The London Bar
Service: (8/10) The staff is attentive and friendly. We had made reservations for Afternoon Tea (although it didn’t seem that we needed any since there was plenty of seating). There was little wait between our orders and even when the restaurant started getting crowded the staff was prompt and courteous.
Price: $$$. Appetizers range anywhere from $8-$14. Breakfast ranges from $12 (the Oatmeal) – $35 (The Full London Breakfast). Small Bites/Lunch menu items are priced around $12-17 per dish. Afternoon Tea is listed on the Website Menu as $20 per person but this is incorrect (Per our bill).
Overall Experience: Hubby Darling and I have started a tradition of having Afternoon Tea as part of our Wedding Anniversary celebrations. Since last year he planned where to have tea, I thought it was only fair that I plan this years Anniversary Tea time. While searching for places to have tea I came across Gordon Ramsay’s The London Bar at The London Hotel. I immediately decided this was it… I mean what could be more English than having tea at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant? I was also quite surprised at how reasonable the price was. The online menu states: “Afternoon tea $20.00 per person. Afternoon Tea is served in the traditional English way on a tiered stand. Service for two guests will include our freshly cut selection of sandwiches, three of each scone and one of each pastry.” I decided to surprise HD with the venue until the day of our reservation.
Our tea came and with it they served warm scones, traditional finger sandwiches, and mini fruit & chocolate pastries. The scones were delectable – warm, light/airy, and not too sweet. Unfortunately, the quality of the sandwich bread left little to be desired. When I think tea sandwiches I think brioche, croissants, and soft white bread. What came were bland sandwiches on what tasted (and looked) like stale, leftover plain sandwich bread. Another issue I had was with the cream they served with the scones. Scones with tea is part of a quintessential English Tea, so the condiments served should be as authentic as possible. Clotted Cream/Devonshire Creme should be rich, creamy, and much thicker then what was served. The cream served was very light, not much flavor, and had the consistency of whipped cream. With the name Gordon Ramsay behind the bar, it only makes sense to expect authentic English ingredients. We ended up ordering the chips (fries) as well and they were excellent! Hot, crispy, and perfectly seasoned – the kind that have you wanting more after each bite.
It took some time for me to review this restaurant right after our romantic afternoon as I was still twinkle eyed and butterfly stomached about our two-year Anniversary and I wanted to write a completely unbiased review. Overall, the concept is nice and service is great. We had a wonderful afternoon and the tea was delightful. When the bill came we asked to see the menu to confirm the prices as the Afternoon Tea price was more than double per person than what was posted on the online menu. The food items on the menu needs some tweaking and online menu prices should be updated to reflect the current prices. Would we go back? Yes, but this time just for tea and scones (a la carte).
Overall Rating: 6/10
As usual I really enjoyed reading your article you make it so enjoyable and you have such an enthusiasm about you, so proud of you Nisha, love,Sandhya Bua.x
Thanks for always following the blog Sandhya Bua 🙂