Brasserie Max at the Covent Garden Hotel

Brasserie Max at the Covent Garden Hotel - 27th July 2013

This visit was booked in advance as part of a weekend trip to London. It was booked online and they confirmed by telephone 24 hours beforehand. We were given 2 hours for the afternoon tea but we arrived early and the length of time is more than enough.

There three afternoon tea menu options, Traditional, Covent Garden and the Gentleman's Tea. There was only the two of and the staff were quick to say that we did not have to have the same we could mix and match. All of them are priced the same at £26 and on this occasion we opted for one traditional and one Covent Garden.

The service as you would expect at a five star hotel was excellent. We were seated immediately despite being early, we were offered water on arrival and a selection of teas and coffees. Our waitress was very friendly and smiley and even though this is a top hotel, it is not in anyway stuffy.

The teapot was large and the tea was loose not in a bag. As the food arrived were advised that we could have unlimited sandwiches and scones we just needed to ask. This was a first and when we had finished the lovely waitress came and encouraged us to have more so we opted for extra sandwiches but not scones. We were each given the same selection again.

Traditional Afternoon Tea

Four finger sandwiches on brown and white including: egg, cucumber, beef, and salmon.
Two scones, one plain and one fruit with strawberry, and raspberry jam and clotted cream. There were five mini cakes including: a fruit tartlet, mini eclair, walnut cake, lemon sponge finger,  and a chocolate sponge triangle with gold leaf.

 

Covent Garden Afternoon Tea

Four sandwiches but not as fingers including a tomato, basil and mozzarella bruschetta, crab, dill and avocado triangle, egg and watercress finger, and coronation chicken wrap. The same scones as with the traditional tea. The mini desserts were a passionfruit and mango meringue, fruit tartlet, chocolate opera cake, strawberry, Pimms and mint jelly (served with tiny pieces of cucumber), and peach and elderflower cake.

There was only one little thing that let this down and made this a five cup rating as opposed to a six and that was the tiered stand that the food was served on. It was plastic and with all the other fine crockery and cutlery this was so very out of place. It is rather odd that such a high establishment uses them but I assume there is a reason behind it. 

Overall this is a five star treat, the atmosphere of being there in Covent Garden with many others having afternoon tea, the exceptional service and the wonderful food, not forgetting the fact that you can have more and are encouraged to do so. I would highly recommend it and at £26 each one of the more expensive options but well worth it.

The Covent Garden Hotel

The Aviator Hotel - Farnborough

The Aviator Hotel - Sky Bar 13th July 2013

This trip was for the hotel not specifically afternoon tea, however once we discovered that they offered it, it would have been remiss not to try. The price is shown at £23 and we assumed per person but we were charged only £23 for the two of us (noticed after we had checked out and where on the way home), if it is for two then it is amazing value. If it is per person and it was an error then still excellent value but you may class it as a treat.

There is normally a requirement to book at least 24 hours in advance but when we asked in the morning, the team were very accommodating and said they could fit us in. Normally it woud have been served on the Terrace but the hotel had a lage wedding that afternoon that had booked the whole of it so it was served in the very nice Sky Bar, this is not second best but my photos do not do it justice.

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When we arrived there were a number of others having tea, the bar is a very relaxing bar and makes a very good setting for afternoon tea. The service from start to finish was first class.

We ordered the usual coffee for one and on this occasion tea is served a little differently  You are given a large shining pot of hot water and on the table is a very large selection of Clipper tea bags and you can choose which you prefer. I got three different types of tea from my one pot of water.

The tea pot was gleaming and kept the water very hot for the duration.

 

The detail was there throughout, including the matching bowl for the used tea bags, the sparkling cutlery and immaculate high quality linen napkins.

The food was served with the sandwiches on a plate and the cakes, desserts and scones on a modern tier stand.

The Sandwiches consisted of: Chilli cream cheese, Salmon and cucumber, Chicken and egg mayonnaise . There were dressed with rocket and came with two mini eggs. each finger had a good size filling and the breads were all made in house were exceptionally fresh and their own speciality breads. They were very very good indeed, the best yet!

