Oscar Wilde afternoon tea - Cafe Royal

Oscar Wilde afternoon tea
Café Royal, London
November 2014

Did the ingredients sparkle?

This was, without a doubt, a FEAST! If you look up "spread" in the dictionary, it would probably be illustrated with pictures of this varied, decadent, wide ranging, taste adventure!

Proceedings kick off with a mini muffin to accompany your champagne and tea. Gimicky little pipette in it but used to add amazing flavours.

Then a generous helping of sandwiches in amazing flavour combinations (including pork crackling topping!!) with a good variety of types of bread (including a pastry case!). See photos below for more evidence of the amazingness. Warm cute little scones followed, then beautiful dainty varied patisserie and THEN you had a choice of 3 cakes from the counter! Oh, and there was a palate cleansing jelly thrown in there too.

Amazing combination of a huge quantity of food but also every section of it was really high quality, exciting, imaginative and tasty food.

Did the service/atmosphere sparkle?

See photo above - the room is GOLD. It actually literally sparkled! The service was what you would expect from high-end hotel- generally made you feel like a pampered princess.

Did it make me happy?

Very very happy - I have already booked to go back!

STAR RATING: 5 / 5 stars  

Festive afternoon tea - Cloud 23

Festive afternoon tea

Cloud 23 - Hilton Hotel, Deansgate, Manchester
December 2014

Did the ingredients sparkle?

A good effort  but nothing really stood out or stuck in the mind. Mini rarebit was a good idea but the flavour and ingredients didn't really come off. The cakes were nicely Christmas themed and were quite tasty but definitely more on the "wedge of slightly dry cake" end than "morsel of delicious sweet flavours".

Did the service/atmosphere sparkle?

The view is the main seller here - from the 21st floor you can see right across Manchester. It does feel much higher than an equivalent building in London just because there isn't anything around it of anywhere near the same height. The chairs were comfy but the tables were designed for 2 people and were quite low so actually eating off them and having a group of people was a bit awkward.

Did it make me happy?

I would say this was a pretty standard afternoon tea but in a great location. I would go back to try their normal afternoon tea rather than the festive one if the opportunity arose but I wouldn't rave about it to anyone.

STAR RATING: 2.5 / 5 stars  

Mad Hatter's afternoon tea - Sanderson Hotel

Mad Hatter's afternoon tea
Sanderson Hotel, London
Sept 2014

Did the ingredients sparkle?

The sandwiches were little exciting rolls which helped stop the bread going stale (see below). Each sandwich had a different flavour of bread to bring out the flavour of the filling (with the added bonus of looking really exciting and colourful!).

The scones were present and correct, but the real star of the show was the cakes. Everything was wonderfully themed to Alice in Wonderland/ general bright and colourful. There were little cups, little mushrooms, beautiful painted chocolate and "drink me" potions! It wouldn't be the thing for someone who likes their ingredients to be un-messed with, but for me it made the whole thing really exciting as you nibbled each bit to see what on earth it would taste like.

There was also a JELLY BUFFET for you to help yourself to 3 different flavours of jelly. Is there anything more exciting than a sundae glass full of wibbly wobbly tasty jelly?!
  

Did the service/atmosphere sparkle?

The afternoon tea was held in a covered courtyard at the hotel so it was light and airy like a summer garden while still being warm. Although still garden furniture and a lot of tables packed in.

They were very good at bringing lots of different teas for us to try (all Alice in Wonderland themed) as the afternoon tea went on. Although the booking said 2 hours max on the table, they were very relaxed and made no moves to throw us out.


The real show of their excellent service came because it we were there to celebrate my friend's birthday. We hadn't mentioned this on the booking or in any correspondence, but as they showed us to our table the waitress asked if we were there for anything special (just in a chatty, making conversation way). We mentioned the birthday and thought no more about it. When we had finished the afternoon tea though, a Happy Birthday slate and cake came out with a candle!!! Very very impressed with the unprompted attention to making the afternoon tea extra special!




 Did it make me happy?

I love Alice in Wonderland, themed things, bright colours and surprise birthday cakes. This afternoon tea therefore made me very happy!


STAR RATING: 4 / 5 stars  

This is a meringue carrot in teacup which actually has salad shoots planted in it and you can eat them!! Made an amazing top of the afternoon tea tower and actually a few shoots to nibble on is very welcome in amongst all the sweet stuff. 

Burger afternoon tea - Brgr Soho

Burger afternoon tea
Brgr - Soho
Nov 2014

Did the ingredients sparkle?

