I know I should have written this up back in May, right after I was there. I am sure I have omitted something -- some details if nothing else.
In April, remembering that The Dorchester Hotel in Mayfair had been rated as having the best tea in London in 2007, I got in touch with our friend Jennie. She was delighted to come to London to join me, and so I made reservations for the two of us.
The lobby of the Dorchester and the huge portion of it in the back of the reception area, called The Promenade, are all very elegant-looking. Jennie was already there when I arrived, and we were immediately greeted and seated. The tea area was nowhere near full (in part, I figure, because it was no longer rated number one in 2009; another reason might have been the downturn in the economy. Or maybe it was just an off-day?).
Service was prompt, yet unobtrusive. The servers wore tails and were quite formal in demeanor. At the same time, our server was personable while not being overwhelming.
As usual, I had Lapsang Souchong tea; and as expected, both Jennie and the server (when pressed) agreed that they don't like it at all. Jennie had the Dorchester special tea, whatever that was, and quite liked it.
The sandwiches were plain-looking but very good. They were just finger-length sandwiches on standard brown and white bread with the crusts removed. As I recall, we enjoyed them, and when the server came around to offer more, we were able to select which ones we wanted more of. We didn't have to take a whole plateful of sandwiches, some of which we weren't quite so taken with. That was a nice feature of the tea at The Dorchester, one that others might do well to emulate.
The server had to be signaled a few times when we were ready for more hot water or for a replacement of the tea. Once we caught his eye, he was on the spot, though. He might have been a bit more watchful, but at the same time I must say I was glad he didn't hover over us or keep returning just to natter at us.
The "scones" were among the most disappointing I have experienced at afternoon tea. The were small, a bit hard, and a bit dry. I quite enjoyed the jam and cream that accompanied them, but I simply couldn't believe a posh place like The Dorchester would serve such disappointing scones. They seemed as if they'd been stamped out in a factory in Leeds or something.
From that point on, I don't remember much. I know I enjoyed the strawberry tart for dessert, but I don't even remember the rest of the desserts.
After we finished our tea, we explored the washrooms. They were nice; there was an attendant in the men's but somehow I managed to elude him on my way out.
Overall, Jennie preferred The Dorchester to Claridges, where we had met for afternoon tea two years ago. She thought the ambiance was far superior at The Dorchester, and she seemed to prefer the food, too. I wasn't so sure. The hockey pucks scones really put me off. Perhaps I'm too unsophisticated to appreciate what they were doing with the scones, but I doubt it. They simply weren't very good. [Obviously, these people disagree with me.] So, with that in mind, I'd probably have voted for Claridges over The Dorchester, but it would have been close.
And still, my favourite place where I had afternoon tea was The Four Seasons.
Tea for two at places like this generally runs about 35-45 quid each or $180Cdn for two.
For my previous reviews of afternoon teas, please see these links (in order of preference)
- The Four Seasons, London, England
- The St. Regis Hotel, Houston, Texas
- Claridge's, London, England
- The Dorchester, London, England (this review)
- The Pump Room, Bath (I didn't take afternoon tea here, but had a very enjoyable cream tea)
- The Boathouse, Guelph, Canada
- The Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath
- The Queen's Hotel, Portsmouth, England
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