The tier had a very good selection of cakes, mini desserts and of course scones.

The scones were warm and very fresh and came with a pot of jam to share and plenty of clotted cream presented with a strawberry on top.

We moved to desserts next as it was a very hot day and the mousse. There was a chocolate one that was great for chocoholics, heaven and  raspberry one. Again the presentation and the exceptionally high quality was there.

At this point we were getting quite full but in no rush, we were not going to leave anything (unlike some others that struggled. Onto the cakes, the mini lemon meringue pies were so tasty as were the macaroons and then there is the triangle. We had no idea what to expect with this but it is a sponge cake with pistachio cream filling. The time it must have taken to make this and slice and it stay perfect with it being squashed again showed the patisserie chef off to his best. The detail and the skill and of course the taste was simply perfect.

Overall this was first class in every which way, the service was exceptional and the bar manager was attentive, the food was of the highest standard and presentation second to none. If anyone is ever in the area and wants a fantastic afternoon experience, book in, allow time and enjoy. Plus they do fabulous cocktails.

The Aviator Hotel

 

Last Drop Village Tea Rooms - Bolton

The Last Drop Bolton 30th June 2013

This afternoon tea was booked via the daily deal website Living Social. It dropped in my email inbox and I thought it was a good idea to try with it not being that far away from Rossendale.

The cost was £8.50 per person (a saving of £1)

When we arrived we were not sure where the tea was and naturally went to the hotel to discover it was in the village tea rooms on site. Very traditional interior decor as to be expected with the Last Drop complex. We had to book to use the voucher so we were expected and we could sit anywhere. The manager was very jolly and chatty and the service was efficient.

We were not offered any alternate options or asked if we were vegetarian etc and not offered any other teas. This option was a traditional afternoon tea with regular tea and we had to ask for one with coffee.

The Tea pot was very small with a bag and no extra hot water. Due to the size of the pot the tea was strong. I did ask for more hot water later and the teapot was topped up. The drinks were brought very quickly but due to the size of them they were almost finished before any food arrived.

Onto the food though, it was served on two large plates not a tiered stand, and there was plenty.

The bread was not the best, seemed very cheap and as you can see presentation was limited. The next shot shows it slightly more favourably but the lack of detail made the event nice but not an experience to want to do again.

The sandwiches included ham and mustard, salmon and cucumber, chicken in mayo and cheese and chutney. They were nice, the tarragon mayo was very nice it was a shame though to have a small amount of gristle in it. I am glad I had that one last as it was off putting.

As ever, we were served scones and a plate of desserts. The scones were warm but I suspect microwaved as the texture was quite doughy. A pot of jam each and a large portion of clotted cream to share.

The pots were lemon cheesecake, we used our tea spoons from our drinks to eat them with as we were not given any spoons. I did like these, I would say my favourite of the desserts. As hubby doesn't like cheesecake I had both.

In addition, we had carrot cake, chocolate fudge cake and coffee cake all of which were very moist. We couldn't eat them all and ended up taking some home.

Overall, it was OK, there was plenty of food but to me afternoon tea is an experience and it was the detail that let this down. The quality of sandwiches compared to others was not there and there was a  lack of finesse, the lack of spoons and the small tea pot, it could be so much better with minor changes.

The Last Drop is part of the Mercure group and at the same time as buying this voucher I also bought one for the Dunkenhalgh as part of the same group. It will be interesting to see how they do in comparison.

The Last Drop

Hotel De Rome, Berlin

English Afternoon Tea in Berlin Sunday 9th June

Last week our afternoon tea was a little bit special as it was in Berlin, Germany. I discovered the Hotel De Rome online and then found that they did a traditional English Afternoon Tea; it was too good to resist. I made the booking via email and had a lovely confirmation saying that we they had had reserved a nice table for us.

