Spatisserie at The Dorchester: Mayfair, Saturday September 15th, 2012

After the outrageous indulgence of her birthday in 2011 (it was her 30th after all...), the wife was calmly assured that the celebrations last year were to be altogether more reasonable and affordable. As such, it was up to me to arrange a few small things which eventually culminated in a four course home-cooked meal for her. I personally thought I did a good job as chef but she did find some fault with every course I put before her. So, if you think I can be harsh...

The birthday weekend began with a trip to The Dorchester for afternoon tea. I was actually taken there for tea the year before by the wife so I knew she would like it and - despite the fact that it is The Dorchester - tea for two is a relatively inexpensive afternoon out. So as not to exactly replicate her birthday treat for me I decided to explore another option The Dorchester offers for their afternoon tea: in the spa room instead of the lobby.

When written down, neither place reads like much but since we knew the lobby (or 'Promenade') well enough from the year before, I thought it might be a bit of fun to eat downstairs. Spatisserie is more or less exactly as it sounds: a tea room within the downstairs spa at the grand hotel. The first thing you notice is that this place is really set up for people who have actually come from the spa itself. If you're not padding about in slipper-sandals and a dressing gown it feels slightly strange.

The food is much the same as we'd enjoyed upstairs the year before, minus the Wimbledon motif. The sandwiches were almost as delicious as last time but the big let-down was they were not as fresh (left). I'm not suggesting they were stale by any means, but they were not as springy-soft as they should have been. It felt distinctly as if they had been left out upstairs before coming to the downstairs spa. As with our previous visit, the chicken on basil bread was excellent but the whole sandwich episode fell a little flat given how un-fresh they felt.

The dessert section of the menu held a little more intrigue because it was different from last time. An appealing array of chocolate tart, almond cake with apricot, strawberry & peach macaroon and mango, coconut & lime cake was presented to us (right). They were all delicately and expertly constructed enjoyable morsels: exactly as afternoon tea should be. The chocolate tart was a rich and satisfying wave of flavour and the macaroon was excellent.

Scones were as incredible as we had expected. These were small, soft, warm and a stunning, comforting treat. The plain and fruit scones were equally delicious and the clotted cream and jam merely added a glorious rich finish. There is something about miniature scones which annoys me a bit, but when they taste this good it doesn't matter so much.

It was a fun experience having afternoon tea in the downstairs spa but the wife and I both agreed that it was better the first time. When you're in one of London's most famous hotels, there's something to be said for the grandour and splendour of the promenade and the service upstairs was better in general. The fact that the sandwiches were unequivocally better upstairs was the main factor in deciding, but I will say this: had I just come out of a spa afternoon at The Dorchester, I would be proclaiming this as the best afternoon tea ever. If you're going to eat here, make sure you've had a steam and a massage first.

Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester