The Hotel Windsor in Melbourne opened its doors in 1883, located at 111 Spring Street opposite the Parliament House and Treasury Gardens, it serves an indulgent Afternoon Tea in it's grand rooms. Mr Curious and his family took a Saturday afternoon off to enjoy a little bit of the high life in this Melbourne institution.
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I have been to the Hotel Windsor previously for Afternoon Tea, and there we were seated in the dining room at the front of the hotel (see above photo from Broadsheet), where the room is filled with plenty of natural light and gorgeously furnished. This time we were situated in the Grand Ballroom, which whilst grand, it did feel like the general dining area of some hotels overseas, a little disappointed here. Anyway, on to the food!
The croquembouche is dwarfed by the chocolate fountain, flowing with white and milk chocolate and plenty of fruit to dip into.
As you entered the Ballroom, you were greeted with the large dessert buffet area, on weekends, the Afternoon Tea includes an extensive dessert buffet and chocolate fountain. Once seated, the menu has a generous selection of teas including their signature Hotel Windsor Afternoon Blend which had a gentle fragrance and pleasant flavours.
I chose the Enchanted Heart Blooming Tea described as heart-shaped white tea leaves that gently open into a blossom of pink, amaranth and orange lily. The little ball of tea once placed into the warm water, slowly unravels it's leaves to reveal a "tea flower".
Not too strong, with a nice floral flavour, I enjoyed it very much. The tiers of savoury selections promptly came to our table, with one tier shared between two. The bottom tier featured the ribbon sandwiches - smoked salmon with creamy avocado and dill; chicken, apple and mayonnaise; egg, mayonnaise and snow pea sprouts; Virginia ham and dijon mustard; and cucumber, sour cream and chives. With a mix of white and wholemeal bread, they are light, but nothing spectacular.
The middle tier features the Hotel Windsor's famous traditional and sultana scores baked daily, served with double cream and strawberry jam. These scones were light and fluffy, with a nice buttery flavour, once spread with lashings of cream and jam they were delicious.
One of my favourites for the afternoon was the Pina Colada mousse cake, filled with a light coconut mousse, pineapple filling and tangy passionfruit on top, I enjoyed this dessert a lot.
All in all, it is a lovely experience to have afternoon tea at the Hotel Windsor, with the dessert buffet on weekends an extra treat.
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