Garden View Tea at GF 09/15/07

[Luv2Roam]

GF (aka the Red Roof Inn )

I like to have an Afternoon Tea at GF every few months.

I had an ADR I made probably 3 weeks or so ago for a mid/late afternoon.
We arrived yesterday right on time --- and was I surprised. The place was DEAD. I can only guess it is because they do not accept the DDP. We use the DDE here.

The entire time we were there, there were maybe 5 other tables with guests.

As usual the service and food was great.

I had my usual -- The Buckingham Palace.
DH ordered The Grand Tea. (First time) He was not too big on the sparkling wine. The only substitute was sparkling apple cider. He ordered that, but it was nothing special. Although it comes in a fluted glass with a strawberry on top,

The tea he chose was Cassis - A rich black currant flavor. His came in a china pot. He said the first cup was very good. But after that it was stronger and more bitter. (Coming from a strong coffee/Starbuck's lover.) He said he would not order that again.
Last time I had Eros, and really liked it. But ordered Nobo Whole Fruit - Full bodied and rich in sweetness. An array of berries and apple, accompanied with hibiscus, rose hips, and cornflowers.
Mine came in a pressed pot and was very pretty besides being good. It was very fruity and flavorful. Almost really not what I would consider a tea, More like a naturally light sweet fruit drink. Good, but would order again only if I was not in a tea mood.

I don't think DH would order The Grand Tea again. Really the only difference was a small slice of a pate (which he said was excellant) and the sparkling wine that he does not care for any way.

I always wanted to try one of the pastry swans. And even though full, I ordered one for each of us when our strawberries were served.

Those swans taste just as good as they look.

Oh, I was stuffed when I left there.
Afterwards we went to MK. The new Haunted Mansion is great! We went through it twice.

 

[Minniespal]

Thanx for another great review

 

[eeyore45]

I have pictures

and the swan

 

[eeyore45]

thought I had more

 

[ndziob]

hi what exactly do you get with the buckingham palace tea? i see teasandwiches and tarts and scones and then either strawberries or pastries. do they let you pick the sandwiches out and the pastries? how many of each do you get?

 

[Luv2Roam]

There are four different types of sandwiches. One is watercress and cucumber. I am not a cuke eater so I always ask for a substitute of one of the others. I have never had a problem with this.
One type has chicken salad. But it is not chicken salad like you would normally eat. Another sandwich is pear and cheese. And I think another is seafood, or shrimp. Don't recall exactly. The sandwiches have always been the same. And always good.
DH says the watercress and cucumber are very good. But I will just trust him on that and let him delight eating those.
The sandwiches are more dainty type sandwiches with the crust cut off, sliced very thin, with a thin layer of filling. I think I got 6 halves.
Besides the pot of tea, I also got the sandwiches, and an onion tart. I don't like onions, but really like the onion tart. VERY sweet. mmmmm
Then I also got a nice warm scone and a raspberry tart.
Followed by a large bowl of strawberries piled with real whipped cream.
Think that was it... (Instead of the whipped cream guests can also order their choice of two specialty pastries.)
At first you do not think it is a lot of food. But it really is more filling than you think. I have never walked away hungry or wanting more.
I know for those who have to eat gluten free, with the Buckingham Palace they will replace the regular sandwiches for ones made with rice bread, and give lots extra since those diners cannot eat the scone or tarts.

 

[bob6sims]

Sounds yummy

I'd love to go here but I don't think my 4 children would like it .

Can you just get a cake and tea or do you have to take sandwiches as well ?

 

[dahirsh]

Can you just get a cake and tea or do you have to take sandwiches as well ?

you can order ala carte

 

[Luv2Roam]

There are many other selections other than the Buckingham Palace. They offer various tiers, and one geared towards kids.
Also as someone posted, you can order food selections separate. They offer items such as cheese plates, etc.
They really offer quite a variety for a small dining area.
Well worth the time!
The only thing I was not impressed by was the trifle. I ordered it once because I had read others here rave about it. It was nothing special for me. Not even served fancy. Just some pudding scooped up and plopped into a small bowl. Nothing worth mentioning that I had.

 

[suzimar57]

great pictures of the tea - have done the tea myself, love it!

just wondering: if there were particular sandwich fillings you preferred over others, could you be specific and get only them?

and how about extra onion tarts?

i never thought one was enough!

 

[Luv2Roam]

According to wdwig.com these are the sandwich types:
"cucumber with watercress, shrimp salad with dill, chicken salad with almonds, grilled pear with gorgonzola, and egg salad, each on a different bread."

And that sounds right. The spread and the breads are so thin it is not that the spreads really stand out (other than the watercress & cucumber and grilled pear & cheese). And the pear stands out only because you can tell it is a thinly sliced pear.

Which type I prefer is probably just reflects my mood at that time. I love the chicken salad. It is sweet. I would not guess it was almonds with the chicken salad. I would have guessed it was some sort of sweet cheese. The spreads are generally very finely chopped, with again the exception of the cuke/watercress.

All the sandwiches are good -- if you like cukes. And like I posted, I always ask for an extra of another to replace the watercress/cuke, and never have had an issue.

Never tried or asked for an extra onion tart. But I am sure they would accomodate, and at worse charge a little extra. And well worth it!

This last time I wanted to try one of those fancy pastry swans. I asked for one each for DH and I, fully expecting to pay extra for each one.
It was not until that night that DH happened to look over the bill and mentioned we had not been charged extra for the pastry swans.
I do not know if it was just overlooked by the server, or if it was late afternoon and they were not busy and had lots that were going to be leftover or what. But nice surprise!
At the restaurant DH just looked over the bill long enough to add the tip (which we leave the same as the DDE discount). So I was esp glad we left a 20% tip when we rec'd two free pastry swans.