Afternoon Tea at Gilgamesh
As readers of this blog will know, I have developed a thing for afternoon tea. So when a 'Pan-Asian Afternoon Tea' with 2 hours of unlimited Prosecco came up on Wowcher, I was the first in line, debit card in hand. The price was £34 for two instead of £71 - bargain, I thought but I've since learned that you get what you pay for!
I had never been to Gilgamesh in Camden but had walked past it and read about it online. I was keen to try out a restaurant that sounded a little bit glamorous and the pan asian twist of a Great British classic was really tempting. My last afternoon tea was amazing (read about it here) and had set the standard incredibly high but I was not expecting the same, just something a bit different.
To start with, booking was actually quite hard. I tried several different Saturday slots but each time was told they were fully booked. No matter I thought (I had left it until the last minute) I will try a week day in half term. So I asked to book on a Tuesday afternoon but was told afternoon tea is only served Thursday to Sunday. So after a little bit or rearranging, we booked to go around lunchtime on a Thursday. Phew!
Arriving at Gilgamesh was exciting. You reach the restaurant via an escalator which feels a bit like posh hotel/funky nightclub (bearing in mind that I haven't been to either for a long time!) Inside, reception was decked out for Halloween, a little half heartedly, but it still created a sense of fun. We were shown to our seats swiftly and given a copy of the menu.
Everything sounded very nice and some of it quite intriguing (I had only heard about kimchi on The Archers). Prosecco was served quickly and shortly after our afternoon tea arrived. Unfortunately it was a bit underwhelming.
There was nothing actually wrong with the afternoon tea and I feel guilty for being mean but there was also nothing special about it. The savoury and sweet plates were just that - plates. No cake stand and no sense of occasion. The chicken and beef sliders were very tasty, served in a brioche bun and the cold plate of salmon bites and sushi were also nice but it didn't feel special, in fact it felt like something you could easily knock-up at home.
We saved the scones until last, which I think is the correct way to eat an afternoon tea and we had half of the goji berry and half of the raisin scone each. Both scones were a little bit dry but once smothered in clotted cream, we managed to woof them down.
The staff were really attentive and friendly, filling our prosecco glasses frequently, although not so quick to bring our pots of tea. The menu had said we could 'take our pick of high-quality, whole leaf tea' but in reality we were offered breakfast tea or mint tea - not really a range.
So the moral of the story is that you get what you pay for. Super special afternoon teas come at a price. £34 for two was very reasonable for what we got but I'm very glad I didn't pay more!
I had never been to Gilgamesh in Camden but had walked past it and read about it online. I was keen to try out a restaurant that sounded a little bit glamorous and the pan asian twist of a Great British classic was really tempting. My last afternoon tea was amazing (read about it here) and had set the standard incredibly high but I was not expecting the same, just something a bit different.
To start with, booking was actually quite hard. I tried several different Saturday slots but each time was told they were fully booked. No matter I thought (I had left it until the last minute) I will try a week day in half term. So I asked to book on a Tuesday afternoon but was told afternoon tea is only served Thursday to Sunday. So after a little bit or rearranging, we booked to go around lunchtime on a Thursday. Phew!
Arriving at Gilgamesh was exciting. You reach the restaurant via an escalator which feels a bit like posh hotel/funky nightclub (bearing in mind that I haven't been to either for a long time!) Inside, reception was decked out for Halloween, a little half heartedly, but it still created a sense of fun. We were shown to our seats swiftly and given a copy of the menu.
Everything sounded very nice and some of it quite intriguing (I had only heard about kimchi on The Archers). Prosecco was served quickly and shortly after our afternoon tea arrived. Unfortunately it was a bit underwhelming.
There was nothing actually wrong with the afternoon tea and I feel guilty for being mean but there was also nothing special about it. The savoury and sweet plates were just that - plates. No cake stand and no sense of occasion. The chicken and beef sliders were very tasty, served in a brioche bun and the cold plate of salmon bites and sushi were also nice but it didn't feel special, in fact it felt like something you could easily knock-up at home.
We saved the scones until last, which I think is the correct way to eat an afternoon tea and we had half of the goji berry and half of the raisin scone each. Both scones were a little bit dry but once smothered in clotted cream, we managed to woof them down.
The staff were really attentive and friendly, filling our prosecco glasses frequently, although not so quick to bring our pots of tea. The menu had said we could 'take our pick of high-quality, whole leaf tea' but in reality we were offered breakfast tea or mint tea - not really a range.
So the moral of the story is that you get what you pay for. Super special afternoon teas come at a price. £34 for two was very reasonable for what we got but I'm very glad I didn't pay more!
.JPG)
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