A bittersweet last day in London. I'm at the point where I've seen enough but this beautiful city has so much more to offer.
The Ampersand Hotel's Science Tea is our second and final high tea, and I highly recommend it. Service is inattentive and requires a lot of waving down, but it seems they're a bit understaffed. The up side is that we're surrounded by locals, unlike the khaki-clad tourists of Fortnum & Mason, and the slightly cheesy science theme is the most fun I've ever had with my food.
Their tea list is more succinct, but their teas have a lot of flavor. I believe I tried the Lalani & Co Reserve Darjeeling, but it's the Jing Earl-Grey that holds my attention. Dark, bold and bitter, mollified by milk, it achieves a graceful balance.
The savories are more substantial than their size would suggest. Not extremely memorable but satisfying all the same. Fleshy Smoked Salmon sits on a slightly soggy blini with a sprig of dill. A shiny brioche bun encapsulates medium-rare Roast Beef with a dash of hot horseradish and pickles. The Chicken Salad is has drops of citrus, but the mayo is a bit heavy for me. The Truffle & Mushroom Tart is an aromatic quiche, my favorite of the lot.
Between bites, they bring out a basin a set of pipettes and beakers to prepare your own lemonade. Like a mad scientist you empty your test tube of concentrated lemon juice into a beaker and dilute it with some water. Add sugar from a dime-bag (yes, they probably should rethink this packaging) and squirt blue simple syrup for a dash of color and/or mango/raspberry juices to change the flavor. They even have baking soda for carbonation. The lemonade is one of my favorite items. It's all fresh n' fruity, and end product is exquisite. It's a lot of work to make an ounce at a time, but no regrets...three little beakers later.
Onto the Scones. The white chocolate and cranberry is sweet without being sugary, and the plain scone is just perfect. Devonshire clotted cream is a winner, and I like the less solid texture (compared to F&M). The homemade strawberry preserve is pleasant, and we emptied the sweet n' tart lemon curd squeeze tube like it was going out of style.
The pastries are where the Ampersand shines. They get crafty and creative with delectable and fascinating delights like this fruity gelatin, the Strawberry & Elderflower Jelly Petri Dish. It looks a little too real, but that's the best part. A river of dry ice encircles the otherworldly Planet Mousse, a pliable, creamy chocolate orb. The colors are gorgeous. An interstellar, funfetti Macaron has a filling of cherry, yoghurt & passion fruit, smooth with some tang and a few floral notes.
There's a dense chocolate Half-Moon Cake cradling a chocolate spaceman or rocket. Simple, but almost too pretty to eat.
We had to ask for the Mini Dinosaur Biscuit after they handed us the check - this is what I mean by being understaffed - they simply forgot to give us our last course. The biscuit is a hard shortbread, and the chocolate is just chocolate. They only brought one for the two of us, and there was no bone hidden in this adorable crate so we didn't even get to find an edible fossil with that adorable brush.
I really enjoyed the Science Tea, but I would have enjoyed it more if the service were better. It's rare that I comment on service, but there were times where we felt entirely ignored. We wanted more lemonade, for example, and it just took too long to get more refills. They would also bring incomplete sets of ingredients so we would have situations where we would just stare at the lemon juice while waiting 20 minutes for water to dilute it with. High tea is about feeling leisurely and pampered, after all, and it's hard to feel that way when you're constantly waving down waiters and making sure they don't forget your food. Still, the theme is adorable, and the pastries are brilliant. I would easily come back for the food and the ambiance despite the less-than-desirable service.
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