The main point of this afternoon tea was that everything is immensely cute and exciting if it is in miniature. It does even egt a bit tastier I'm sure! The 3 burgers were different flavours - turkey had to be done as it was a festive afternoon tea but it was predictably a bit dry. The others were tasty though and everything you would want from a burger. Mini portion of chips were hot, crispy and salty so all good. The mini puddings were a scrumptious soft brownie, a very exciting shot glass sundae thing (I do like a good bit of food presented in a glass) and a mini mince pie.

Normal fare for a burger restaurant to a large extent, and it would probably be much less exciting if they hadn't put everything in miniature and called it an afternoon tea. Good, solid, tasty burger restaurant fare though.

Did the service/atmosphere sparkle?

This is where I think they fell down a bit - a dimly lit room with tightly packed tiny tables is natch par for the course in a trendy Soho eatery but it jars a bit with an afternoon tea in the middle of the day when you want to feel a bit more stretched out and relaxed. The service was similarly exactly as you would expect for a trendy Soho eatery (fine but a bit distracted and overstretched) so you didn't get the indulgent, looked-after factor that afternoon tea often comes with.


Did it make me happy? 

It was very exciting and I do love burgers, but I'm not sure it belongs in afternoon tea world.

STAR RATING: 2 / 5 stars 

Scottish afternoon tea - Scottish cafe at Scottish National Galleries

Scottish afternoon tea
Scottish cafe @ Scottish National Galleries, Edinburgh
Jan 2015

Did the ingredients sparkle?

Good chunky sandwiches with tasty fillings (even when you ignore the fact that being chunky somehow always makes things taste better!). The salmon was on a savoury scone type thing instead of being in bread and it was really nommy!

Cute smaller scones which were slightly warm (but not wrapped up so lost it quite quickly). All fruit with jam and cream.

The cakes were nice and small and there was only one of everything which meant there was more variety on the plate. However, might have been difficult to share if you weren't with someone you didn't mind biting half of a cake then giving the other half to you (or if you are very good at precision tiny cake cutting!).

Did the service/atmosphere sparkle?

The cafe is attached to the galleries and is bright and welcoming, although you wouldn't describe it as snug. There is a great view out over the gardens across to the train station so you can forget you are in  the middle of a city and just appreciate the calm of the gardens. It is a cafe rather than a restaurant or hotel lounge though, so plain tables/chairs and quite noisy.

The service was very good - the afternoon tea technically doesn't start until 3pm but we were whiling away the afternoon until our train and the staff were happy to bring things out a few minutes early and for us to sit there all afternoon without rushing us. Everyone was very friendly (proper northern!) and explained the different treats to us with a enthusiastic flourish!

Did it make me happy?

The service and the sandwiches really made this one for me - a good, friendly, hearty afternoon tea. Not a frilly one, but pretty and elegant nontheless. No gimmicks or great innovations but it definitely made me happy.


STAR RATING: 3.5 / 5 stars  

Champagne afternoon tea - London Marriott County Hall

Champagne afternoon tea
London Marriott County Hall - Library Lounge
Feb 2015

Did the ingredients sparkle?

The sandwiches were very traditional (we each got 5 little sandwiches - beef, ham, egg, salmon and cucumber). There were a few different types of flat bread thrown in there but nothing particularly exciting going on with the fillings to bring it to life - altogether more of a box-ticking exercise. Sparkle it didn't.

The scones were lovely though - one savoury (with chives in and cream cheese to spread over) and one sweet (normal fruit scone with jam and clotted cream to spread over) each. All wrapped up to keep warm - often done but always appreciated!

The cakes (close up below) were where the most creativity came through - earl grey blob on biscuit and caramel/jam combo in pastry were both particularly nice. The chocolate was a bit sweet for me but good textures and the macaron was very minty - not my favourite flavour but a very nice idea to finish off the meal.

Did the service/atmosphere sparkle?

The room is absolutely lovely - wood paneling, view out over the Thames and House of Parliament plus armchairs at most tables. There are shelves of books everywhere (as the "library lounge" name suggests) and a cute spiral staircase for getting to the upper balcony.

The service was excellent - we had a voucher for free-flowing champagne with our afternoon tea and I don't think our glasses ever got more than half empty before they were topped up by an unobtrusive, polite, smiling waitress. We were also offered hot water top-ups for our tea (which came out in a fancy case for us to smell all the varieties before ordering - nice touch!) to fuel a nice long natter.

Did it make me happy?

It was a good solid offering, and good value with the free-flowing champagne although it wasn't innovative/ creative/ knock-out tasty. I'd say it made me feel quietly snug, content and pleased.

STAR RATING: 3 / 5 stars