We arrived a little early on the day and arrived to see a number of Depeche Mode fans outside the hotel as the band were staying there. We had a drink in the Bebel Bar first and were then shown to the reserved table in the Velvet Room.  As for being a nice table it was very nice indeed in a beautiful room. There was just the two of us in the Velvet Room  and was exceptionally comfortable overlooking the fans and with an amazing piece of art - "As you enter the room, your eyes are drawn to the "Mensch im Holozän" (Holocene Man), a painting by Berlin artist Stefan Hoenerloh that depicts a fictitious street scene and helps foster the impression of being out of doors. The painter gives the facades of his buildings form with a meticulousness which conjures the atmosphere of a time now past into which the observer is permitted one frozen glimpse"

The service was as to be expected in a top hotel, first class. We were given a tea and coffee menu to choose from and there was a wide range of luxury teas available. On this occasion I chose the pfefferminztee - which came as fresh peppermint leaves, with refills, served in a silver teapot.

Silver Teapot

Fresh Peppermint Leaves

The food was served on a traditional 3 tier stand with sandwiches on the lower tier, scones and apple crumble of the middle tier and a selection of mini cakes and desserts on the top.

3 Tier Stand

There were eight finger sandwiches consisting of egg, cucumber and cream cheese, beef and salmon on white and brown bread. The bread was very fresh and the toppings were very flavoursome.

Excellent Fresh Sandwiches

There were two freshly made warm scones one plain and one with raisins. small raisin scone. There was plenty of clotted cream and served with five pots of preserves to choose from, Strawberry, Raspberry, Plum, Marmalade and Honey.

On the same tier were two individual apple crumbles.

Warm Scones with Cream and Apple Crumbles

Selection of Preserves

The top tier selection including a mini passion fruit mousse, cheesecake, mini cake, macaroon, sponge cake, and a dark and milk chocolate square.

Selection of Mini Cakes

Selection of Mini Cakes and Desserts 

All of the food was excellent and presentation was second to none. The silver service from the staff was first class and the Velvet room within the Bebel Bar was pure luxury. To have a traditional English Afternoon Tea in the German capital was quite something and the Germans certainly managed to do it in style and compared to the Radisson in Manchester, it was far superior.

I would highly recommend a visit to the Hotel De Rome for anyone in Berlin for afternoon tea, cost €40 per person and well worth it.

Hotel De Rome

Nutters Restaurant, Rochdale

Nutters, Saturday 1st June 2013

Another last minute booking for afternoon tea, we called the Friday evening and had no problem in booking in for 3:30pm the following day.

We arrived early as always and were seated in the modern bar area. The building is a 19th Century former hall and subsequent military hospital that has been renovated and is very impressive, both inside and out.

At exactly 3:30 we were shown to our table in an area that is similar to a conservatory with a great view.  The tables are all set with white linen and white matching crockery and then there was the paper based menu that seemed out of place, although it did have a nice, brief history of afternoon tea on the inside.

We opted for the usual traditional afternoon tea for two, one with tea and one with coffee. There are options for other teas and I understand that they will cater for vegetarians and other special diets on request.

Service was prompt and we were offered free refills when the drinks were served and we just needed to ask. As it happened, the two pots were very large and as such no refills were needed. The coffee pot was some sort of thermos cafetiere which was by far the largest that we have had and it did keep the coffee hot throughout - nice touch for coffee drinkers. The downside here was that the tea was in bags and not loose which was a little surprising for such an establishment.

The food was served on a three tier stand and there was plenty of it.

The sandwich selection consisted of smoked salmon and cucumber, chicken mustard mayo, goats cheese with red onion chutney (amazing) and salt beef with shallots (also amazing). The bread was very fresh and the fillings very tasty. 

The choice of mini cakes was very impressive as you can see. Two different slices of fruit bread each, a fruit tart, creme brûlée slice and a white chocolate eclair. All very fresh and exceptionally tasty.

We finished with the scones and at this point we were struggling, but we were in no rush and with plenty of tea and coffee to hand we carried on. (We did notice than some others were taking cakes home in a box). There are two mini scones each, one with traditional fruit and one was a chocolate chip one, both warm. I have to say that the fruit one was our favourite, the chocolate chip one wasn't quite there but we couldn't say why.

Overall the experience was excellent, just as afternoon tea should be and at £15 per person very good value for money. We were so full that there was no need for dinner later. Without a doubt I would recommend a visit here.

Nutters Restaurant