Cost – 38.00Chf (Feb 2020)
Parking and Access – Unfortunately, I have no idea what the parking situation is at the hotel. The only car I spotted was the hotel’s own car. We arrived by bus from a stop just down the road. The entrance to the hotel is down a small slope from the road.
There is then flat access to the reception and on to the lobby area, where we were served. The toilets were reached on the flat from the lobby.
Background – We were going on a fabulous holiday to Switzerland, so, obviously, I had to have a look to see if there were any Afternoon Teas I could sample along the way. Luckily, I found one in one of the towns we were going to be staying in – Pontresina, near St Moritz in the Engadine region of Switzerland.
The hotel is found on the main street through Pontresina. It is a very smart hotel, and is the sister hotel to the famous Kulm Hotel in St Moritz.
The hotel was lit up with many fairy lights
and is topped with a golden crown above a green domed roof.
Inside, the hotel was decorated with amazing painted ceilings
and had a real feeling of grandeur.
There was a pianist playing throughout the time we were eating.
Contents – Four rectangular sandwiches each on different breads (chicken and mayonnaise on tomato bread, smoked salmon on basil bread, roast beef with tartare sauce on multigrain bread, cucumber and cream cheese on caraway seed bread). Two small fruit scones, a mini pot of Hero strawberry jam, a Chinese spoon full of lemon curd and a small dish of double cream. Two tiny fruit tartlets, a very mini chocolate cake, a miniscule Florentine, a chocolate and a mini butter desert. A pot of tea.
Options Available – There is also an Engadine Afternoon Tea available.
Comments – We had booked our Tea ahead before leaving for our holiday in Switzerland. There were four of us in our party.
On arrival, we were shown to a table in the beautiful lobby area of the hotel. It was in the corner by some windows looking out on to the hotel’s garden area outside, which was covered in snow.
The table was unlaid, apart from a tablecloth and a small vase of flowers, when we sat down
but was soon laid with pretty iridescent china, a knife and fork, a glass and a linen napkin each, once we had ordered our Tea.
We were asked if we would like the recommended tea or another from the menu. We chose the recommended tea, which was a Darjeeling gold. It was served without milk.
The tea arrived quickly in individual iridescent white china teapots along with a white pot to put the tealeaf cage in when the tea was of the correct strength. We were given instructions to leave the tea for five minutes before drinking any. The tea was made with loose leaf tea.
The Afternoon Tea arrived a short while after the tea, on a classic three tier cake stand each, with round white plates.
The sandwiches were interesting. Our first thoughts were that the breads were a bit dry. Then we re-read the menu, which described the breads as toast.
We assume that the breads had all been very lightly toasted before filling. It gave an interesting texture to the sandwiches.
The sandwiches were all reasonably large and were well filled. However, there was no butter in any of the sandwiches, except for the smoked salmon one. We all chose the chicken sandwich as our favourite.
The scones were fresh but had not been warmed up at all. They were small, with fruit in. The scones were accompanied by a small pot of strawberry jam, some lemon curd and some thick cream. There was enough of all three. Butter was available on request.
Finally, the cakes were all very small, apart from the mini dessert. They were not quite as advertised on the menu, with a chocolate cake replacing the plum cake. The cakes were all fresh and tasty. However, the tiny Florentine had no chocolate on it. The two tiny tartlets were made with lemon curd beneath the fruit, which was particularly delicious. The picture shows a tartlet next to a teaspoon!
The little chocolate had a soft chocolate centre. The butter pudding was tasty and moist. The mini chocolate cake was fine but just a little boring.
The staff were very attentive, without being too intrusive. We were offered more tea, which we accepted. It was very pleasant and the surroundings were magnificent.
| Sandwiches | 1.5 |
| Scone | 1.5 |
| Jam | 1.5 |
| Cream | 1.5 |
| Cake (variety) | 2.0 |
| Cake (quality) | 1.5 |
| Tea | 2.0 |
| Presentation | 2.0 |
| Service | 2.0 |
| Value | 1.5 |
| Total | 17.0 |
Sarnies Scones and Cakes 