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.
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 ...
.JPG)
