I’ve unknowingly walked past Paramount many a time while on my way to bustling Oxford Street. Paramount sits in the vicinity of Tottenham Court Road, atop ‘Centre Point’, a building whose imposing and distinguishing height has often made me wonder if inside dwells the lair of a Bond Villain. Such an illusion was continued as my guest and I entered the building to be escorted to the elevator by the receptionist, despite the fact it lay a mere 10 feet away. As she swiped the button for the top floor, my mind started racing as to what might lie within the intermediary floors which we sped past. Captured spies, vaults of gold, a glitter-ball adorned disco room? (Bond villains need to relax and unwind as well, you know).

Such musings, however, came swiftly to a halt as we reached the top floor and were greeted with a beautiful London vista that awaited us. I recently visited another top-floor bar at night and was able to appreciate the sea of mesmerizing city lights, however a daytime visit to Paramount allowed us to behold the details of London in all its diverse glory. For example, it is only up high, that you notice the striking quality of the British Museum’s dome; were I an architecturally learned woman, I could give you an impassioned spiel on its structural grandeur. As I am not, I shall simply say that it looks like a giant bouncy castle full of knowledge. Never has it been given a higher accolade, I am sure. A multitude of other London landmarks were also up for observation; Canary Wharf, Tower Bridge, St Paul’s – all  the gang were in full view, aided by blissfully clement weather. My guest actually commented, in a moment of thoughtful reflection, “This view has been a better friend to me than several of my actual friends…at least in the amount of joy it brings me”. I like to think people will start using this scale to introspectively judge how decent a person they are. Go on, think about it. Are you a worthy enough confidante to compete with the joy-inducing sweeping vistas of London? When was the last time you baked your friend a cake? Off to the kitchen with you.

On the note of cake, when Afternoon Tea (the very purpose of our visit) appeared, the view was momentarily relegated from our attention.  I readily concede, the first reaction from both my aforementioned view-lovin’ friend and myself was ‘This looks delicious but decidedly minimal in quantity’.  Nevertheless, enthusiastically tucking in, we started with such savoury delights as smoked salmon on pumpernickel, poached chicken on multigrain bread and the signature quiche of the day. There’s something brilliant about eating really tiny food and pretending to be a giant (No? Just me?). This was followed by an array of sweets including carrot cake, chocolate cake and indeterminate-but-delicious cake alongside some oven-fresh scones with thick clotted cream and fresh jam. It was half way through the platter of cakes that indulgence rapidly dissolved into over-indulgence and we became acutely aware that the dainty looking Afternoon Tea was a more insurmountable edible hurdle than anticipated. It was absolutely delightful though and beautifully complemented by some fresh Peppermint tea; an utterly justifiable indulgence for a Sunday afternoon.

The atmosphere for 6pm on Sunday was perfect - busy but incredibly relaxed – and the patrons were comprised of groups of friends, families and even a blind date which was occurring behind us. Not an online-date, a completely blind date set-up where each party had clearly never seen the other before. It was akin to watching live theatre, if said production was a tragi-comic tale of a slightly over eager and gregarious young woman’s first encounter with a reserved and disengaged young man whose vocabulary appeared to solely comprise of the words ‘Oh right’. While I can’t promise quite the same interactive theatre experiences if you head to Paramount, the views will provide entertainment enough as you take in the majestic panoramas and revel in the very literal definition of ‘High Tea’.

For more details on Paramount’s Afternoon Tea and other dining options, please visit the website here.