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 café itself is in a industrial era warehouse, with bare brick walls, and many of the warehouse features kept in tact to retain that rustic elegance when paired with the modern touches of today. Utilising reclaimed wood features, charming furniture and the restoration of the lift car is the centre piece of the space.

My mum ordered the pumpkin soup with ginger from the specials board. She said that it was a little different with the ginger flavours but was nice overall.

Brioche by Philip has many acclaims under it's belt, and including best bakery in Melbourne. There's no doubting that after you try their croissants and danishes. A quick stop into Brioche by Philip on a very cold Melbourne afternoon allowed us to fill our tummies up before dinner. With a wide selection of pastries on offer, it was hard to decide what to eat.

The Russell Street store is just above the entrance of Izakaya Den, and is a quaint cafe that blends seamlessly into the Melbourne city streets. The staff were wonderful at suggesting something light from their wide selection of pastries, and the almond croissant was a definite winner for us.