Monday, May 2, 2016

Vereinigtes Königreich: extravagante Zuckerschock

There is a lot of very good food in the UK these days (with the possible exception of Scotland), but maybe like the US, the good stuff doesn't seem to translate abroad all that well. Soooo, because listofcountriesoftheworld.com includes both England and the United Kingdom (but not Wales or Scotland???), I'm not skipping it. Instead, I went to the Regent for afternoon tea. All the nicer hotels in Berlin offer it for some reason and picking the Regent was somewhat random. I had ruled out the Ritz after a so-so banquet meal there recently and the Regent was the first place I called. I understood that they would modify the tea menu to meet my pregnancy requirements (no smoked salmon, etc.) -- this turned out not to be the case, leaving me with only egg and cucumber sandwiches while my friends ate salmon, ham, and cheese. There was plenty else, but I did think it sort of lame that nowhere in that kitchen could anyone be bothered to find a tablespoon or two of something to spread on a few fingers of white bread, especially haven been given notice. The rest of the meal was sweets and sweets and sweets. Maybe too many sweets, though they were almost all good. I do think this is typical and I have a definite sweet tooth, but still, I could  have used a little more savory to balance things and if I'm being completely honest, the even the savories fit for non-pregnant folk could use a little spiffing up. They were all perfectly fine and classic, but a definite afterthought next to the pastries. All in all, thought, afternoon tea at the Regent was a lot of fun. The staff, including the majordomo/tea sommelier or whoever the guy in the tails with the teapot-shaped brooch is, was extremely attentive - offering me a special chair or a pillow, insisting that we move so my friend's infant could be placed on a sofa -- but not at all stuffy. There's so much food, not to mention bottomless tea (the kraeutertee was a little soapy for my personal taste) and champagne if you want it (for a price, of course), everything feels luxurious and special. The highlight of the meal, was the humble scone and clotted cream, so if you want to spend a bit less (Afternoon Tea with champagne is 54 Euros), or you don't need ten+ different pastries and the resulting sugar shock, you could go for the Cream Tea, which only includes a hot beverage and scones with clotted cream and jam for 19 Euros. Either way, tea at the regent proved a great way to spend an afternoon.

Regent Berlin
Charlottenstrasse 49