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MELBOURNE | The Hotel Windsor has been serving afternoon tea since 1883, and the tradition is as popular today as it’s ever been. Held in the grand One Eleven lounge, Afternoon Tea is served on traditional three-tiered silver stands with ribbon sandwiches, savoury pastries, French patisserie, and freshly baked scones with housemade jam and double cream. To accompany the food is a selection of 11 teas, plus sparkling wine and French Champagne. On weekends, there’s also a cake buffet.
While there is a lot that’s traditional about Afternoon Tea at the Hotel Windsor, it’s by no means stale, with plenty of choices incorporating more contemporary tastes and flavours. We were recently invited to sample the launch of the Spring Afternoon Tea menu, which has been revamped by the Windsor Hotel’s new pastry chef, French-born Jeremie Parmentier.
The three-tiered silver stand features lots of classics with a few twists. The bottom tier features ribbon sandwiches like my favourite, egg with mayonnaise, horseradish and Dijon mustard, along with smoked salmon and avocado cream, cucumber and ricotta cheese with herbs, and chicken with celery and walnuts. Move up a layer, and you’ve got a parmesan cauliflower tart with spicy butter, along with prosciutto muffins with tomato chutney. Up top is the classic sultana scones served with jam and thick double cream. It’s all very delicious.
As we visited on a weekend, the cake buffet was open and there was a lot to choose from. The general consensus amongst the group was that the highlight was the new lemon tart with lemon cream, almond cream, kaffir lime meringue, lime gel, and sweet sable. It was light, fresh and tangy, with a beautiful buttery pastry. The dark chocolate praline was also amazing, as was a yuzu tart, and a pineapple sponge-mouse type creation. With around 50 different things at the dessert buffet, you’ll find something you like no matter where your preferences on the sweet side of things lies.
All up, it was a great experience. Afternoon Tea at The Hotel Windsor manages to retain old world charm and service where it matters, while offering up food that straddles the line between classic and contemporary perfectly. Do note that Afternoon Tea is quite popular and does get busy, so if you’re interested in checking it out it’s highly recommended that you book, especially on weekends.
The Hotel Windsor
111 Spring Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9633 6000
E-mail: [email protected]
Website