Review: Tea House on Spencer

You’ll find Tea House on Spencer tucked away just beside the Grand Hotel reception where you’ll enter into a beautiful 1920’s style tea house. The rich reds, golds and ornate light fixtures transport you to the luxury dining rooms of a bygone time. It’s quite a small venue, giving you that grand high tea experience in a slightly more intimate setting. We visited to check out what else they had on offer other than the high teas.

So, as well as their Traditional High Tea and Sultan’s High Tea, which have been doing the rounds on social media recently, Tea House on Spencer do a wide range of other options too if you’re in the mood for something not quite as filling or as fancy. For a start, they have a range of 32 teas on offer, spanning everything from high quality black teas, to vibrant fruit teas and the colourful, popular blue butterfly tea. While we only managed to try a couple we felt their tea options were nothing less than spectacular. Any tea fanatic would be in heaven, and everyone else is easily spoiled for choice – but don’t fear, along with lengthy menu descriptions, the team at Tea House on Spencer are more than happy to help you make your choice.

We started with an almond croissant each – which was easily the largest croissant I’ve ever seen! Warmed slightly and topped with thinly sliced almonds it was also filled with a kind of almond cream, which made it that little bit different, and broke up the texture nicely. The croissant itself wasn’t as light and flaky as some, but it tasted nice, and would leave you pleasantly full for a day of shopping or sight-seeing.

Next we tried the Kunafa French Toast – a cheese filled french toast based on the popular Arabic dessert. When it arrived, it looked pretty small – especially after the huge croissant, but its syrupy sweetness and rich cheese interior mean it’s the perfect size. As well as being plated beautifully, the french toast was very well done with just a little crisp on the outside before falling into a soft interior. It’s a different take on it too, and sits nicely with Tea House on Spencer’s aims of bringing a taste of the middle east to high tea. And honestly, this is where they shine, this dish was the stand out of the three we tried and something that will stay in our memory for a long time.

Finally we ended with the more traditional sticky date pudding. First thing to note is that it just looks absolutely picture perfect, and if you’re a sticky date fan, your mouth will be watering as soon as it hits the table. The pudding itself was soft and of quite a sweet variety and the butterscotch caramel just added that perfect accent to the rich dates. It might not have the stand out uniqueness of the Kunafa, but it’s a dessert you’ll definitely enjoy, and if this doesn’t take your fancy there’s plenty more classic or creative dishes to try as well.

The service at Tea House on Spencer was outstanding and while it’s a small team they go out of their way to try and make your experience that little bit special. Still in its infancy, it’s already a popular choice and while I think they are still testing and tweaking the menu to get everything spot on, they’ve had such a promising start. Business varied while we were there, so while I’d strongly recommend making a booking on the weekends, don’t hesitate to pop your head in if nearby as they definitely still have the odd quiet moments when they’ll be able to squeeze you in.