When I heard about a new afternoon tea launching under a railway arch in Battersea, I had my doubts. No chintz. No bone china. No hushed, reverent atmosphere where you feel like you should whisper about the weather. I thought Jack & Beyond would be just a bakery under the arches, with a menu that promised to be “genuinely different.” I was wrong. Spectacularly wrong.
The setting: Not Instagrammable (And thank goodness)
This is not the Ritz. It is not Fortnum’s. There is no pianist playing gentle show tunes while you sip your Earl Grey. The arches are industrial. The décor is functional. If you are looking for a pink velvet throne and a photo op for your grid, you might be disappointed.
But that is exactly what makes it brilliant. There is no pretence. No performance. Just a proper bakery where you can actually see the team preparing everything fresh in the open kitchen behind glass. You can watch them pipe, decorate, bake. It is transparency that feels almost rebellious in an age of smoke and mirrors.
The food: Actually, genuinely fabulous
The scones. I am a scone purist, and I do not apologise for it.
The plain scone was perfect: crumbly, buttery, everything a scone should be. The cheese scone was a savoury triumph. But the beetroot scone? That was a revelation. Out of this world. I have never had one before, and now I cannot stop thinking about it. It is delicious on its own, but with clotted cream and jam? Absolute magic. My notes literally say “Fab with cream and jam but also by itself as it is very tasty.” That is the kind of scone that deserves a standing ovation. I got a doggie bag to take home so tomorrow I will be reliving that moment.
The savouries were equally impressive. I enjoyed the avocado and feta on fresh baguette, and the tomatoes with mozzarella. Fresh. Flavourful. No sad, limp sandwiches here.
Then the sweets. The Electric Lemon Tart was zingy and bright. The flower fruit custard tart was delicate and pretty with a very fresh custard that for me personally was a time travel machine back to Italy when my mum makes custard pudding on a Sunday afternoon. The chocolate chip brick brownie fingers were dangerously addictive.
The best part? You can taste the quality. This is not mass-produced, chilled, and wheeled out. This is made fresh, with care, by people who actually care. And you can see that for yourself in the open space.
The interactive bit
You also get to decorate your own cat or dog cupcake. Is it slightly chaotic? Yes. Are the results questionable? Absolutely. But it is fun, and the kids (or the big kids among us) will love it. Plus, £1 from every booking goes to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. So you are eating cake, getting creative, and doing a good deed. Win-win.
The verdict
Is the atmosphere perfect? No. But that is not the point. The point is the food, and the food is extraordinary. I would choose this over the Ritz any day. It is honest. It is fresh. It is real. And for £45 a head with bottomless teas, it is genuinely good value in a city where afternoon tea can easily set you back double that for far less soul.
I had a good chat with the founder, Fulop Gabor, a Hungarian-born baker whose journey from washing dishes to opening this extraordinary bakery is as inspiring as his creations. When I told him the beetroot scone was “out of this world” and that I had “never had anything like it before,” he beamed and told me that is exactly the reaction they hoped for. “For me, baking is art,” he said, and watching his team work through the open kitchen glass, you can see that is not just talk. He genuinely cares about every detail, and it shows in every bite. As he put it: “We want Jack & Beyond to be genuinely different.” And trust me, it is.
Jack & Beyond has created something special. It is not trying to be what it is not. And that, in my book, is worth celebrating.
I went to the preview sitting and ate far too many scones. No regrets.
Battersea Power Station Afternoon Tea is available Monday to Sunday at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. £45 per person with bottomless teas. £1 from every booking goes to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. Book at jackandbeyond.com.
In the area, you can also pop in to see the best view of London at the Lift.
Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://www.londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
