Wednesday 28 December 2011

Afternoon Tea at L'Orangerie, Buenos Aires

Vase of roses at the table

Dear readers,

Feliz Navidad
[Merry Christmas] from Buenos Aires, Argentina!

Sorry for disappearing for another month, but I have been exploring Buenos Aires trying to find some great food places to share with you all!

Alvear Blend Tea being poured

It may seem a little strange that I went somewhere so English when I am on the other side of the world. I have enjoyed a fair share of Argentine culture here, but I really wanted my boyfriend to experience a little bit of English culture. It's going be a long time before he is able to visit England so I thought that Afternoon Tea at L'Orangerie, Alvear Palace Hotel, would be the perfect way to introduce him to English culture, here in Argentina. I was also curious to see Argentina's version of "Afternoon Tea"!

Kir Royales served at the table

We were fortunate enough to be seated in the beautiful Garden Courtyard. We certainly felt that we were in London. We ate minimal food before our booking, in order to prepare ourselves for the great feast of cakes. Afternoon Tea in Argentina is served between 5-7pm as opposed to 2-5pm in England, so we were desperately hungry by the time we arrived.

Teapot handle mitts

The waiters first served us the Kir Royales which they poured at the table. We ordered the Alvear Blend tea which had flavours of almond, citrus and rose. The waiters poured the tea at the table and the teapots had tiny handle mitts - adorable! I had never seen these before.

Warm pear scones with lemon curd, raspberry jam and orange marmalade

We were given freshly baked pear scones that were still warm, with lemon curd, raspberry jam and orange marmalade (but no butter). Before we came, I read a few reviews about Afternoon Tea at L'Orangerie. They said that the scones here were horrible. We thought, however, that the scones were delicious. They were dense but broke apart easily and had a subtle chewiness and fruitness from the pieces of pear. We didn't leave a crumb!

Plant decoration in the Garden Courtyard

We then started on the collection of sandwiches and cakes. The top plate included a mini salmon bagel, Spanish ham and pear roll, mushroom bun and a ham and cheese roll.

Tea cakes and sandwiches

The second plate included sandwiches of cream cheese and cucumber, turkey and pesto, tuna salad and Spanish ham. I enjoyed most of these, however, two of them were soggy with something that was not part of the filling. I left these uneaten!

The bottom plate included a selection of cakes including a chocolate and pistachio cake, a small round chocolate cake, a mini strawberry pavlova, triple chocolate mousse cake and a nutty-cinnamon pastry similar to baklava.

Struggling to finish the cakes!

We ate everything except for the couple of soggy sandwiches and the last course of cakes which one choose from a cart. We chose a black forest cake and a chocolate mousse cake which we took home in a box.

I felt like a little girl at a tea party. Except for the soggy sandwiches and the lack of butter or cream with the scones, it was the perfect afternoon tea! (The plain round chocolate cake could have been made a little more exciting, too.) I have been to Fortnum & Mason's in London for afternoon tea, and the Alvear definitely beat them in both the service and the quality of the food. I was very impressed that they served the Kir Royales at the table and also thoroughly explained every part of the menu as they served the food.

It may not be an Argentine thing to do here, but, actually, it is mainly Argentines who indulge in Afternoon Tea at L'Orangerie as the tourists are, usually, busy spending their time doing all of the "Argentine" things.

And, finally, despite the excellence of this experience, it was not that expensive. For two people including a glass of sparkling wine (or a Kir Royale), it came to AR$300 (around £50). A few days before this, we ate at a Mexican restaurant for the same money and were fairly disappointed with the food. I would definitely prefer to have the Alvear experience instead!

If you ever have the opportunity to Buenos Aires, I highly recommend that you partake of Argentina's brilliant interpretation of "English Afternoon Tea"!

Christmas Tree in The Alvear Hotel

13 comments:

  1. You live an amazing life!!

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  2. I'm so jealous! Now I want to go...

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  3. Interesting that you hunted down a high tea place in Argentina. I know high tea places are quite popular in SE Asia, didn't realise this British concept has travelled to South America. A cure for homesickness! I suppose in UK you will go to the Argentinian steak place:)

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  4. Such an interesting post Hazel and fab photo's as usual. Sitting here on a drab, cold and rainy day in the UK this sounds all very tempting and I will suffer today from afternoon tea envy. Happy New Year to both of you!

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  5. A great way of spending an afternoon! What a delightful place.

    Best wishes for the new year!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  6. LOL - it must have been fun enjoying a very British tradition in Buenos Aires! I especially love the Kir Royales and the pear scones. Enjoy the rest of your trip and Happy New Year!

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  7. everything looks divine! those are lovely pictures

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  8. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon! Great photos.

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  9. beautiful photos - looks like such a luxurious way to spend an evening - shame about the soggy sandwiches but when you are so spoiled some little details can be forgiven

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  10. Soggy sandwiches aside, what an amazing experience. I've always wanted to visit BA. It's on my bucket list. Happy New Year!

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  11. Oh I love reading this and seeing a beautiful tea in Argentina. I have seen the little teapot holders, but fun to see them again. Thanks for visiting me at Delights of the Heart. I do see teapots and tea cozies at www.marmaladys.com, but do not ship teapots outside of the US. I do ship my sewing patterns and cozies outside of the US.

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  12. This sounds so yummy and amazing! As you know I go to one too many afternoon teas in my time and this sounds right up there, apart from the soggy sandwiches!

    Just a little tip - if you hyperlink some of the brands you refer to, it will help bump your page up on google! Glad you adding the keywords too.

    Keep up the hard work & eating you clever girl xxx

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  13. The Alvear is so elegant, luxurious and fancy I did not dare to come in. I went to the hotel in buenos aires of the most famous chains and all had a very interesting tea menue. Cakes with Dulce de Leche are delicious!
    Kim

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Thank you so much for visiting! I love hearing from you.