For Chocolate High Tea…
Would you like a cup of tea with your sugar? Was pretty much how I felt after a 2hr session at the Stamford’s chocolate high tea in the city – I ate waaaaay too much!
I am not really a tea person, more of coffee & cake, however this ‘experience’ had been on my to do list for a while and the opportunity presented itself through a gift certificate from a friend. So away we went, with an empty stomach, ready to embark on a sugar high.
It took us two phone calls to try and book in, only to rock up and find out that we were still not booked in. Luckily there was a lovely manager that found us a spot overlooking the river (through a sheet of plastic).
Tea & coffee is unlimited through you will be charged extra for any champagne, wine or other drinks. We did notice that there were around 3-4 large tables (all female), clearly on hen’s parties and/or baby showers, happily consuming several bottles of champagne. As a random piece of info, I counted a total of four men in the room, staff aside.
Onto the food – It is a buffet, so be ready to get up and serve yourself, without tripping over kids or bumping into random strangers.
In terms of savoury treats, there were three types of sandwiches, ham, egg and chicken – all naked (no crust, actually, no crust and little filling), a ricotta & spinach mini filo and a salmon mini quiche. That’s all.
The sweet buffet offered more variety, as expected and included scones, macaroons, several types of cake, melted chocolate (not an actual fountain, just chocolate in a bowl) with strawberries & marshmallows for dipping.
Every item was practically screaming ‘I was made in an ordinary hotel kitchen’. The scones were slightly stale, the macaroons missed out on the chewy inside, the melted chocolate was cheap and the cakes were way too sweet (even for me, I love cake).
I should add, that I felt inclined to test most of the items above personally to ensure the accuracy of this review, at great detriment to my waistline! Joking of course, I was trying to get as much value from the reservation as possible. Buffets are evil for anyone with a small appetite!
OK so the food wasn’t the best, however we did have a good time and can see how the high tea works especially for large parties. The staff was good overall too and it is something different to do on a weekend afternoon.
How do the other high teas compare? Have any of you tried others in the city, or perhaps the Ritz in London? I’m curious so let me know please!
Bare Essentials:
http://www.stamford.com.au
07 3221 1999
There are three types of Teas available:
- Traditional morning tea: Monday-Friday 10.00am-12.00pm
- Afternoon high tea: Monday-Friday 3.00pm-5.00pm
- Chocolate high tea: Saturday & Sunday 3.00pm-5.00pm
Corner of Margaret & Edward Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000
