It\u2019s that posh place I frequently passed as I gadded about on my undergraduate adventures. There\u2019s usually that guy outside wearing a fancy suit and top hat. It looks fancy, and, as I found out during my recent luncheon with my pals, it\u2019s pretty darn fancy. Here\u2019s a summary of the grub, d\u00e9cor and general ambience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Company: Top quality. High standard conversations were had, and all were looking fancy and well groomed. A couple of cakes were left uneaten, but other than this slight shame, everyone behaved immaculately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drink: Technically, according to the menu, the meal came with a glass of champagne. Us being the abstemious fellows that we are, however, two of us settled for some polite tea, while I myself chose a fresh orange juice. Alcohol? Pah! I laugh at the very idea of alcohol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finger Sandwiches: The first course, and my personal favourite. The afternoon tea was Christmas-themed, so one of the sandwiches was a turkey sandwich. I can\u2019t say turkey is a meat I particularly enjoy, but it did the job just fine. The other sandwiches were the regulars, the first being the cucumber sandwich, my least favourite of the bunch, but nice nonetheless. Yes, I did just use the dullest of dull adjectives, \u2018nice\u2019, in a food review. And there\u2019s nothing you can do about it. Next was the egg mayo sandwich, my personal favourite this time around. My usual favourite, the salmon sandwich, didn\u2019t quite match up, having that certain je ne sais quoi feel that just didn\u2019t gel, so it gets demoted to my second favourite for this particular session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scones: Next, the sweet stuff. Not being a fan of cream, I took the controversial decision of having just jam, thereby avoiding the more controversial debate about jam then cream, or cream then jam. I haven\u2019t got time for that kind of lunacy. I took the savoury then sweet route, consuming the plain scones followed by the fruit scones. My colleagues did the opposite. To each their own, I guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sweets: Finally, the really sweet stuff. I chose the route of big to small, so began with the Tirami-Choux. Not a big fan of this kind of pudding, but, y\u2019know, it\u2019s fine. I then indulged in the dark chocolate and caramel slice, which was very rich as expected, but very tasty too (yes, I just put the bland adjective \u2018tasty\u2019 into a food review too; look at me go!). I then moved on to the sweet mince and pine macaroon. I don\u2019t get the deal with these guys. They\u2019re papery, tasteless and all round nasty, despite looking aesthetically pleasing. I was reminded of that SpongeBob episode where he tries to eat Gary\u2019s food and his face twists into an amusing expression of revulsion. I mean, they\u2019re not THAT bad by any means, but they\u2019re seriously overrated (Spongebob reference below this paragraph). But to finish off, there was a lovely mini Christmas cake, which was definitely the highlight of the puddings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
D\u00e9cor: Speaking of Spongebob references, the decorations were pretty darn fancy, reminding me of the \u2018Chocololate with Nuts\u2019 episode where Spongebob and Patrick are marching down the road before starting their entrepreneur business, chanting \u2018Fancy livin\u2019, here we come\u2019 (reference below this paragraph). And if you don\u2019t understand either of the Spongebob references, that\u2019s fine too. I was sitting on a lovely plush pink sofa while my friends were sitting on comfy blue chairs. Christmas trees were up, lights were on, paintings were on display, and everything was looking lovely. There was also some chilled jazzy music too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, a darn fine experience indeed. Would recommend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s that posh place I frequently passed as I gadded about on my undergraduate adventures. There\u2019s usually that guy outside wearing a fancy suit and top hat. It looks fancy, and, as I found out during my recent luncheon with my pals, it\u2019s pretty darn fancy. Here\u2019s a summary of the grub, d\u00e9cor and general … <\/p>\n