Tea at the Savoy!

[annwfyn]

I am told that tea at the Savoy is clearly my personal equivelent of being an ANST*. I managed to insert it in every other sentence last night.

*beams*

Yes. Yesterday, as a 'Mike's Last Day In The UK' type thing we went for afternoon tea at the Savoy. I booked in advance, we got dressed in what we hoped were suitably 'smart-casual' clothes, and off we went.

It was wonderful. First of all, tea at the Savoy involves sitting in the most beautiful room. One walks through the rather large and grand entrance hall, then down a flight of broad and shallow steps. At the bottom of these steps is a large room, with a grand piano in the middle at which a rather good pianist is playing. There are some beautiful chandeliers, set up so it looks as if they are draped in greenery. The room is lined with mirrors, opaque with gorgeous stained glass art deco style artwork on them. The chairs are huge and squishy and the table linen is crisp and white.

A man in a tail coat shows you to your seat, and enquires what kind of tea or coffee you would like with your tea. There is a long list. If you're me you ask pathetically if you can be really awkward and have a glass of milk. The response is a magnificant "Of course! You can have whatever you want."

You are seated. Tea arrives, and chilled milk in a tall glass if you're me. You get as much milk as you want as well. Then the food appears.

Afternoon tea at the Savoy costs £24 per person. For that you get a little silver tower, with three large plates set on it. The bottom plate contains many little finger sandwiches with the crusts cut off. The salmon ones are particularly good. The middle plate contains a range of cream cakes and other pastries which are gorgeous. The raspberry and chocolate coulis was a dream that I am still fantasising about. The top tray contains the proper traditional scones with sultanas in them to go with the strawberry jam and clotted cream that is also delivered in little silver dishes.

If one of those plates becomes empty, a nice man with a tail coat asks you if you would like some more.

I thought that possibly we were being overcharged for what we got, and then discovered that I actually couldn't finish what we had.

Heaven.

And all this in comfortable chairs with a pianist playing feeling like an extra in Jeeves and Wooster.

I'm told the gentlemen's toilets are a thing of wonder as well. There are attendents who do everything bar offer you sexual favours when you go there. The ladies' toilets weren't quite as exciting. I got a bored looking woman glance at me, decide I didn't look like a good bet for a tip and then spectacularly ignore me. Mike obviously looks richer and more generous than me.

We wandered out of the tea room an hour and a half after we went in there and slid to the gift shop. Yes. The Savoy has a gift shop. It has a really rather nice range of shinies, including a 'legend' mug which melsner and I bought for twicedead in memory of the late, great and spectacular Duke Julian Twicedead. Or Thricedead. Or (as some call him) "Die You F**ker". Ben smiled a lot when he saw it, so I figure it was money well spent.

The evening was much less exciting. Bella Italia just can't compete with the Savoy, although I did ask ksirafai and pierot if they could possibly put on tail coats and dance on mine and Mike's every whim. Somehow it just wasn't the same, however. The fact that they glared at me menacingly really spoiled the atmosphere, I feel.

I also discovered a new and wonderful thing about the Savoy. If there are thirteen guests for dinner there, they have a beautiful large wooden carved cat which they produce and sit at your table with a napkin around its neck. It is then 'the fourteenth guest' and is treated as a de facto diner. This prevents the unlucky number of thirteen from occuring. I know that dinner at the Savoy would be horribly expensive, and I might need to save up for this, but I want to find twelve people to go with me. I want to see the cat! Any takers?






*With all due apologies to the ANSTs who might read this. You're all very lovely people and I hope no offense is taken. It is simply that it has been noted that people who spend a lot of time doing something which they are rather proud of tend to mention it fairly often.

Comments

[vulgarcriminal.livejournal.com]

That sounds *fantastic*

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

It was gorgeous. I really would love to go with you if you're in London at any point and I can get the money together for it. It was just a really special kind of afternoon out. I'd recommend it as a date type thing for you and Mr Tiff as well. *nods firmly*

[vulgarcriminal.livejournal.com]

Oh, we could dress up! I have a funky hat. With gloves! Hmmm, do they do Saturdays? We could go a gallery-ing and then do a Savoy outing.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

They do do Saturdays. I imagine we'd definitely need to book in advance for that, but we could do it.

Who else could we invite? I think ksirafai may be up for it as well. Anyone else?

[vulgarcriminal.livejournal.com]

Robin Cannon would probably be up for it and possibly the Kiwi... *thinks*

[silver-blue.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I reckon I could manage that. I'm a sucker for getting spoilt and pretending I'm richer than I am. :)

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

As an ANST, I can say that dinner at the Savoy would be very cool, but we may not be able to afford it for a while.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Oh, just sell a kidney! You surely don't need both of them?

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

I somehow don't think any of my internal organs have any value on the market.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Do you have anyone else's internal kidneys that you could sell?

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

There's a whole office of healthy, clean living vegetarian types here. I'm sure I can find something.

[raggedhalo.livejournal.com]

Vegetarians don't have kidneys. Fact.

[castorlion.livejournal.com]

I'll buy your organ!

[faerierhona.livejournal.com]

Yes please! I have been for tea there before - also at the Ritz and Hyde Park Corner Hotel. All of them I was gothed up in - a very expensive series of bets/ outings!

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I want to go to the Ritz! I really really do.

I've been to dinner at Gordon Ramsey restaurant at the Berkeley as well - the Boxwood Cafe. That isn't quite as posh, but the food is to die for. I keep planning to try and get back there some day too.

[faerierhona.livejournal.com]

You know, we could just sort out a dinner club. Once a month, we go to dinner. Every month someone else chooses where we go, but it must be within an agreed budget (eg 10 pounds per head) and we go find interesting places to eat?

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

You know, I like that plan. Myself, jez and Ginnie used to do something a bit like that but on a smaller scale and it all got a bit erratic.

I'd definitely be up for that!

[wildrogue.livejournal.com]

Now that is a plan. Must perform well at interview just for that.

[alasdair.livejournal.com]

I have always meat to go and have a really posh afternoon tea in London at some point. This has just made me more sure that I must get around to it...

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Do it! I'm so glad I did. It really was just an amazing experience.

[soullessflyer.livejournal.com]

Sounds positively spiffy. Reading aobut the silver towers brought back memories I have as a kid and going out for high tea, though it was never anywhere as fancy as the Savoy. Reckon that's a great way to spend an arvo - will store that one away for future reference. :o)

[cristobel.livejournal.com]

that sounds so cool!!!! Next time I'm in London, I'll go with you for afternoon tea at the Savoy!!!! I've never done anything like that before!

It looks like Andrew and I may be having to spend a night in London before going on honeymoon, due to flight times, so maybe then.

[red-phil.livejournal.com]

Dinner for 13 sounds good, now just gotta figure out how to get meself and Tina to the Savoy.

[melsner.livejournal.com]

we got dressed in what we hoped were suitably 'smart-casual' clothes

I was dressed nicely. You were a cockney street urchin who had snuck in and kept trying to hide scones in your socks.

Was a lovely time, thank you for taking me.

God, I miss that toilet.

[wildrogue.livejournal.com]

Gods yes. Dinner at the Savoy would be magical.