ChinoLatino at the RiverBank Plaza Hotel
, 18 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7TJ
Well it’s been a few days – been super busy with
work also been out sampling all sorts of delights this last week - on
Saturday was at the Savoy at a black tie function – amazing – Jamaican themed
food and cocktails.
Monday I took my sister for a birthday meal at Shaka
Zulu in Camden, (what a venue- wood carved walls and furniture and delicious
food) and Tuesday sampled the delights of the pre theatre menu at Le
Caprice which was , well, exquisite.
Maybe I should extend this blog or do a side blog
about non afternoon tea meals….? Hmmm – see above… do have a day job …
Anyway – two entries this week – one an unexpected
one – a lunch that turned into an AT and another guest photographic entry.
So my surprise tea was at the Riverbank Plaza Hotel where we were staying
before our posh do at the Savoy .
Being Valentine’s night everywhere was booked or
super expensive and the RiverBank Plaza had a reasonable rate and wasn’t too
far in a cab. We arrived just after 3pm and had already decided that we should
have a lunch. We knew the Savoy champagne and cocktail reception would start at
5.45 so best to eat something – the morning had been a whole blur of
hairdressing and beautifying and lost bow ties…
Photo from hotel website
But to my delight, on offer on the menu was the
Chino Latino afternoon tea with a champagne instead of tea choice. Hubby was
tempted but then spotted the steak and really wanted a beer ….
First off the bar where the
tea was served was a delight – low lighting , little booths and low slung sofas
and also bigger tables, the bar was colourful and fully stocked – lots of staff
milling efficiently around. The tea was billed as “a modern twist on a British institution. A fusion of sweet and savoury
bite size treats provide the perfect refreshment to a hectic day shopping or a
light accompaniment to a late lunchtime business meeting
Photo from ChinoLatino restaurant website
At £13.50 per person or £17.50 if you had champagne
instead, it really was good value too- if it was as good as they said .
Well I’m happy to say it really was.
The picture on the menu (above) wasn’t how it was
served – it came on what I can only describe as a shelf unit – really lovely to
look at – difficult to photograph in the low lighting. Even Hubby was impressed
!
They did get slightly confused as hubby ordered a
steak and I ordered afternoon tea – I think they thought we were having it as a
dessert and were sharing it, so was slightly irritating having to watch him eat
and drink and no sign of my sarnies – but when I asked about it they were
instantly apologetic and went to check and it came out soon after. He said his
steak was perfect as was his beer! I think 4 pm was also the staff shift change
so the new staff were trying to catch up with what was going on . But every
member of staff was unfailingly polite (in the hotel generally to be fair) and
easy to make eye contact with if anything needed.
The twists on the afternoon tea theme were a few
great little touches. Included with the savoury course were sushi parcels
– very moist and fresh tasting, served with soy sauce dip.
There were two generous sized finger sandwiches, one
egg and one smoked salmon and cream cheese.
The scones were perfect ( crisp outside soft
inside, served just warm ) with cream and jam which were served in crisp pastry
shells – nice idea I hadn’t seen before
Then came two fresh fruit tarts – one was a very
lurid green with raspberries (something about bright green food alarms me!) – I
think it was pistachio – she did tell me but I can’t recall , but didn’t really
taste of anything– the other was delightful blackberry and crème anglais little
number
Lastly came the passion fruit cheesecake . This was
a masterpiece – soft ginger sponge base, creamy cheesecake mix , fresh passion
fruit with a little baked crisp of filo pastry. Sigh. Remember the
episode of Friends where they stole the cheesecakes ??? That was us that
afternoon, trying to eat every last little bit ...
All this came with a glass of chilled champagne.
Really hard to fault any of it.
English sirloin steak with an Asali Beer and big ol' mushroom
The lounge bar menu was generally really good –
great choice of sandwiches, sharing plates of dim sum , more mainstream steaks
and so on , and we also glanced at the dinner offerings which all looked like
they needed trying.
They have extensive menus of all sorts – tasting
menus, gluten free, Bento, Sake and cocktails . You can see some of their menus
here http://www.chinolatino.eu/london/menus
Also would certainly recommend the hotel if you are
looking for a place to stay in London – real little bit of luxury on the
riverbank with views to Westminster palace and guess what – buffet breakfast was
great too!!
