The Metropole Lounge is the main bar area serving the Hilton Hotel on Kingsway in Cardiff, this is where Afternoon Tea is served, away from the standard restauraunt inside the hotel and breakfast area, it is right opposite the check-in desk and often brodcasts both live sport and live music.
The staff here are all Hilton staff, as this bar is operated by Hilton, they seemed quite nice.
I ordered a Welsh Afternoon Tea, one thing I liked is they shown me what I would be getting beforehand, rather than hoping for the best and I was pleased with some nice sounding sandwiches, and the value at just £16.50 as the four sandwiches came with a ginger-cake, a cherry bakewell, a flapjack and a scone with clotted cream and jam, being gluten free of course which they are able to offer once you have given around 24 hours notice.
My sandwiches were quite nice, however I would have preferred five rather than four, especially considering all my sandwiches had a lid, apart from one of them which made me think the chef got hungry and wanted to try some gluten free bread, the bread was okay however it wasn't fantastic, which sums up standard gluten free food anyway.
Moving onto my cakes, which I was less than impressed with, the ginger cake did taste warmed up, but it just didn't taste very nice, the same was with the flapjack, which tasted inedible, and like a treat you would give to a cat. The Cherry Bakewell was just the typical thing you would get from Sainsbury's or Tesco.
I also enjoyed my scone, which came with a large portion of clotted cream and some jam which tasted quite nice and fresh, and I did enjoy this too.
The Movius tea (or something like that) was served here, which was okay but sadly wasn't loose leaf, which gives Afternoon Tea a bit more class, which you would expect in a Hilton.
Overall, this is quite a nice place to call in while staying at the Hilton, it is quite a nice, comfy relaxed place and the staff even didn't mind watching my bag when I went to the toilet, and also handing me a free Hilton pen with my bill, so I feel The Metropole, which I'm pleased to finally get off the mark in terms of Yelp reviewing terms, deserves a solid three star rating. read more