10am – 6pm