I found the You Tube clip of the friends episode ...
These
photos have come from the delightful Aoife Tierney (right) , who along with her sister is
a young afternoon tea enthusiast . She sent me some photos of her recent
tea and says “Here are some pictures from the fab afternoon tea. I have been
twice and going back again in May. It's by far my favourite”
I have had coffee and cake there but not yet afternoon tea – that might need to change very soon !! I'm very taken with the idea of the savoury afternoon tea.
If you’ve never looked at the website there is some great info on there about the origins of afternoon tea.
Thanks Aoife - looking forward to your next afternoon tea adventure!
Delighted to welcome our next guest blogger - Sue Collins . As well as accompanying me on many delicious afternoon teas over the years, Sue and her husband go on some really exotic trips and have a collective very sweet tooth - so I am delighted to welcome her to the blog - and hopefully this will be the first of her many posts from near and far flung places !
Tokyo, Japan.
April 2014
Named after the German
word for cat, the manager of Die Katze is the adorable cat, Koenig. The café is
located right by Shinjuku-gyoenmae Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line,
and on a nice day it’s a lovely stroll from Shinjuku. There are over 30
varieties of tea on offer as well as baked sweets like scones and brownies.
Special lunch sets, which of course include tea, are also available. (Time out Japan)
This photo of Die Katze is courtesy of TripAdvisor
Nearing the end of our 2
week trip to Japan we were dying for a good old pot of English Breakfast tea
and some ‘English’ cake, served with grace and in an elegant setting. Or
even a cream tea! The many bakeries we had come across sold the Japanese
equivalent to our cakes and biscuits – wagashi – made of red bean paste and
glutinous rice, and often brightly coloured. Green tea, on first tasting
had a ‘creamy’ pleasing taste, but later started to turn my stomach! So
the hunt was on for a tearoom or cafe tucked away, with as the Japanese are
fond of some novelty value. What better than to discover that Tokyo
has a couple of cat cafes, that do a mean pot of tea and slice of cake.
Being a lover of felines I was sold!
Die Katz, named after
the German word for cat, is in the Shinjuku region of Tokyo, tucked away round
the back in an area of local housing and businesses. We nearly missed the
cafe, as there was no signage and it was upstairs above another little
business. We met 3 of the resident cats, and enjoyed stroking them and
generally making a fuss of them – free to do if you order food and drink.
Otherwise you could pay by the half hour for the privilege – note to self could
possibly think about doing this with my dogs if things get
desperate!
The
actual cafe was a bit like someone’s front room with a counter and some table
and chairs. Stuff everywhere, including wine to buy, but cosy. A
strange menu, not a sandwich in sight, but you could order spaghetti and then
have scones and cake. We passed on this and went straight to the scone
and cake option, both having rather a sweet tooth. There was a wide choice of tea, all served in proper pots,
with fresh milk, tea strainers and cups and saucers. However I have
never in my whole life had such awful cake or scones. Totally
stale. So dry that even with the dollop of cream provided they were
inedible. I can’t remember the time I have ever been out for tea and not
even finished one half of a scone or one slice of cake. Not cheap,
but average for Japanese prices. Such a disappointing tea and one I will
never forget for various reasons. Sue Collins
Wow - fascinating ! Sounds odd to us that you would have cats in a cafe- not entirely sure I would like to go here but sounds like an experience for sure !
Guest reviewer : Chris Davies ( a fellow afternoon tea
lover!)
This hotel is one of the oldest on the island and
still very grand and colonial in style with service to match.
Tea is taken on
the terrace and is very similar to the Ritz in London. They have a tea menu
including their own blend, sandwiches were freshly prepared and a goid variety
and plentiful! The scones were warm with a selection of interesting
preserves, not the normal strawberry, very tasty !
The cakes did not have much fresh cream,
understandably in the warm climate but again very different, small and dainty.
We were constantly asked if we required more of everything, we were not rushed
at all and spent about three hours enjoying the spectacular views !
Thanks Chris - it looks amazing . I think your view
beats any I've had so far!!
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