The InterContinental on Park Lane’s High Coffee experience offers an innovative take on traditional High Tea. The High Coffee can be found in the hotel’s Wellington Lounge which offers fantastic views over the Wellington Arch, along with a relaxing ambience. We enjoyed the fact that this experience was moving away from the traditional afternoon tea affair and we were remarkably impressed with the offering itself which was wonderfully presented and boasts a delicious marriage of flavours. Each selection of dishes is paired with a different coffee based drink, so you really do need to be a fan of coffee to truly appreciate it.
When we arrived we were shown to our table, and it wasn’t long before the goodies began to arrive. Up first was a selection of open sandwiches, including roasted eggplant, celeriac and sweet pepper remoulade on buttermilk bread; heirloom tomato caprese, watercress and caper aioli on a beetroot brioche roll, and slow cooked baby beetroot, pickled red onion and caper aioli on a beetroot brioche roll. These sandwiches were full of flavour and absolutely wonderfully paired with a beautiful salted caramel espresso martini which we simply couldn’t fault.
Up next we were served a selection of warm savouries including English asparagus and thyme open pie; wild mushroom tumble weed, and sun blushed tomato spiral with warm piccalilli. These were a real highlight and satisfied our English craving for pastry-based delicacies. These were washed down with a Caffé Freddo.
“We left the experience full, happy and slightly buzzing from the caffeine; which certainly sent us out on a high.”
We were then served a palate cleanser of blood orange and ginger sorbet, which was most enjoyable and certainly cleansed our palate. The sorbet was smooth and thick and wonderfully punchy with the ginger really shining through. Although we weren’t disappointed to move on, as the experience would not have been complete without a selection of traditional warm scones, we enjoyed both sultana and buttermilk scones, served with Devon clotted cream and strawberry jam. Alongside our scones I enjoyed an espresso, and my partner enjoyed a latte.
The experience finished with a Signature Café Coretto, which was most welcomed. We left the experience full, happy and slightly buzzing from the caffeine; which certainly sent us out on a high. We were impressed with this experience, as not only was the food wonderful, the coffee pairings matched perfectly, and the team were also an absolute credit. You can tell that they have passion for this concept, which really shines through and adds to the overall experience.
The Bill: £42 per head
