Amaranto is a modern Italian restaurant in the Four Seasons London at Park Lane, and coincidentally just opposite the Intercontinental where I had the pleasure of enjoying another afternoon tea a couple of weeks back.
The afternoon tea was served in the Amaranto Lounge which had more of an oriental feel to it rather than Italian, with its marbled black surfaces and scarlet red interiors. It was a shame about the weather as I was hoping to be able to enjoy the outdoor garden which would have been lovely on a sunny day – the lounge clearly proved to be a warmer and drier option on yet another wet British summers day.
They have four different menu options and I was actually interested to try the Picnic Afternoon Tea (despite the non-picnic weather outside), but I was then informed by the waiter that the Free-flowing Bookatable Deal was only valid for the Traditional Afternoon Tea Menu. Slightly odd as all four menus were displayed on the website, but I didn’t ask further…
Anyway, any sort of afternoon tea makes me happy, especially when it involves free-flowing bubbles. Our champagne flutes were promptly topped up with Bollinger champagne – an excellent way to brighten up a rainy day and wash away the Monday blues.
Well, I didn’t exactly have the usual Monday blues since it was my day off work, but champagne still makes any day seem perkier…
Our three tiered stand was placed on a small side table next to us, carrying a plate of sandwiches and the sweets. The scones were to be brought out later when we were done with the sandwiches so that they would not go cold sitting on the table – a much preferred method as opposed to some places that bring out everything simultaneously.
The selection of sandwiches consisted of the following:
Organic egg, Montgomery cheddar with mustard cress on malted bread
Cucumber, cream cheese and wasabi on walnut bread
East End smoked salmon and prawn cocktail on brown bread
Honey roast ham with cloves and English mustard on white bread
Roast organic chicken with sage and onion stuffing, mustard mayonnaise on white bread
A nice variety of tasty traditional fillings and bread – we particularly liked the white bread with cranberries.
When we were done with the sandwiches, we requested for the scones to be brought out. The traditional and raisin scones were warm and buttery, and the fact that they were smaller made them taste better to me – I have this thing with miniature food and desserts…
They were served with a trio of condiments – strawberry jam, lemon curd and thick clotted cream.
After downing a few glasses of champagne (I kind of lost count halfway through…), we moved on to the teas – Zeena ordered the fragrant Jasmine Silver Needle, whilst I went for my favourite Darjeeling Second Flush which had a rich and full-bodied aroma.
And of course we did also inform the waiter that we were happy for the champagne to keep flowing…
The chocolate and raspberry macaron was really rich and indulgent – macarons are one of my favourite desserts and this did not disappoint. The Pimm’s choux was cute and interesting, and undoubtedly a delicious mouthful of creaminess. The trifle was quite light and fruity, and the rhubarb and custard was encased within a sweet white chocolate shell and presented in the shape of a mini lolly. I had been eyeing that pistachio and strawberry tartlet for a while, so I was quite excited to finally devour it – it tasted as good as it looked, and it was my favourite one amongst the rest.
Time passed by so quickly as usual and we were absolutely stuffed at the end that we walked to a further tube station to help our tummies to settle – another one of those over-indulgent afternoons…not that I’m complaining.
The Afternoon Tea with free-flowing champagne is priced at £49 per person and is one of the many Bookatable Star Deals which you can book for yourself via this link. Or you may also click here to browse the other free-flowing deals that may tickle your fancy.
The Cheekster, signing out x
