Mount Nelson Hotel: Cape Town, South Africa
While researching restaurants to try while we were in Cape Town, I came across a curious claim for the "Best Afternoon Tea in the World".
Now, having lived in London for the last seven years, I am very familiar with Afternoon Tea and therefore was a bit surprised to see such a claim coming from a non-London establishment. Needless to say, I was intrigued. A quick survey of my parents revealed that the Mount Nelson Hotel does indeed have a reputation for a fantastic Afternoon Tea and was somewhere my parents had visited numerous times while living in Cape Town. So, I kept my dubious thoughts to myself and immediately booked us in for our final day in the city.
The Mount Nelson Hotel was everything I was hoping it would be. Grandiose from the outset with its impressive entrance, the feel of luxury is easily apparent. Opened in 1899, the hotel was designed to match the elegance of London hotels and to provide a similar experience for guests. The central location was fantastic for us since we were just a short walk away via the Company Gardens. Overall it was such a lovely and relaxing way to spend a few hours and allowed us to reflect on our incredible trip (and plan future adventures!).
Since we were celebrating the end of our South African expidition, we thought it was only right to go for the champagne option. This ended up being an even better decision given the hot temperatures - it was nice to start with something cool and refreshing before moving on to our pots of tea. We both went for the hotel's own black tea mix, which was somewhere between an English Breakfast tea and an Earl Grey.
To start, we had a savory selection that included both sandwiches and hot options. The sandwiches included traditional offerings (such as the cucumber and salmon ones) along side more original ones. For example, the rest of the sandwiches included an open face, rare roast beef with a horseradish sauce, a salmon and cream cheese swirl, and an fancified egg salad toast. Finally, we had a very unusual addition: A cream cheese and biltong dust sandwich (next to the cucumber in the photo above). This is apparently a local favorite but was just a bit too strange for me - I couldn't really wrap my head around the texture of the biltong. But, it was nice to see that we weren't in for a straight-forward London tea experience...
The second level contained the hot offerings which were an interesting mix of flavours. These included a butternut squash and pumpkin seed wrap, a feta and spinach puff, lightly fried falafel, chicken and leek pies and finally, mushroom and cheese empanadas. I really liked the addition of these little bites and we even ordered a second plate (greedy, I know). My favorite was either the mushroom empanada or the chicken pie - so tasty!
Now, dessert is apparently the real claim to fame for the Mount Nelson and it certainly didn't disappoint! This part of the meal is offered as a self-serve buffet in the middle of the restaurant. It was immense - essentially what I imagine a Las Vegas buffet must look like. There were whole cakes, cookies, cupcakes, and mini desserts - anything you could think of, it was there. I'll admit to being a bit overwhelmed so I mostly tried to choose a good mix of items.
I'm very sad to report that I couldn't finish this incredible plate of deliciousness but I did try my very best! I went for (clockwise around the plate): mini carrot cake, round koeksister, strawberries with meringue, pistachio and ganache cake, mini lemon meringue pie, chocolate cake pop, melktart, and a mini slice of red velvet cake. Delicious! My favorite was easily the lemon meringue pie - I just think you can't really go wrong with that. The koeksister was very different to what we'd tried previously but still tasty. The other local speciality was the melktart - which is very similar to Portuoguese custard tarts. It was nice but I'm not sure this was the best version to try since it was their take on the classic rather than a more standard offering.
Finally, here was Matt's plate. I thought it was funny that we had gone for very different things. While we both had strawberries and the red velvet slice, he had also picked up a chocolate cake, brownie bite, and a raspberry and chocolate slice. I'm not entirely sure what the other items were but I can report that there were no complaints! I'm so glad we decided to give this a try since it really was a special way to spend the afternoon. We were seated on the patio so also got the chance to enjoy the beautiful gardens - perfection!
Information:
Address: 76 Orange Street, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
