Monday, October 11, 2010

Apsleys Restaurant (London)

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Apsleys Restaurant at the Lanesborough Hotel is quite intimating to be honest. Located right across from Hyde Park corner, this hotel seems to be very exclusive from the outside, at least to me. Bentley and Lamborghini are the type of cars you would see outside the hotel on a daily basis. I was here for Afternoon Tea only so I wasn't sure how the Michelin 1-star status of this place really matters to my experience. I went to another Michelin starred resto in London and the experience made me wonder on the intention and the ultimate objective of being starred. Is the star(s) for the restaurant? the chef? or both? ... What does it mean to get one? Does it mean diners would enjoy the meal more for sure? I will discuss more on that on another post.


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The decor was quite elegant, grand actually but I was expecting a bit more rustic and less contemporary to be honest. The tea menu was quite extensive while only a few Afternoon Tea Sets to pick from. They have the standard set and one with Champagne + fresh strawberries, for someone who likes to be different sometimes, I ordered the Champagne and Strawberries set. 

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It was after a few pieces of the fresh strawberries with fresh cream that I truly regret for paying an extra GBP 10 for this so-called special set. They were ridiculously sour! I want my money back!!! 

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The Champagne was the Taittinger Champagne which was dry. Unlike wine (which I am still learning of course), it is quite difficult to describe Champagne in my opinion. Let me give it a try ... it carried a clean aroma to the nose and a long lasting finish to the palate with moderate acidity. Blah blah blah ... forget it, I am just going to say that I enjoyed the champagne which was dry and with moderate acidity.

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To be honest, Afternoon Tea is best to stick with Tea! I ordered the Assam Black tea, a stronger and bolder type. Rich fragrance yet not too overpowering.

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Do note that at Apsleys you can refill any item on the 3-tier tray anytime!

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The set of sandwiches were rather unexciting, it was the heavenly Stilton plus caramelized red onion tarts that made my day! Not a favorable item to my brother so thank you for letting me to have one more! :)

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The freshly bake scones were surprisingly good! It was crumbly yet fairly soft and moist inside, just the right amount of softness to vapid it being overly moist.  Together with some (or plenty in my case) clotted cream put plenty of smiles on my face!

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The rest of the items, as I mentioned, were rather unexciting and not presented in a way a GBP 35 set should to be honest. I am not going to go into details so please enjoy the captures of the items shown below. Did we ask for refills? That will remind a mysteries for your to guess. :)

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Likes:
  • Good varieties of tea for selection depending on your mood. (I was expecting more actually) 
  • Stilton + caramelized red onion tarts .... YUMMMM 
  • Freshly baked Scones 
Dislikes:
  • Unexciting sandwiches
  • Overly sour fresh strawberries 
Avg Spending: GBP 35 per person

Apsley's at the Laneborough Hotel on Urbanspoon

Apsleys Restaurant (London)
Hyde Park Corner London,
SW1X 7TA
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 020 7259 5599


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8 comments:

Andrew said...

Hey Jason

Glad you’re still making the most of your trip to the UK. Are you staying in London the whole time or heading out anywhere else?

I agree with your comments about the Michelin starring system. I find it hard to work out the logic of their rating; from my (rather limited) observations it seems to me that the venue itself, rather than the food, has perhaps more influence than it should. But like you say a conversation for another day...

Happy travels
Andrew

Jason said...

@Andrew: It is indeed a very controversial topic nowadays on the Michelin starrig system and how it affect the dining businesses.

Anonymous said...

The Michelin star Restaurant is Apsleys and all the team is Italian.... Afternoon tea and Breckfast, nothing to compare to the high quality of the restaurant. Also The Executive chef for restaurant is different then the one for the Hotel.

Michelle Arcord

Anonymous said...

I agree with Michelle,

i was for lunch and dinner and all in all it was an amazing experience.

They are shotting for the second stars!!!

beccles suffolk said...

I'm not quite sure about the exciting sandwiches part, but those pictures alone are a treat.

Anonymous said...

thanks!

Unknown said...

The strawberries look delicious. I wonder why it tasted sour. I like the elegance of their restaurant it looks promising. I want inquire a catering service to them but I will slash out those sour strawberries from the list of food to be served.

catering nyc

nyc catering said...

I don’t like the presentation of the sandwiches too. It looks like they didn’t put enough effort to present it that well but nonetheless the other food were great.

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