VOUCHER DEAL FOR HIGH TEA
High Tea at Elementum is not a refined, delicate experience - and we loved every minute of it! The sandwiches were substantial and filling, the scones were large and rustic rather than elegant, and there wasn't a petit four in sight. Everything was served on wood boards (and I loved the old loaf tin which was used to carry out the salt, pepper, napkins, and cutlery).
Our server simply couldn't have been nicer. We arrived earlier than our booking but that wasn't a problem at all. The lunch rush had finished, we were told, so we should just make ourselves comfortable - which we did, on the charming little fake grassed patio at the front. He brought us out a bottle of nice cold water and glasses and then explained how the food would be presented. Unlike a traditional high tea, this meal is served in two courses - sandwiches followed by cakes (and we opted to have our drinks with desert). With each course, the server took the time to explain what we had been served (and even recommended that I let my apple tea sit for an extra minute to brew properly).
The sandwiches were not dainty wafer-thin cucumber slices on crustless white bread. They were hearty, meaty, wonderful concoctions on moist, dense, crusty home-made rye (studded with caraway seeds). We got corned beef with sauerkraut and hot mustard (Ruben sandwiches), smoked salmon with spinach and salted cheese sauce, chicken and tomato, and (my personal favourite) Cuban slow-cooked pork. There were two halves of each, but we both basically picked two we liked and devoured them.
We couldn't manage to eat all of the cakes (brownies, jaffa cheese cake, Persian love cake, chocolate truffles (I'm sure he called them macaroons but I call that sort of sweet a truffle so ...), and those wonderful scones, with a lovely biscuity crust I've never had in a scone before and now believe it's the only way to have them! It's like two treats in one (there was plenty of jam and cream too, which was wonderful), so we ate the scones and truffles and asked for a doggy bag, which he was more than happy to provide.
If we were to go again, I think I'd pay for an extra drink. My Turkish apple tea was the perfect accompaniment to the deserts but starting with a coffee would have been great. read more