This was an Afternoon Tea experience that I was particularly looking forward to as not only am I a self-confessed Chocoholic, but the photos and menu looked utterly delicious.
After a nightmarish train journey we arrived an hour later than scheduled, but the staff were highly accommodating and agreed to push back our reservation. I admit I was quite surprised that they were able to do so on a Sunday, which is usually a prime day for Afternoon Tea reservations, but as soon as I arrived I saw why this wasn't a problem as, to put it politely, they were not short on table space.
I'm going to try and be as positive as I can about this Afternoon Tea experience and not let it be affected by the initial Hotel impression, which was tainted by the fact that the receptionist didn't acknowledge me when I walked in or that I had to basically beg someone to show me down to the basement.
Given that there was also a freak heat-wave (ok, ray of sunshine) on the Sunday that I visited, I definitely did not appreciate the waiter's first remark of 'isn't it a beautiful day outside' when he sat us at our table in the basement room. Again though, I'll try and put these annoyances to one side for the purposes of impartiality!
So to the tea itself...
The menu we were given was actually completely different to the one that we were expecting from the website and I was particularly disappointed to miss out on the chocolate churros listed online. After choosing our teas and being served a glass of champagne we soon resumed conversation and forgot all about the churros as we struggled to decide whether to drink the tea or champagne first. Unfortunately for us though, it seemed that the staff had also forgotten about our churros and indeed the rest of the service as after 40 minutes we realised that no tea stand had yet materialised.
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| Chocolate chip scones with jam, cream and lemon curd - delicious! |
Eventually the three tiered stand arrived, bringing with it some dry sandwiches with uninspiring fillings such as ham, cucumber and smoked salmon. Luckily it also brought some chocolate scones which were delicious, but unfortunately they didn't come with enough jam or cream and since no one came to check on how we were doing, we couldn't ask for any more.
On the top layer of the stand were the 'chocoholic' treats. I love chocolate in all its forms and I'm fully aware of how many forms there are because I've eaten most of them, which is unfortunate for my waistline! The selection that was presented to me though was fairly uninspiring and included a mini chocolate cupcake, some kind of chocolate thing with a raspberry in it, a rosewater macaroon and a chocolate brownie. The brownie was truly scrumptious, but you can't really get a brownie that wrong, can you?
So I'm sorry that this write up isn't the best ever, but I really was disappointed with my experience and that's probably because my expectations were so high. I will give them credit for the scones because they were delicious and although our waiters were somewhat neglectful they were friendly and full of smiles, which does go a long way. At the end of it all though I don't think I'd give this Afternoon Tea more than a 2.5 out of 5 because of the overall poor service, the lack of originality and the setting of the room itself. Sorry Flemings - I wanted you to be the best!
Flemings Mayfair Chocoholics Afternoon Tea is priced at £39.00 per person and includes a glass of champagne
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