As one of the egg ambassadors, I had the privilege last week of sampling the new Sweet Shoppe Afternoon Tea experience at the Waldorf Astoria in Edinburgh’s West End. Chumming me along, was my colleague Ailsa. From the moment we stepped in to the Peacock Alley lounge, with its crisp white table cloths and velvety chairs, we felt this was going to be a special afternoon.
The afternoon tea was served in two courses. Ailsa was having the regular menu, and I had asked for the gluten free one. The first course included a selection of six different sandwiches and savoury bites. Next to each other, you could see that the regular and the gluten free version had used different bread, but the fillings were all the same. When our server asked if we had a favourite, it was difficult to pick just one because they all tasted so good. Ailsa felt you can’t go wrong with a classic, and chose the smoked salmon, cucumber & dill creme. For me, the chargrilled vegetable, red pepper chutney & taleggio cheese just won out over the others. It was a perfect combination, and I could have eaten a whole plate of them.
After the savoury came the sweet course, which is at the heart of the experience. The Sweet Shoppe pastry selection aims to evoke nostalgic childhood memories of classic sweet shop treats, with flavours inspired by the likes of butter toffees, kola bottles, liquorice allsorts, or parma violets. Six different pastries were served alongside freshly baked scones - including one mint chocolate scone - with clotted cream, chocolate curd and a sour cherry & apple jam. There were a few visual differences between the regular and the gluten free, most noticeably the white chocolate cheesecake mice, but both menus were beautifully presented - and almost looked too pretty to eat!
We were both a bit wary of the liquorice allsorts opera slice. I absolutely love liquorice, but had never had it as cake, whilst Ailsa isn’t a big liquorice fan. However, the flavour was very subtle and not at all overpowering. The same could be said of the rhubarb & custard, and kola pastries - the hints of classic flavours had just the right balance, without making you feel like you were actually eating sweets. There was nothing subtle about the flavour of the parma violet though, but I didn’t mind because parma violets are my favourites of the classic sweets!
Again, we were hard pressed to pick a favourite out of the sweet course. For me, it was probably the parma violet macaron (did I mention how much I love parma violets?), Ailsa named the butter toffee choux bun as her top choice. And we both agreed that we would have loved to take a jar of the sour cherry & apple jam home, it was that good.
Overall, we had a wonderful afternoon. Everything felt and tasted as decadent as it all looked. The sandwich bites and pastries may seem small, but they were very filling. In the end, we were defeated by our last mouthfuls of chocolate cheesecake mice, and I have to confess I sneaked out my macaron in a handkerchief, to eat later. But, as Ailsa said, “If you’re splashing out on a treat like this, you don’t want to go home feeling like you’ve had just enough food. You want to go home feeling absolutely stuffed!” The Sweet Shoppe Afternoon Tea definitely delivers on that.
*****
The Sweet Shoppe Afternoon Tea is available daily until 27th August for £55/adult or £30/child. It comes with a choice of over twenty loose leaf teas, or for £15 you can add on some bubbly too. The afternoon tea is also available to order for collection from the hotel with two days’ notice.
Book to enjoy your Afternoon Tea at the Peacock Alley here or collect your afternoon tea to enjoy at home here.
As well as the regular and the gluten free options, they also have a vegan and a children’s menu, and with advance notice will make the effort to cater to most other allergies in as far as possible (though do be aware that all food is prepared in a kitchen where allergens are present, if that is a concern). All menus are available on their website here.
