Wednesday 20 February 2013

Afternoon tea at the Ritz

Afternoon Tea at the Ritz- does it live up to its name?

Everyone is always saying the Ritz this and the Ritz that, but is it all everyone says it is? Well, I went to go check it out for myself.

The interior of the Ritz is just to die for and believe it or not, so is the food. I went for Afternoon Tea so I only touched at the skills of the Ritz's chefs but boy, was it amazing. You are served by male waiters who are all dressed in the best suits and there is a live pianist playing your every request. 


You sit in tables of however many you choose and they take your coat and bags and give you a tag. The tags were so cool that I was willing to leave my things just so that I could keep the tag. 




You start by ordering tea which they bring to you in a teapot. It is loose leaf (like seriously, what were you expecting) and you have a choice from about 15 types. Not all the tea's are great so it is a good thing that they are not the main feature. I would recommend the Rooibos Red Tea or if you are scared of trying something new, you can always stick to the traditional Earl Grey.

The menu is a traditional afternoon tea with finger sandwiches for 'a starter'. My sandwiches were:
  • Ham, Grain Mustard Mayonnaise, White Bread
  • Cheddar Cheese, Chutney, Onion bread
  • Cucumber, Cream Cheese, Dill, Chives, Caraway Seed Bread
  • Chicken Breast, Horseradish Cream, White Bread
  • Scottish Smoked Salmon, Lemon Butter, Rye Bread
  • Egg Mayonnaise, Chopped Shallots, Watercress, White Bread                                                               (No, unfortunately I do not have supper memory, I have the menu)


I can not recommend the sandwiches highly enough. They were so good. Just everything about it was perfect. They come and give you refills and even though this is classified as tea, it fulfils as lunch.

The second course is scones which they keep and bring at your request 'so that they are kept hot and fresh.' There are plain and sultan scones served with pots of strawberry jam and clotted cream. I have had a lot of scones and nothing compares to these ones.

So now, having eaten your way from the bottom tier upwards, you are left with the top tier which holds the cakes. I have to be honest, these did disappoint me a little. They were too sweet and after having had three cups of tea, all with sugar, it was just a bit too much. (I probably should have taken it easy with the sandwiches.) There were mini chocolate cakes, a mini mille feuille, a tiny raspberry tartlet and a pink macaroon creation. They all looked marvellous, I'm not going to lie.

The Ritz offers afternoon tea at five time slots a day which are always full, and at each time slot, they also walk around with a cart of cakes. (I know!) There are two cakes of which you can have a slice from, which, I have to say, were better than the mini cakes.


Overall, I had a wonderful experience and I would recommend it to anyone, as a celebration, a special treat or a romantic tea. 

Please feel free to leave comments. I will be more than happy to answer any queries.

Evelyn
  xxx

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