Teatime at The Hilton
Invitations to review an establishment are always met with slight trepidation. Generally I hate people knowing why I'm there and the special treatment that comes with it. I also hate menus which have to put a twist on everything or have a "theme".
So when I got an email from the team at Golley Slater inviting me to go along to The Hilton for an afternoon tea "with a twist", I have to admit, my heart sank a little. If it hadn't been that I adore taking afternoon tea as much as I do, I might have turned it down. But when a pot of tea and some tiny cakes are on offer, I am powerless to resist.
It didn't get off to a great start. I'd had a stressful day at work, was recovering from a migraine and was running late. Stepping inside The Hilton though is always a treat and my companion Andy and I were soon shown to some very comfortable seats in the new Metropole Lounge and presented with a tea menu.
A member of staff explained to us there were three different "tea ceremonies" (which immediately made me think of geisha girls): British Afternoon (which included Earl Grey and Traditional English blends), Tisane (a selection of herbal blends) and Oriental (including the fantastically named Gunpowder Green Tea & Mint). We were invited to select a tea and were told the chef had been made aware of our arrival (eek!) and was preparing our food. After some consideration I opted for the 2nd Flush Assam whilst Andy ordered the Long Jing Green.
No geisha girls but there were some very nice teapots, with the Long Jing Green tea served in an attractive jade green glazed pot with "oriental" bamboo handle, whilst my Assam was a more traditional white, china teapot. Our server explained that the tea was Twinings loose leaf and gave us each a little egg timer so we knew when it was properly brewed. A cake stand was brought over with our afternoon treats and so tea was served.
The twist? A Halloween theme. The press-release described it as a half-term treat but this didn't sit well with me as I tried to imagine my nephews (all under the age of 10) sat in the bar, still and silent, eating tiny sandwiches and listening to Michael Buble. Wasn't going to happen.
We tucked into the cake stand - finger sandwiches of salmon, smoked ham, tomato and cheese, egg mayo and the obligatory cucumber were all perfectly nice. The ham and salmon went down as favourites, though Andy bemoaned the lack of filling (possibly missing the point of the dainty meal).
Onto the cakes, with some being far more successful than others. The negatives included a Pumpkin Pie with a soggy, undercooked pastry case, and some overly soft shortbread fingers (decorated as a severed finger, complete with a flaked almond "fingernail"). Luckily things picked up with the Pistachio Eclair (beautifully light, my only complaint being it's diminutive size) and a vanilla cupcake complete with white and milk chocolate spiderweb decoration on top. Even the welshcakes got in on the halloween theme, cut into pumpkin shapes and full of buttery goodness.
The highlight of the afternoon went to the peanut butter truffle which had been decorated to look like an eyeball. Fans of Reese's peanut butter cups would have been in halloween heaven with these little beauties.
To round of the themed tea, we were presented with a Bloody Mary "with a twist". I'm not a fan of cold tomato juice so I must confess I didn't enjoy it at all, moreso when the "twist" was a huge hit of wasabi. Don't get me wrong, I love wasabi when it comes with sushi, but in a drink it was just wrong and added nothing to a classic recipe.
With halloween over (nearly) for another year, you can still treat yourself to a more traditional afternoon tea at The Metropole Lounge. Prices range from £13.50pp for the Welsh Afternoon Tea, which rises to £18.50pp if you fancy a glass of champagne with it, up to £19.95pp for the Rose Afternoon Tea, complete with a glass of Rose Piper Heidsieck and a selection of pink pastries. The Hilton are even planning more themed teas with Christmas and Valentine's Day already pencilled in as upcoming specials. A little more attention to detail on a few of the items and I think they may crack it.
So when I got an email from the team at Golley Slater inviting me to go along to The Hilton for an afternoon tea "with a twist", I have to admit, my heart sank a little. If it hadn't been that I adore taking afternoon tea as much as I do, I might have turned it down. But when a pot of tea and some tiny cakes are on offer, I am powerless to resist.
It didn't get off to a great start. I'd had a stressful day at work, was recovering from a migraine and was running late. Stepping inside The Hilton though is always a treat and my companion Andy and I were soon shown to some very comfortable seats in the new Metropole Lounge and presented with a tea menu.
A member of staff explained to us there were three different "tea ceremonies" (which immediately made me think of geisha girls): British Afternoon (which included Earl Grey and Traditional English blends), Tisane (a selection of herbal blends) and Oriental (including the fantastically named Gunpowder Green Tea & Mint). We were invited to select a tea and were told the chef had been made aware of our arrival (eek!) and was preparing our food. After some consideration I opted for the 2nd Flush Assam whilst Andy ordered the Long Jing Green.
No geisha girls but there were some very nice teapots, with the Long Jing Green tea served in an attractive jade green glazed pot with "oriental" bamboo handle, whilst my Assam was a more traditional white, china teapot. Our server explained that the tea was Twinings loose leaf and gave us each a little egg timer so we knew when it was properly brewed. A cake stand was brought over with our afternoon treats and so tea was served.
The twist? A Halloween theme. The press-release described it as a half-term treat but this didn't sit well with me as I tried to imagine my nephews (all under the age of 10) sat in the bar, still and silent, eating tiny sandwiches and listening to Michael Buble. Wasn't going to happen.
Image supplied by Golley Slater
We tucked into the cake stand - finger sandwiches of salmon, smoked ham, tomato and cheese, egg mayo and the obligatory cucumber were all perfectly nice. The ham and salmon went down as favourites, though Andy bemoaned the lack of filling (possibly missing the point of the dainty meal).
Onto the cakes, with some being far more successful than others. The negatives included a Pumpkin Pie with a soggy, undercooked pastry case, and some overly soft shortbread fingers (decorated as a severed finger, complete with a flaked almond "fingernail"). Luckily things picked up with the Pistachio Eclair (beautifully light, my only complaint being it's diminutive size) and a vanilla cupcake complete with white and milk chocolate spiderweb decoration on top. Even the welshcakes got in on the halloween theme, cut into pumpkin shapes and full of buttery goodness.
The highlight of the afternoon went to the peanut butter truffle which had been decorated to look like an eyeball. Fans of Reese's peanut butter cups would have been in halloween heaven with these little beauties.
To round of the themed tea, we were presented with a Bloody Mary "with a twist". I'm not a fan of cold tomato juice so I must confess I didn't enjoy it at all, moreso when the "twist" was a huge hit of wasabi. Don't get me wrong, I love wasabi when it comes with sushi, but in a drink it was just wrong and added nothing to a classic recipe.
With halloween over (nearly) for another year, you can still treat yourself to a more traditional afternoon tea at The Metropole Lounge. Prices range from £13.50pp for the Welsh Afternoon Tea, which rises to £18.50pp if you fancy a glass of champagne with it, up to £19.95pp for the Rose Afternoon Tea, complete with a glass of Rose Piper Heidsieck and a selection of pink pastries. The Hilton are even planning more themed teas with Christmas and Valentine's Day already pencilled in as upcoming specials. A little more attention to detail on a few of the items and I think they may crack it.
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